UC Davis School of Law, known as King Hall, is a public law school in Davis, California. Its strengths include environmental law, immigration, civil rights, business law, and intellectual property, with distinctive water clinics supporting client representation.
This guide walks you through how to get into UC Davis Law.
Jump to a section
1. UC Davis Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
UC Davis Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 167 | Median: 165 | 25th: 163
- GPA: 75th: 3.87 | Median: 3.75 | 25th: 3.56
UC Davis Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 167 | Median: 165 | 25th: 160
- GPA: 75th: 3.87 | Median: 3.70 | 25th: 3.49
The fall 2026 entering class enrolled 257 students, up from 209 in fall 2025. The LSAT median stayed at 165, but the lower quartile rose three points and the GPA median increased to 3.75. The lower GPA quartile also rose, strengthening the lower end of the academic profile.
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. UC Davis Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
Write two to four double-spaced pages in 12-point font with normal margins. UC Davis invites discussion of academic promise, background, maturity, commitment to law, service, employment, and experiences that shaped your preparation.
The four-page maximum covers your personal statement and optional supplements together. Upload one document, with the personal statement first and clearly labeled supplements afterward. A four-page personal statement leaves no room for those additions.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Community Contribution Statement (optional)
This supplement addresses how your background and experiences could contribute a distinct perspective to King Hall and the legal profession, including service to California and beyond. It shares the four-page overall limit.
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
Optional academic, testing, and other explanatory supplements also count toward the shared four-page ceiling. Answer the application's character and fitness questions fully and provide required explanations.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. UC Davis Law Resume Requirements
Submit a resume, ordinarily one page. More extensive experience can justify additional space. Include employment, activities, service, and accomplishments, with hours per week for academic-year commitments. Leave out high school activities.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. UC Davis Law Letters of Recommendation
UC Davis requires two letters of recommendation and accepts up to three through LSAC. Academic letters are strongly recommended; professional letters are also accepted. Family members cannot serve as recommenders.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. UC Davis Law Interview Process
UC Davis does not conduct admissions interviews as part of its evaluation process.
6. UC Davis Law Deadlines and Early Decision
UC Davis offers a three-year, full-time JD with fall entry.
Testing Policy
It accepts the LSAT or GRE, not JD-Next.
If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
Application Dates and Fees
There is no application fee.
- Applications open: September 1.
- Binding Early Decision application: November 1; all supporting materials are due November 15.
- Early Decision notification: By November 30.
- Early Decision deposit: $750 by January 1.
- Regular priority deadline: March 15.
- Final application deadline: June 1.
Early Decision
Early Decision admits must immediately withdraw other applications and decline other offers. An applicant held for regular review is no longer bound. October is ordinarily the last LSAT opportunity for first-time ED applicants; an October score not released by November 15 moves the application into regular review.
For regular admission, first-time LSAT or GRE takers must test no later than April of the entering year. UC Davis recommends the February LSAT for priority consideration. Decisions are rolling, beginning as early as November and continuing into early May.
Apply early with your strongest complete file. Choose binding admission only when King Hall is your first choice and you can commit before comparing competing aid offers. The competitive ED scholarships do not cover every ED admit.
For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
7. UC Davis Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
Dean's Merit Scholarship consideration is automatic. Awards generally cover three years, subject to good academic standing and satisfactory progress, without an additional cumulative GPA or class-rank condition.
Select Scholars
The Select Scholars program offers four competitive Early Decision scholarships of $60,000 over three years. The categories recognize UC graduates, science and innovation, service, and environmental leadership. ED applicants receive automatic consideration, with recipients notified before the January 1 deposit deadline.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Interest Scholarship
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Interest Scholarship awards $60,000 over three years to two entering students. It requires a separate application by March 1 and can be combined with other aid.
Need-Based Aid and Cost
Need-based consideration requires the FAFSA or applicable California Dream Act application and the UC Davis Law Need Application. March 2 is the priority financial-aid date.
For 2026-27, first-year tuition and fees are $62,636 for California residents and $74,881 for nonresidents. The corresponding attendance budgets, excluding student health insurance, are $89,649 and $101,894. Eligible public interest graduates can receive forgivable loans through King Hall's Loan Repayment Assistance Program, with eligibility reviewed every six months.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. UC Davis Law Joint Degree Programs
UC Davis has formal combined-degree arrangements for:
- JD/MBA: With the Graduate School of Management.
- JD/MS in Environmental Policy and Management: With the Environmental Policy and Management graduate program.
Combined programs generally take four years. Apply separately to both programs and complete the first year of law school before beginning graduate coursework. Students need a law GPA of at least 2.5 to proceed with a combined program.
9. UC Davis Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
UC Davis Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 91.7%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 30.4%
- Federal clerkships: 1.5%
- Public service (including government): 26.5%
California overwhelmingly dominates placement. The large-firm result is meaningful, but it captures only part of King Hall's appeal: government and public interest work account for another substantial share. UC Davis makes the most sense when California fits your professional plans, rather than as a location-neutral path into any market.
10. UC Davis Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Environmental and Water Law: The California Environmental Law and Policy Center connects scholarship with environmental policy. The Environmental Law Concentration and two water-focused clinics let students approach the field through coursework, research, and representation involving communities and agricultural water users.
Immigration and Civil Rights: The Immigration Law Concentration, Immigration Law Clinic, and Civil Rights Clinic connect doctrinal study to advocacy. Students can work on removal defense, detention issues, and federal civil rights litigation while developing interviewing, research, and courtroom skills.
Business and Tax Law: The Center for Business Law and Society supports research and practitioner programming. Business Law and Tax Law concentrations provide focused course pathways, while corporate-counsel and tax externships connect transactional and regulatory study to legal practice.
Intellectual Property and Technology: The Center for Innovation, Law, and Society examines the relationship between law, science, and emerging technologies. The Intellectual Property Concentration provides a structured curriculum, with related opportunities involving licensing, patent research, privacy, and innovation policy.
International and Comparative Law: The Center for International Law and Policy supports research and professional development in transnational legal practice. Students can combine its programming with the International and Comparative Law Concentration and work on the Journal of International Law & Policy.
11. UC Davis Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
King Hall operates five in-house clinics:
- Immigration Law Clinic: Students interview clients, investigate facts, prepare filings, and represent immigrants in matters involving removal, detention, and appeals under faculty supervision.
- Civil Rights Clinic: Students represent prisoners and other indigent clients in federal litigation, drafting pleadings, conducting discovery, preparing motions, and developing appellate arguments.
- Domestic and Sexual Violence Law Clinic: Students assist survivors with protective orders and related family matters, prepare evidence and witnesses, and participate in hearings and Yolo County self-help workshops.
- Water Justice Clinic: Students work with underserved communities on drinking-water access, including transactional matters and consolidations with larger water systems.
- Small Farmer Water Justice Clinic: Students represent and educate small farmers, address groundwater rights, and participate in administrative proceedings affecting agricultural water access.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
The voluntary Pro Bono Distinction recognizes at least 50 hours of supervised, unpaid legal service outside academic credit. Judicial externships include opportunities at the California Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit. Tax placements include the Internal Revenue Service, Franchise Tax Board, and California Office of Tax Appeals. Capital Law Scholars placements focus on legislative and policy work.
12. UC Davis Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Afra Afsharipour: John D. Ayer Professor of Law and director of the Center for Business Law and Society. Studies corporate governance and mergers; co-editor of Comparative Corporate Governance.
- Albert C. Lin: Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law and environmental center co-director. Studies environmental law and natural resources; previously a Justice Department environmental trial attorney.
- Gabriel “Jack” Chin: Edward L. Barrett Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law and director of clinical legal education. Studies criminal law and immigration; his scholarship has been cited by the Supreme Court.
- Ashutosh Bhagwat: Boochever and Bird Distinguished Professor of Law. Studies constitutional and administrative law; author of The Myth of Rights.
Journals
- UC Davis Law Review: Legal scholarship by academics, practitioners, and student editors.
- UC Davis Business Law Journal: Analysis of issues at the intersection of business and law.
- Environs: Scholarship on environmental law and policy, especially California issues.
- Journal of International Law & Policy: Articles on international law and policy.
- Social Justice Law Review: Public interest scholarship on social justice.
- Immigration & Nationality Law Review: Reprints of immigration scholarship from other law journals.
13. UC Davis Law Culture and Student Life
King Hall sits within the larger UC Davis campus, with the law school courtyard and King Hall Coffee providing everyday gathering places. Students also have access to the Arboretum, Shields Library, and university recreation. The setting is a college community rather than a downtown law-school tower.
That environment sits alongside a practical California focus. Sacramento brings state government within reach, while clinics involve nearby communities and organizations. Journals, public service projects, and student organizations offer different ways to become involved without making every activity an extension of recruiting.
Want Help Getting Into UC Davis Law?
I work with applicants one-on-one on the whole application process, from strategy through essays and submission.
Explore my services | Request a consultation
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 UC Davis 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.
