Following methodology changes for US News rankings, 7 law schools reach top 100
With more weight now given to law school employment outcomes and first-time bar passage rates in U.S. News & World Report’s best graduate schools rankings, there was little movement among the top 10. But 14 schools outside that grouping saw significant position increases, the publication reports.
The 2023-2024 law school rankings were released Thursday, following deadline pushbacks, data complaints from law schools and publication delays.
According to a U.S. News & World Report press release, nearly 60% of the rankings methodology evaluated law schools on their successful placement of graduates and bar passage. A methodology page details the changes.
“By focusing on metrics that measure outcomes, our rankings and resources can provide a roadmap for the first step in those students’ journeys—their education,” said Eric Gertler, executive chairman and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, in the release.
Some of the rankings spots are tied. Of the law schools with significant position increases between the rankings released in 2022 and 2023:
- The University of Kansas School of Law went from 67 to 40.
- The University of Oklahoma College of Law went from 88 to 51.
- The Florida International University College of Law went from 98 to 60.
- St. John’s University School of Law went from 84 to 60.
- The University of South Carolina School of Law went from 84 to 60.
- Marquette University Law School went from 105 to 71 and entered the top 100.
- The Texas Tech University School of Law went from 105 to 71 and entered the top 100.
- The Stetson University College of Law went from 111 to 84 and entered the top 100.
- Drake University Law School went from 111 to 88 and entered the top 100.
- The Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University went from 129 to 89 and entered the top 100.
- The University of St. Thomas School of Law at Minnesota went from 127 to 96 and entered the top 100.
- The Mercer University School of Law went from 122 to 99 and entered the top 100.
- The Belmont University College of Law went from 133 to 105.
- The Loyola University New Orleans College of Law went from 133 to 111.
After years of complaints about the rankings, some law school deans starting in November announced that they would not respond to the publication’s annual survey. Of the 14 law schools with significant rankings jumps, several told the ABA Journal in January that they planned to submit rankings surveys.
For the law schools in the top 10, Stanford University and Yale University are tied for the No. 1 spot, followed by the University of Chicago Law School, which is at No. 3.
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School comes in at No. 4 on the law school rankings, while Duke University, Harvard University and New York University are all ranked at No. 5. Columbia University and the University of Virginia are in the No. 8 spot, while the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and the University of Michigan Law School at Ann Arbor are in the No. 10 spot.
Among the top 10 law schools that responded to the ABA Journal’s January interview requests, seven said they would not be submitting rankings surveys, and only one, the University of Chicago Law School, said it would.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Yale Law keeps top place in US News rankings preview—but it is tied with another school”
ABAJournal.com: “US News changes its rankings system amid boycotts by most top law schools”
