Florida A&M University College of Law is a public law school in Orlando, offering full-time day and four-year evening programs. Its strengths include community economic development, child advocacy, dispute resolution, and environmental law.
This guide walks you through how to get into FAMU Law.
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1. FAMU Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
FAMU Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 155 | Median: 152 | 25th: 149
- GPA: 75th: 3.74 | Median: 3.48 | 25th: 3.18
FAMU Law Class of 2027:
- LSAT: 75th: 154 | Median: 151 | 25th: 147
- GPA: 75th: 3.64 | Median: 3.44 | 25th: 3.21
The fall 2025 entering class included 177 students: 150 full-time and 27 part-time. These figures combine both divisions. FAMU received 1,546 applications and made 536 offers. The middle half of enrolled students had LSAT scores from 149 to 155 and GPAs from 3.18 to 3.74.
From fall 2024 to fall 2025, FAMU's LSAT quartiles rose one point at the median and 75th percentile and two at the 25th. GPA rose 0.04 at the median and 0.10 at the 75th, while the 25th fell 0.03. The combined entering class grew from 112 to 177.
Aim to be at or above at least one median to be competitive. Above both puts you in a stronger position. Below both medians, this is a prayer, not a reach.
For context on how medians affect your strategy, see How to Build a Smart Law School List.
2. FAMU Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
FAMU requires a typed personal statement of no more than three pages addressing three questions: how your background and experiences would enrich the school, how your experiences demonstrate a commitment to public service, and why you want a FAMU legal education and how you would use it.
These are three parts of one statement.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
For more on how to write a Why X essay, see my Why X Essay Guide.
Supplemental Materials (optional)
FAMU permits additional material explaining an aspect of your candidacy that the application does not otherwise capture, including a strong interest in the school or context for your academic or LSAT performance.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness Resources
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. FAMU Law Resume Requirements
A resume is required through LSAC. FAMU asks applicants to include at least their last three full-time positions, including summer employment. Give the committee a clear employment history alongside your education, service, and other relevant experience.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. FAMU Law Letters of Recommendation
FAMU requires two letters of recommendation through LSAC. Former professors are preferred; professional references are acceptable when you cannot obtain academic letters. Letters must be no more than five years old. Choose writers who can describe your abilities from direct experience.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. FAMU Law Interview Process
FAMU does not conduct applicant interviews or consider requests for an interview as part of its admissions process.
6. FAMU Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
The LSAT is required, and scores remain valid for five years. JD-Next may supplement an application but does not replace the LSAT. FAMU does not accept the GRE.
Application Dates and Fees
- Applications Open: October 1, 2026, for fall 2027 entry.
- Application Deadline: April 30, 2027.
- Fee Waiver Eligibility: Limited waivers for current FAMU students and alumni and applicants with current LSAC fee waivers.
- Decision Timing: Rolling review after an application becomes complete; regular decisions generally begin in late January.
Apply early enough to give the committee a complete file before the April deadline. This is a rolling application process, not a binding early commitment. You can compare admission and scholarship offers as they arrive.
For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?.
Program Formats
The full-time day JD takes three years. The part-time evening JD takes four years, including three required summers. Classes generally begin at or after 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, although some electives may meet earlier. There is no weekend program. Applicants may seek consideration for the full-time program, evening program, or both.
7. FAMU Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
Admitted applicants receive automatic consideration for available institutional scholarships without a separate application. FAMU does not award scholarships conditioned on grades beyond ordinary academic good standing. In 2024-2025, 45% of enrolled students received grants; median awards were $7,500 for full-time recipients and $4,500 for part-time recipients.
Holland & Knight Scholarship
This partnership selects a first-year student for tuition support and a summer internship. The 2026-2027 recipient received tuition for fall 2026 and spring 2027. It is a continuing-student opportunity, separate from an entering admission award.
Public-Interest Support and Aid
Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowships support unpaid public-interest internships. Four FAMU students received fellowships in 2026 for work with public-defense, prosecution, and regional conflict-counsel offices.
FAMU requires a FAFSA even from students receiving only institutional or outside scholarships. Aid disburses after add/drop and attendance verification, so plan for initial living expenses before that payment arrives.
Cost of Attendance
For 2026-2027, tuition and required per-credit fees total $455.86 for Florida residents and $1,189.61 for nonresidents. Additional charges include transportation/access fees of $65 each fall and spring and $33 in summer, a $5 ID-card fee each fall and spring, and a $35 orientation fee for first-time students. Residency and the evening program's required summers materially affect the total cost.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. FAMU Law Joint Degrees
FAMU does not offer a concurrent or joint-degree program. Its JD requires 90 credits and is available through the three-year full-time day program or four-year part-time evening program. Both include required doctrinal courses, legal research and writing, upper-level writing, and experiential work. Business organizations, environmental law, and other electives belong to the JD curriculum rather than a coordinated second-degree pathway. The day and evening programs are alternative schedules for the same law degree.
9. FAMU Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
FAMU Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 71.3%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 12.0%
- Federal clerkships: 0.0%
- Public service (including government): 38.9%
Florida was the dominant employment destination, followed by much smaller groups in Massachusetts and Colorado. Public-interest organizations were a substantial employer category, alongside government and law firms. The results support a Florida-centered practice plan, particularly for applicants interested in service-oriented work. Large-firm employment was a minority outcome, making the relationship between your likely practice setting and total borrowing especially important.
10. FAMU Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Community Economic Development: Business Organizations supplies a foundation in entity structure, financing, management, and professional responsibilities. The Economic Justice Clinic applies transactional work to entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and community development, including business formation, regulatory compliance, and legacy planning.
Family Law and Child Advocacy: Family Law covers marriage, divorce, custody, adoption, and related jurisdictional questions. The Guardian ad Litem Clinic adds supervised work involving children in dependency proceedings, connecting classroom study with the interests of children in foster care and other out-of-home placements.
Environmental Law: Coursework addresses pollution, conservation, natural resources, and the administrative structures governing environmental decisions. The Environmental Practice Workshop uses simulations involving counseling, investigation, enforcement, and related professional tasks. Robert Abrams brings expertise in both environmental and water law.
Entertainment and Intellectual Property: Entertainment Law examines copyright, publicity, privacy, contracts, and other doctrines affecting creative industries. William Henslee teaches related subjects, while the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Society adds an organized student community around these interests.
11. FAMU Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
FAMU requires six experiential credits. Its three clinics accept applications after at least 24 completed credits:
- Economic Justice Clinic: Students provide supervised transactional assistance to businesses, nonprofit organizations, and individuals. Work includes entity formation, contracts, tax-exempt status, employment issues, and regulatory compliance. The clinic also supports legacy planning and prevention of heirs' property problems through legal assistance, education, and community outreach.
- Guardian ad Litem Clinic: Students represent children's interests in dependency proceedings involving foster care and other out-of-home placements. Under attorney supervision, they address children's needs and best interests in matters involving services, placement, parental rights, and adoption. Eligible students can develop courtroom skills through Florida's certified legal intern process.
- Mediation Clinic: Students observe and conduct mediations in small-claims cases in Orange and Osceola County courts. The four-credit clinic combines fieldwork with a weekly seminar and requires county-court mediator training. Students practice identifying interests, managing negotiations, and helping parties reach agreements; training carries an additional student-paid cost.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Pro bono work is strongly encouraged rather than a stated service-hour graduation requirement. Students can begin after their first semester. FAMU's Community Legal Services partnership includes a mobile helpline and upper-level externships involving housing, family, consumer, and other civil legal problems.
Field placements combine supervised legal work with a faculty seminar and written reflection. Professional Responsibility is a prerequisite, and students may count up to nine placement credits toward the JD. Student internship settings also include the Ninth Circuit State Attorney's Office, Ninth Circuit Public Defender's Office, and Fifth Circuit Regional Conflict Counsel.
12. FAMU Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Robert Abrams: Professor of law focusing on water and environmental law; coauthor of Legal Control of Water Resources and an environmental-law casebook, and a life member of the American Law Institute.
- Mark Dorosin: Associate professor and director of legal clinics and field placements, with experience in civil rights and community economic development; formerly managing attorney of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law's North Carolina office.
- William Henslee: Professor of law and founding faculty member, teaching entertainment, copyright, and related subjects; coauthor of Entertainment Law and Business and holder of an MFA in film from UCLA.
- Jeremy Levitt: Distinguished Professor of International Law, focusing on human rights and international law; a former Fulbright Research Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice at the University of Ottawa.
Journals
- Florida A&M University Law Review: The flagship student-run journal publishes legal scholarship and provides student opportunities in research, writing, and editing. Its work spans legal subjects rather than concentrating on a single practice area.
13. FAMU Law Culture and Student Life
FAMU Law's Orlando campus sits in Parramore, separate from the university's main Tallahassee campus. Day and evening students bring different professional schedules into the same law-school community. Organizations include the Black Law Students Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Society, and Student Bar Association, with panels, speakers, and service activities.
Orlando provides connections to courts, firms, government offices, and civil legal aid. The Community Legal Services partnership makes that connection tangible through student work on local legal problems. Community service is part of the school's day-to-day identity, not simply a topic in the admissions essay.
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Related Reading
→ How to Build a Smart Law School List
→ Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
→ How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships
→ 6 Proven Steps to Get Off a Law School Waitlist
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ What Holistic Law School Admissions Really Means
→ Blog Directory
Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the FAMU Law website before applying.
Think you spotted an outdated requirement or something that doesn't look right? Email moshe@sharperstatements.com with the school and a link to the current information.
