Duke University

210 Science Drive Box 90362
Durham, NC 27708-0362
(919) 613-7020

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National Comparison: Overview of Facts

#1 in Private Sector Salary

Duke Law is tied for #1 in terms of the median starting salary among graduates working in private practice as law firm associates ($180,000).

#2 in Employment Rate at 10 Months

#5 in Employment Rate at Graduation
Duke Law ranks #2 in terms of graduates employed ten months after graduation (95.6%) and #5 in terms of graduates employed at the time of graduation (91.6%) .

#5 in Bar Passage Rate

Duke Law ranks #5 in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (97.8%), and it outperforms by +22.1% the state of New York’s overall bar passage rate of 75.7%. (A national comparison on this metric should be taken in a qualified sense and with caution, because every state has a different bar passage rate.)

#7 in Highest Tuition

Duke Law ranks #7 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students ($64,722). We rank from a total of 283 tuition rates from 194 law schools, ranking twice those law schools that have different in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.

#8 in Median LSAT

Duke Law is tied for #8 in terms of the median LSAT score (169) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.

#11 in Acceptance Rate

Duke Law ranks #11 in terms of student selectivity with an acceptance rate of 20.2% among those who applied for admission.

#18 in Median Undergraduate GPA

Duke Law ranks #18 in terms of highest median undergraduate GPA (3.78) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students.

#28 in Student to Faculty Ratio

Duke Law is tied for #28 in terms of lowest student to faculty ratio (5.5:1).

#30 in Library Size

Duke Law ranks #30 in terms of library size with 711,681 volumes or equivalents.

#34 in Public Sector Salary

Duke Law is tied for #34 in terms of median starting salary among graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level ($60,000).

#77 in Presence of Minority Students

Duke Law ranks #77 in terms of the highest percentage of students who are racial or ethnic minority (35.8%).

#94 in Presence of Minority Faculty

Duke Law ranks #94 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are racial or ethnic minority (12.6%).

#139 in Presence of Female Faculty

Duke Law is tied for #139 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are female (35.0%).

Fall 2020 Application Information

Application Deadline: February 15
Application Fee: $70

Admissions Statistics

2020 2017
Acceptance Rate 20.2% 23.3%
LSAT Score (Median) 169 168
LSAT Score (25th-75th percentile) 167-170 166-170
GPA (Median) 3.78 3.70
GPA Range (25th-75th percentile) 3.66-3.87 3.56-3.84

Bar Exam Statistics

2020 2017
State in which most graduates took bar exam: NY NY
School's bar passage rate: 97.8% 94.3%
State overall bar passage rate: 75.7% 72.7%
School bar pass rate vs. state bar pass rate: +22.1% +21.6%

Employment Statistics

2020 2017
Graduates employed at graduation: 91.6% 86.5%
Graduates employed 10 months after graduation: 95.6% 93.0%

Tuition and Expenses

2020 2017
Tuition: $64,722 $57,717
Room and Board: $12,916 $12,978
Proportion of full-time students receiving grants: 86.6% 83.8%
Median grant amount among full-time students: $25,000 $20,000
Average indebtedness of those who incurred debt: $134,948 $131,073
Proportion of graduates who incurred debt: 67.3% 67.6%
View National Comparison

Students & Faculty

2020 2017
Total Students: 682 668
Men: 54.3% 57.6%
Women: 45.6% 42.4%
Student Racial Demographics:

White: 64.2% N/A
Black: 6.9% N/A
Hispanic: 7.8% N/A
Asian: 8.1% N/A
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 5.5 : 1 N/A
Total Faculty: 183 N/A
Male: 65.0% N/A
Female: 35.0% N/A
Minority: 12.6% N/A

Full-Time Starting Salaries

2020 2017
Private Sector (Median): $180,000 $160,000
Public Sector (Median): $60,000 $60,000
View National Comparison

Library Resources

2020 2017
Volumes and equivalents: 711,681 704,033