College of Law Keeps Top Tier Status Nationwide

Cincinnati - The University of Cincinnati's College of Law continues to be viewed among the nation's top law schools by U.S. News & World Report in the 2002 rankings of America's Best Graduate Schools, released by the magazine today.

With an overall score of 53, the UC College of Law ranks in a tie for the 50th position on the list of best schools of law. Last year, the college was ranked in a tie for No. 49, but with a lower overall score of 51.

The college continues to be a member of U.S. News & World Report's top tier of law schools, as it has been every year since 1995.

"We welcome the chance to compare the quality of our education with law schools nationally and across our region," says Joseph P. Tomain, dean of the UC College of Law.

"Despite budgetary pressures for the college and disadvantages we face as a small school when it comes to subjective measurements such as reputational rank, we continue to fare very well in these national-level ratings. That is a testament to the outstanding individuals who make up the UC College of Law."

The strength of the individuals at the UC College of Law is shown in a number of related facts:

Bar passage: The UC College of Law has led the state in bar passage rate for its graduates every year since 1993, including a 93 percent passage rate last year that was seven percentage points higher than the next closest school. In 1994, UC had a 100 percent bar passage rate.

Admissions: Since 1992, with the exception of one year in which UC tied Ohio State, the UC College of Law has led all nine Ohio law schools in admission statistics. Regionally, the college is comparable to other top-tier competitors, such as Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana.

Minority enrollment: The UC College of Law has been the leader in Ohio law schools and among the very best in the nation in this category. In 2000, the college ranked 11th nationally in minority enrollment.

Female enrollment: The UC College of Law has 50 percent female enrollment in its most recent incoming class. The school ranks in the top 10 nationally in percentage of women enrolled, according to the Princeton Review.

Placement:The UC College of Law is consistently above national average placement rates over the last decade, with an average in the mid-90th percentile each year.

Faculty: Since 1990, the number of UC College of Law faculty holding university professorships has grown rapidly, from two at that time to a total of 10 in the time period since. The budget for scholarship and research has doubled in the last decade, and the school has added the position of Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development. The college is one of only 20 schools nationally that participates in LSN, the Legal Scholarship Network.

Click here to find out about other top-ranking UC programs.