- Recent Admissions Statistics
- Employment Summary for 2012 Graduates
- Employment Summary for 2011 Graduates
- Employment Summary for 2010 Graduates
- Enrollment, Degrees Awarded, and Attrition
- Bar Passage Information & the Diploma Privilege
- Consumer Information/Standard 509 Report (PDF)
- Scholarship Retention Information
The University of Wisconsin Law School is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Information about the approval process can be found on the ABA website, or by contacting the ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654 or by calling (312) 988-6738.
Recent Admissions Statistics
| Entering Class | 2012 (LSAT/GPA data certified by LSAC) | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Applicants | 2153 | 2870 | 2829 | 2951 |
| Enrolled Students | 215 | 242 | 246 | 278 |
| Median LSAT | 162 | 163 | 163 | 162 |
| 25%-75% LSAT Score | 157-164 | 158-165 | 158-164 | 156-163 |
| Median GPA | 3.61 | 3.67 |
3.63 | 3.60 |
| 25%-75% GPA |
3.33-3.72 | 3.34-3.78 | 3.29-3.76 | 3.31-3.76 |
| Colleges & Universities Represented |
89 | 107 | 97 | 115 |
| Colleges & Universities with Most Students Enrolled | UW-Madison Marquette University U. of Minnesota- Minneapolis UW-Eau Claire U. of Michigan- Ann Arbor U. of Illinois-Urbana | UW-Madison UW-Milwaukee Marquette University U. of Illinois-Urbana U. of Notre Dame U. of Minnesota -Minneapolis |
UW-Madison U. of Michigan-Ann Arbor Marquette University UW-Milwaukee U. of Chicago Northwestern University |
UW-Madison Marquette University U. of Minnesota-Minneapolis U. of Michigan-Ann Arbor UW-Milwaukee U. of Illinois-Urbana |
| States Represented | 24 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| States with Most Students Enrolled |
Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota Michigan California | Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota California Michigan Texas |
Wisconsin Illinois California Minnesota Michigan |
Wisconsin Illinois California Minnesota Michigan |
| % In-State Residents |
55% | 57% | 62% | 60% |
| Average Entering Age | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 |
| Age Range | 19-35 | 20-46 | 21-39 | 21-44 |
| % Women Students | 39% | 40% | 47% | 45% |
| % Students of Color | 24% | 26% | 25% | 31% |
| % Students Receiving Financial Aid |
90% | 90% | 90% | 90% |
Employment Summary For 2012 Graduates
| EMPLOYMENT STATUS |
FULL TIME LONG TERM |
FULL TIME SHORT TERM |
PART TIME LONG TERM |
PART TIME SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
|
Employed - Bar Passage Required |
178 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
187 |
| Employed - JD Advantage |
32 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
36 |
| Employed - Professional Position |
23 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
27 |
| Employed - Non-Professional Position |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
| Employed - Undeterminable * |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time |
6 | ||||
| Unemployed - Start Date Deferred |
0 | ||||
| Unemployed - Not Seeking |
2 | ||||
| Unemployed - Seeking |
18 | ||||
| Employment Status Unknown |
2 | ||||
| Total graduates |
284 |
*A graduate in an undeterminable category may or may not have a term defined
| LAW SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY FUNDED POSITION | FULL TIME LONG TERM |
FULL TIME SHORT TERM |
PART TIME LONG TERM |
PART TIME SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
| Of Employed - Law School/University Funded Short Term |
5 |
0 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| EMPLOYMENT TYPE |
FULL TIME LONG TERM |
FULL TIME SHORT TERM |
PART TIME LONG TERM |
PART TIME SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
| Law Firms |
|||||
| Solo |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
| 2-10 |
52 | 0 |
1 |
1 |
54 |
| 11-25 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
| 26-50 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| 51-100 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| 101-250 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
| 251-500 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 | 4 |
| 501+ |
10 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
| Unknown |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
| Business & Industry | 45 |
1 |
3 |
2 | 51 |
| Government |
31 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
34 |
| Pub. Int. (incl. Pub. Def.) |
24 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
26 |
| Federal |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| State & Local |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
| Other | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Academia |
8 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
13 |
| Employer Type Unknown |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Total |
233 |
5 |
8 |
10 |
256 |
| EMPLOYMENT LOCATION |
STATE |
NUMBER |
| State# - largest employment |
Wisconsin |
167 |
| State# - 2nd largest employment |
District of Columbia |
17 |
| State# - 3rd largest employment |
Illinois |
17 |
| # employed in foreign countries |
5 |
Employment Summary For 2011 Graduates
| EMPLOYMENT STATUS |
FULL TIME LONG TERM |
FULL TIME SHORT TERM |
PART TIME LONG TERM |
PART TIME SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
|
Employed - Bar Passage Required |
159 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
177 |
| Employed - JD Advantage |
19 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
24 |
| Employed - Professional Position |
16 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
17 |
| Employed - Non-Professional Position |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
| Employed - Undeterminable * |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time |
3 | ||||
| Unemployed - Start Date Deferred |
0 | ||||
| Unemployed - Not Seeking |
3 | ||||
| Unemployed - Seeking |
14 | ||||
| Employment Status Unknown |
8 | ||||
| Total graduates |
254 |
*A graduate in an undeterminable category may or may not have a term defined
| LAW SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY FUNDED POSITION | FULL TIME LONG TERM |
FULL TIME SHORT TERM |
PART TIME LONG TERM |
PART TIME SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
| Of Employed - Law School/University Funded Short Term |
0 |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| EMPLOYMENT TYPE |
FULL TIME LONG TERM |
FULL TIME SHORT TERM |
PART TIME LONG TERM |
PART TIME SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
| Law Firms |
|||||
| Solo |
10 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
13 |
| 2-10 |
37 | 5 |
1 |
2 |
45 |
| 11-25 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| 26-50 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| 51-100 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| 101-250 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
13 |
| 251-500 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 | 3 |
| 501+ |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
| Unknown |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Business & Industry | 32 |
3 |
3 |
4 | 42 |
| Government |
36 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
38 |
| Pub. Int. (incl. Pub. Def.) |
32 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
32 |
| Federal |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| State & Local |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Other | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Academia |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| Employer Type Unknown |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
200 |
11 |
7 |
8 |
226 |
| EMPLOYMENT LOCATION |
STATE |
NUMBER |
| State# - largest employment |
Wisconsin |
152 |
| State# - 2nd largest employment |
Illinois |
22 |
| State# - 3rd largest employment |
District of Columbia |
12 |
| # employed in foreign countries |
1 |
Employment Summary For 2010 Graduates
| EMPLOYMENT STATUS |
LONG TERM |
SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
| Employed | 220 | 19 | 239 |
| Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time |
9 | ||
| Unemployed - Not Seeking | 1 | ||
| Unemployed - Seeking |
5 | ||
| Employment Status Unknown |
3 | ||
| Total graduates |
257 |
*A graduate in an undeterminable category may or may not have a term defined
| LAW SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY FUNDED POSITION | LONG TERM |
SHORT TERM |
NUMBER |
| Of Employed - Law School/University Funded |
1 |
6 | 7 |
| EMPLOYMENT TYPE |
LONG TERM | SHORT TERM | NUMBER |
| Law Firms |
|||
| Solo |
18 |
0 |
18 |
| 2-10 |
50 | 2 |
52 |
| 11-25 |
8 |
1 |
9 |
| 26-50 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
| 51-100 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| 101-250 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
| 251-500 |
12 |
0 |
12 |
| 501+ |
15 |
0 |
15 |
| Unknown |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Business & Industry | 20 |
4 |
24 |
| Government |
50 |
5 |
55 |
| Pub. Int. (incl. Pub. Def.) |
20 |
3 |
23 |
| Federal |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| State & Local |
9 |
0 |
9 |
| Academia |
3 |
3 |
6 |
| Employer Type Unknown |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
220 |
19 |
239 |
| EMPLOYMENT LOCATION |
STATE |
NUMBER |
| State# - largest employment |
Wisconsin |
138 |
| State# - 2nd largest employment |
Illinois |
19 |
| State# - 3rd largest employment |
California |
12 |
| # employed in foreign countries |
6 |
Enrollment Data (as of October 5, 2012)
| Year/Type of Degree | NUMBER |
| 1L | 232 |
| 2L | 247 |
| 3L | 253 |
| Total JD Enrolment | 732 |
| Advanced Degrees (LLM-LI, LLM, SJD) | 80 |
| Non-Law | 5 |
| Total Enrollment | 817 |
JD Degrees Awarded
| DATE | NUMBER |
| December 2011 | 33 |
| May 2012 | 245 |
| August 2012 | 6 |
| Total 2011-2012 Academic Year | 284 |
Attrition
| TYPE OF DISCONTINUATION | NUMBER |
| Involuntary Academic | 1 |
| Transfer | 9 |
| Other | 11 |
Bar Passage Information & the Diploma Privilege
Wisconsin is the only remaining U.S. jurisdiction that retains the diploma privilege: Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule 40.03 allows for the admission to practice by diploma privilege, rather than bar examination, of applicants who have been awarded a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school in Wisconsin and met legal competence requirements with respect to satisfactory academic performance and satisfactory completion of certain mandatory and elective subject matter areas. Therefore, the Law School's bar passage data is based on the number of graduates who took the required courses to qualify for admission to the State Bar of Wisconsin via the diploma privilege in calendar year 2011.
Of the 253 students who received J.D. degrees during 2011, 251 of them took the courses that are required to satisfy the diploma privilege, and those 251 are treated as having "sat for" the Wisconsin bar exam in February or July of 2011. Of those 251, one did not satisfy the minimum GPA requirement in the diploma privilege courses, and is therefore treated as having "failed" the Wisconsin bar exam. That results in a "bar passage rate" of 99.6%.
Scholarship Retention Information
The retention of a scholarship awarded to an admitted student is not dependent upon the student maintaining a minimum grade point average or class standing, other than that ordinarily required to remain in good academic standing. A 2.0 cumulative GPA is required to remain in good academic standing.
