Law Courses at Columbia University

Established in 1858, Columbia Law School is the Law School of Columbia University in New York, US. Columbia Law School is one of the oldest Law Schools in the USA. The university has its root back for 167 years.

Columbia Law School provides courses across many domains, including JD, JSD, LLM, MSL, PhD, and Joint Degrees like JD/MBA, which allows students to obtain a JD and MBA within three years. The Columbia LLM program is considered one of the best in the United States.

The school’s main building, Jerome L. Green Hall, was designed by Mas Abramowitz and Wallace Harrison, the architects of the United Nations Headquarters. One of the mesmerizing structures at the Columbia Law School is the Arthur W. Diamond Library, which is considered one of the most comprehensive libraries in the world. Also, it is the third largest private academic Law library in the United States with more than 1,000,000 volumes and subscriptions to more than 7,450 journals and other serials.

This law school enrolls about 200 students each year and is known for its very low acceptance rate in US. Columbia Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association, which it received in 1923.

CLS students are involved in publishing and preparing the Columbia Law Review, the most highly cited university law review which was ranked #2 by the Washington and Lee University Law School in 2023.

With 450 faculty members, the student-to-faculty ratio is 5.5:1 at Columbia Law, which indicates the level of attention these CLS students receive from their faculty. With an extreme focus on high employability skills, according to the American Bar Association, 95.39% of the Columbia School graduates were able to pass the Bar exam in 2023.

According to the American Bar Association, the median salary for a CLS graduate in the class of 2023 was USD 280,926 (INR 2.42 Cr), which is higher than any other Law School in the United States.

Columbia Law School gave 427 graduates in the year 2023, out of which 418 students were able to secure placements, which gives us a Columbia Law School placement rate of 97.8%. This Law school under Columbia University is ranked at no. 8 among the best 196 Law schools around the world, according to the rankings released by the US News and World Report 2024.

Things to Know about Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School is known for its large network of over 27,000 alumni in 119 countries of the world. This Law School is considered quite competitive to get into as, as the school received 7,782 applications, and only 394 students were extended an offer, which gives a Columbia Law School acceptance rate of 11.7%.

Here are some more highlights for Columbia Law School:

(USD 1 = INR 86.47)

Columbia Law School Class Profile 2027

Columbia Law School is focused on inclusion and promoting diversity at its campus; 56% of the J.D. class of 2027 were women, followed by the students of color, which was 50%, with a collective representation of 78 countries. The JD Class Members of the Class 2027 include: Advisers, Advocates, Analysts, Art historian, Athletes, Attorneys, Bankers, Barista, CEO, College instructor, Consultants, Creative executive, Diplomat, Eagle Scout, Editor, Engineers, Event coordinator, Fulbright Scholars, Graphic designer, Intelligence officer, Military officers and veterans, Paralegals, Pharmacist, Reporter, Teach for America participants, Teachers, Television producer, Trader, Translator, Uber driver, Web developer, Writer.

According to official data released by the Law School, most of the Columbia School graduates secured placements at Law firms of different sizes of 339 for the year 2023.

Below are the detailed Job Sectors the Columbia Law School graduates were placed after graduation:

Admissions at Columbia Law School are done on an intake basis. The deadlines for the same are mentioned in the table below:

Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), a prestigious accreditation. Columbia Law School is considered quite competitive to get into as the, where the This Law School is considered quite competitive to get into as, where the school received 7,782 applications, and only 394 students were extended an offer, which gives a Columbia Law School acceptance rate of 11.7% meaning out of every 100 applications, only 11 to 12 are accepted making it an ambitious school to get into.

Although, a student can get admission to this B-School by fulfilling the below-mentioned requirements:

Columbia Law School JD Requirements as an International Student:

• A four-year Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university
• Scanned copies of all the Academic Records
• An online application done through the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC)
• Letters of recommendation
• Essay
• Standardized entrance test scores
• English language proficiency

Columbia Law School Admission Process 2025:

Step 1-Choose a program.

Step 2- Fill out the application form: Now go to the Law School’s Admissions Council (LSAC)website, and navigate through the common app to apply for the program and fill out the required details like academic history, essay, standardized test score, English language score, and more.

Step 3-Pay application fee: Students must pay the application fee of USD 85 (INR 7,296) for the LLM programs and USD 90 for JD programs.

Step 4- Wait for a response: Columbia Law School will review the application and within a few weeks they will provide an offer letter to join the program.

Step 5-Attend Interview: Columbia Law School conducts interviews for a very small percentage of students so it’s only on an invitation basis for the JD Program, but not for the LLM program.

(USD 1 = INR 86.47)

Located in New York, Columbia Law School takes pride in its rich cultural history. With 65 core faculty members, the student-to-faculty ratio is 5.5:1 at Columbia Law School which indicates the level of attention these CLS students receive from their faculty. It comes under its parent instiution Columbia University New York.

There are over 50 student organizations and many choices for the students to choose from. Columbia University provides a wide range of subsidized on-campus housing options for students studying Law. The SLS students are given options to choose from furnished single dormitory rooms to four-bedroom apartments, facilitated with full kitchens.

Columbia University is also known for its Columbia Lions where various sorts of sports are played such as Basketball, swimming etc. Columbia College is on Morningside Heights, which covers the an area of 36 acres.

The campus is made safe with the help of many concerned offices and organizations. There are over 40 student organizations, including academic, spiritual, and student leadership groups. The Columbia Law School students can access mental health counseling, life management resources, and wellness. If the concern is the residential services, on-campus housing at Columbia College is only available to full-time students. Housing includes single and double-room options in their residence hall and on-campus cottages. If a student wishes to opt for on-campus housing, they have to pay a security deposit of USD 155 (INR 13,148).