Information For Employers

The UW Law School Grading System

Because employers often interview students from many different law schools -- each with its own unique grading system -- the Career Services Office offers this brief explanation of the UW Law School's grading system. If you have any questions regarding this system, please do not hesitate to contact one of our staff.

Law School Adopts New Grading System

In 2005, the Law School adopted a new grading system, designed to make the grading system easier for students and employers to understand, and to make UW Law School students' transcripts more internally consistent. The old system (a 65 to 95 numerical grading system), which the Law School used for many years, was phased out as students who began law school under the old system graduated.

Effective with the class that entered law school in the fall of 2005, most law school courses will be graded utilizing letter grades ranging from A+ to F. In addition, under the new system, clinical courses will be graded on a four-cell grading system of S+, S, S-, and U. Legal writing courses will be graded using letter grades on the same basis as other courses. Law reviews and moot court programs will continue to show on the transcript as "S." Click on the links below for detailed information about the new and old grading systems.

Grading System for Students Entering University of Wisconsin Law School in September 2005 and thereafter

Grading System for Students Entering University of Wisconsin Law School Prior to September 2005