Program Overview
Consistently ranked one of the top ten law schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is located in the heart of Philadelphia, in proximity to the university’s numerous graduate and undergraduate colleges. Penn Law is also close to many other Philadelphia-based colleges and law schools including Villanova University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Drexel University. The school’s notable alumni include George Wharton Pepper, founder of the law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP, and Norman Pearlstine, the former editor-in-chief of Time.
The overlap between Penn Law and the Wharton School is perhaps the law school’s most prominent feature. As many law students pursue corporate and business law, the opportunity to gain exposure to the business school is particularly attractive.
Culturally, attending Penn Law is a delight. As the nation’s first capital city, Philadelphia is home to such historic sites as the Liberty Bell. In addition, the Center City and Old City districts both offer coffee shops, restaurants, and nightlife. The presence of many other colleges and graduate programs in the area ensures a lively networking community in the city.
Most graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania choose to live off campus, though on-campus housing in the apartment buildings at Sansom Place is available.
Curriculum
First-year students are required to take six courses: “Civil Procedure,” “Constitutional Law,” “Contracts,” “Torts,” “Criminal Law,” and “Legal Practice Skills,” as well as a general elective and a regulatory/administrative law course elective. The second and third years are entirely discretionary, with the exception that students must take a professional responsibility class, complete a substantial piece of writing, and complete at least six unit hours of experiential learning and 70 hours of pro bono legal work.
Penn Law features ten opportunities for students interested in interdisciplinary studies. The school offers joint degrees across a range of academic areas, including a JD/MBA with the Wharton School; a JD/MBE in Bioethics, which may be especially appealing for students interested in patent or intellectual property law; and a JD/MSSP Social Policy.
The school also has nearly 20 certificate programs for law students who don’t wish to seek a joint degree but still want to have their coursework recognized. Certificate programs are available with the Wharton School, the Annenberg School for Communication, the School of Arts & Sciences, and the Center for Neuroscience and Society, among others.
Penn Law has partnerships with nine international law schools at which students may elect to study abroad in countries including Spain, Israel, China, and Japan.
Clinical and Experiential Learning
Penn Law’s eight clinics will appeal to all types of future advocates. The Legislative Clinic is devoted to legislative lawyering, while the Transnational Legal Clinic focuses on international human rights and immigration. The Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic offers free legal services to aspiring business owners, and law students have an opportunity to cultivate relationships with their business school counterparts through this program’s connection with Wharton.
The Toll Public Interest Center seeks to inspire public service across the school. The program facilitates pro bono opportunities for students and also selects a few Toll Public Interest Scholars each year. In addition, Penn Law offers a special postgraduate fellowship for students interested in human rights; current third-year students and recent graduates are eligible.
Statistics
Class Profile (Class of 2024)
Number of Applications: 8,409
Class Size: 309
Average Age: 24
Women: 55%
Students of Color: 48%
Median LSAT: 171
Median GPA: 3.90
Career Placement (Class of 2020)
- Law Firms: 73.3%
- Judicial Clerkships: 10.1%
- Public Interest: 7.8%
- Business and Industry: 5.8%
- Government/Military: 2.3%
- Education: 0.4%