University of South Dakota School of Law
414 E. Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069-2390
(605) 677-6358
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National Comparison: Overview of Facts
#63 in Employment Rate at Graduation
#82 in Employment Rate at 10 MonthsUSD Law ranks
#63
in terms of graduates employed at the time of graduation (53.7%) and #82 in terms of graduates employed ten months after graduation (79.1%).
#106 in Presence of Minority Faculty
USD Law ranks #106
in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are racial or ethnic minority (12.1%).
#132 in Student to Faculty Ratio
USD Law is tied for
#132
in terms of lowest student to faculty ratio (8.0:1).
#138 in Median Undergraduate GPA
USD Law ranks
#138
in terms of highest median undergraduate GPA (3.30) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students.
#142 in Private Sector Salary
USD Law is tied for
#142
in terms of the median starting salary among graduates working in private practice as law firm associates ($60,000).
#155 in Public Sector Salary
USD Law is tied for
#155
in terms of median starting salary among graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level ($47,543).
#157 in Median LSAT
USD Law is tied for
#157
in terms of the median LSAT score (150) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.
#174 in Library Size
USD Law ranks
#174
in terms of library size with 146,009 volumes or equivalents.
#177 in Presence of Female Faculty
USD Law is tied for
#177
in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are female (30.3%).
#181 in Acceptance Rate
USD Law ranks
#181
in terms of student selectivity with an acceptance rate of 64.8% among those who applied for admission.
#181 in Highest Tuition (out-of-state)
#265 in Highest Tuition (in-state)USD Law ranks #181
in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students for its out-of state tuition of $34,872, and it ranks #265
in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students for its in-state tuition of $16,944. 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. Room and board expenses average $8,538 per year.
#183 in Bar Passage Rate
USD Law ranks
#183
in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (51.7%), and it underperforms by -16.5% the state of South Dakota’s overall bar passage rate of 68.2%. (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.)
#188 in Presence of Minority Students
USD Law ranks
#188
in terms of the highest percentage of students who are racial or ethnic minority (14.2%).
About this Report
This report was released in spring 2019.
GPA & LSAT
References to the lowest, median, and highest GPA and LSAT scores reflect those of the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile, respectively, among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall
2018.
Acceptance Rates
The acceptance rate is that of applicants granted admission as full-time students for classes commencing in fall
2018.
The acceptance rate of the applicants does not reflect actual enrollment rates, a subset figure.
Student-to-Faculty Ratios
The student-to-faculty ratio shows the number of students for that class per faculty member. This ratio reflects the applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall
2018.
Bar Passage Rates
The bar passage rates reflect those among first-time test takers for the winter and summer
2017
administrations of the bar examinations. The state noted is that in which the greatest number of the law school's graduates took the bar exam for the reported period.
Employment Rates
The employment rates shown are those of the
2017
full-time graduates at the time of graduation and ten months after graduation.
Law Library Volumes
The data indicate the number of print and microform volumes, as well as volume equivalents.
Gender, Race & Ethnicity
The data shown indicate the percentage of the faculty that are male and female, respectively, and the percentage of the faculty and students that are racial or ethnic minority
(Hispanics of any race, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, multiracial, non-resident alien, or unknown race).
Salaries
The salary statistics are those of full-time, long-term employed law graduates for the class of
2017
at the time of graduation and within ten months after graduation (approximately spring
2018
), as self-reported by the graduates.
The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Private” reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in private practice as law firm associates. The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Public” reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level.
In determining median salaries, jobs classified as “JD advantage” have been excluded (i.e., positions in which the employer requires a JD or considers it an advantage to hold such a degree, but in which admission to the bar is not required).
Report Title
The rationale behind entitling this report as the “2020” report is that our
2020 Law School Rankings
report and
2020 Law School Profiles
are of considerable interest to prospective law school applicants who seek to enroll in classes commencing in fall 2020. At the time of our publication of this report in spring 2019, these employment statistics reflected the most current data available.
Source: The data have been compiled from a variety of public sources, including data released by the law schools and from the bar examiner offices in each jurisdiction.
Next Release: Our 2021 report is slated for publication in spring 2020.
About this Report
This report was released in spring 2019.
GPA & LSAT
References to the lowest, median, and highest GPA and LSAT scores reflect those of the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile, respectively, among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall
2018.
Acceptance Rates
The acceptance rate is that of applicants granted admission as full-time students for classes commencing in fall
2018.
The acceptance rate of the applicants does not reflect actual enrollment rates, a subset figure.
Student-to-Faculty Ratios
The student-to-faculty ratio shows the number of students for that class per faculty member. This ratio reflects the applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall
2018.
Bar Passage Rates
The bar passage rates reflect those among first-time test takers for the winter and summer
2017
administrations of the bar examinations. The state noted is that in which the greatest number of the law school's graduates took the bar exam for the reported period.
Employment Rates
The employment rates shown are those of the
2017
full-time graduates at the time of graduation and ten months after graduation.
Law Library Volumes
The data indicate the number of print and microform volumes, as well as volume equivalents.
Gender, Race & Ethnicity
The data shown indicate the percentage of the faculty that are male and female, respectively, and the percentage of the faculty and students that are racial or ethnic minority
(Hispanics of any race, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, multiracial, non-resident alien, or unknown race).
Salaries
The salary statistics are those of full-time, long-term employed law graduates for the class of
2017
at the time of graduation and within ten months after graduation (approximately spring
2018
), as self-reported by the graduates.
The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Private” reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in private practice as law firm associates. The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Public” reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level.
In determining median salaries, jobs classified as “JD advantage” have been excluded (i.e., positions in which the employer requires a JD or considers it an advantage to hold such a degree, but in which admission to the bar is not required).
Report Title
The rationale behind entitling this report as the “2020” report is that our
2020 Law School Rankings
report and
2020 Law School Profiles
are of considerable interest to prospective law school applicants who seek to enroll in classes commencing in fall 2020. At the time of our publication of this report in spring 2019, these employment statistics reflected the most current data available.
Source: The data have been compiled from a variety of public sources, including data released by the law schools and from the bar examiner offices in each jurisdiction.
Next Release: Our 2021 report is slated for publication in spring 2020.