US News and World Report ranks ASU Law No. 25 best law school in the nation


Photo of Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law Beus Center for Law and Society

The Beus Center for Law and Society is the home of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU in downtown Phoenix.

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The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University continues to maintain its reputation as a premier law school, placing No. 25 overall in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 best law school rankings. ASU Law has now been ranked in the top 30 for the past seven years and remains the youngest law school in the top 25.

ASU Law is the No. 9 public law school, the No. 5 overall law school in the West and the No. 3 public law school in the West, with six specialty programs ranked in the top 30: legal writing (No. 3), dispute resolution (No. 13), health care law (No. 16), environmental law (No. 20), tax law (No. 28), and criminal law (No. 30).

ASU Law has consistently ranked high in the legal writing category, placing in the top 10 for the past 12 years, with four of those years in the top 5. ASU Law has 10 dedicated legal writing professors, with an additional professor joining in the fall, which allows it to offer its students a research and writing curriculum designed to ensure they are practice-ready as they begin externships, summer jobs and legal careers. This year’s No. 3 ranking is a tribute to their dedication and hard work.

“Over the past decade, ASU Law has transformed from a strong regional law school to a top-ranked national law school,” ASU Law Dean Douglas Sylvester said. “It is gratifying to see that evolution reflected in the rankings, which have placed us between No. 24 and 27 for the past seven years. It is also a tremendous testament to our amazing faculty, students, alumni, donors and the entire ASU Law community. I want to thank them for all that they do to make this such an exceptional place.”

ASU Law’s overall ranking at No. 25 is ahead of George Washington University, Emory University, Boston College, University of California – Irvine, and Fordham University. Its No. 9 public law school ranking is ahead of the University of Iowa, University of Illinois at Urbana, University of California – Irvine, and William and Mary.

For the past several years, ASU Law’s incoming classes have set school records for median LSAT scores and GPAs. The class that entered in fall 2020 continued that tradition, with a median LSAT of 165 and a GPA of 3.83 — topping the marks of 164 and 3.81 from the 2019 incoming class. ASU Law also welcomed its most diverse class ever this year with one-third of the first-year students identifying as students of color.

“We are always looking at ways we can make ASU Law even better, focusing on how we can improve student outcomes and experiences,” Sylvester said. “This fall we are excited to add new intellectual property and technology and antitrust emphasis programs to enrich the student learning experience and advance their career opportunities.”

Read more: U.S. News & World Report ranks 14 ASU graduate programs in top 10

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