How to Get Into UC Law SF (2026-2027 Guide)

The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, is a full-time law school formerly known as UC Hastings. Its strengths include technology and intellectual property, health law, dispute resolution, and public-interest practice, supported by centers and clinics.

This guide walks you through how to get into UC Law SF.

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Admissions numbers
Application essays
Resume
Recommendations
Interviews
Deadlines and testing
Scholarships and cost
Programs and curriculum
Employment outcomes
Areas of study
Clinics and experience
Faculty and journals
Student life

1. UC Law SF Admissions Numbers and Statistics

UC Law SF Class of 2029:

LSAT: 75th: 164 | Median: 162 | 25th: 159
GPA: 75th: 3.85 | Median: 3.73 | 25th: 3.54

UC Law SF Class of 2028:

LSAT: 75th: 163 | Median: 161 | 25th: 158
GPA: 75th: 3.83 | Median: 3.71 | 25th: 3.55

The fall 2026 class enrolled 460 students, compared with 380 in fall 2025. Despite that expansion, the LSAT median rose one point and the GPA median increased by 0.02. All three LSAT quartiles moved up. The GPA distribution was less uniform: the median and upper quartile increased while the lower quartile slipped slightly. Both profiles describe the full-time JD program.

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 Law SF Application Essays

Personal Statement (required)

UC Law SF has no mandatory personal statement topic or hard length limit. Its FAQ recommends two to four pages. The application invites information you consider important to the admission decision, including your particular interest in the school.

For more on addressing school interest within this personal statement, see my Why X Essay Guide.

For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.

Diversity Statement (optional)

An optional diversity statement is accepted.

For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.

Legal Education Opportunity Program Supplement (if applicable)

LEOP applicants must answer all nine supplemental questions about economic and educational circumstances, family background, and barriers to academic preparation. There is no required word count; the school describes 50 to 250 words per response as typically sufficient. A separate statement explaining adversity, its academic impact, and your response is strongly encouraged.

For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.

Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)

Affirmative character and fitness responses require explanations.

I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.

3. UC Law SF Resume Requirements

A current resume is required. Present education, employment, leadership, service, and accomplishments clearly. Give the reader concrete responsibilities and results rather than repeating the personal statement.

For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.

4. UC Law SF Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required. UC Law SF prefers writers who can assess academic ability, though professional supervisors and mentors are also accepted.

For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).

5. UC Law SF Interview Process

UC Law SF does not conduct formal admissions interviews as part of the standard application process.

6. UC Law SF Deadlines and Decision Options

Testing Policy

UC Law SF accepts the LSAT or GRE and identifies the LSAT as its preferred test. The accepted LSAT window is June 2021 through April 2027. GRE scores must be from within five years of application submission. Applicants who have taken both tests must submit the LSAT; submitting the GRE as well is optional.

If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.

Application Dates and Fees

For fall 2027 admission:

Application deadline: April 15, 2027
Application fee: $0 for applications submitted by April 15
Review begins: October
Decision notifications: December through June
Early Decision and Early Action: Neither is offered

Apply through LSAC and register for CAS. The JD enrolls new students in the fall and does not offer a part-time division.

For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?

7. UC Law SF Scholarships and Financial Aid

Merit Scholarships and Need-Based Aid

Merit consideration is automatic. Some scholarships require a 2.7 GPA for renewal. Read the terms of the actual award: a scholarship conditioned on a specified GPA creates a different financial commitment from one renewable in good academic standing alone.

Students invited to seek need-based grants submit the Financial Aid Supplement and FAFSA. Merit scholarship recipients are not eligible for the school's need-based grants.

Cost of Attendance

For 2026-2027, annual tuition and required fees are $55,922 for California residents and $65,477 for nonresidents, before health insurance. The $6,895 insurance premium can be waived with qualifying alternative coverage. Adding the school's listed nine-month living allowances, insurance, books, and loan fees produces a first-year budget of approximately $97,283 for residents or $106,838 for nonresidents. These totals exclude the bar-exam allowance reserved for 3Ls.

A scholarship should be measured against that full budget, not tuition alone. Housing and other living costs remain a substantial part of attending law school in San Francisco.

For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.

8. UC Law SF Dual Degree Programs

UC Law SF offers concurrent and international degree arrangements:

JD/MBA: With UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, UC Davis's Graduate School of Management, or Presidio Graduate School. The Haas and Davis pathways can take four years.
JD/Master's in Applied Economics and Finance: With UC Santa Cruz, following a sample four-year schedule. Students apply separately to UCSC by the end of 2L and obtain approval for shared credits.
JD/LLM: A full third year abroad at SOAS University of London or Paris II Panthéon-Assas combines the JD with advanced study in law and development or European business law.

Concurrent degree students need admission to both institutions and an approved study plan.

9. UC Law SF Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)

UC Law SF Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):

Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 87.0%
BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 34.7%
Federal clerkships: 0.0%
Public service (including government): 20.1%

California is overwhelmingly the leading employment market, with New York a much smaller destination. Large firms account for roughly one-third of the graduating class, while government and public-interest employers together represent another significant path. UC Law SF makes the most sense as a California-focused application with several viable practice directions, rather than an application built around federal clerkship placement.

10. UC Law SF Areas of Study and Specializations

Technology and Intellectual Property: The Center for Innovation and LexLab connect technology-law research with legal startups. The school offers separate Intellectual Property and Technology Law and Lawyering concentrations, while Startup Legal Garage brings supervised business and IP work into the curriculum.

Health Law and Policy: The UCSF-UC Law SF Consortium joins legal scholars with medical and health-policy expertise. Its projects include health-care pricing and competition research, while the Medical-Legal Partnership for Seniors connects law students with patients and their providers.

Business and Tax: The UC Center for Business Law San Francisco and Center on Tax Law support distinct Business Law and Taxation concentrations. Students can connect those subjects to startup representation, social-enterprise counseling, or a concurrent business degree.

Dispute Resolution: The Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution combines negotiation and mediation training with an ADR competition team and the Mediation Clinic. The Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution concentration provides a structured academic path alongside those practical experiences.

International and Public-Interest Practice: The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies combines research and advocacy with opportunities connected to refugee representation. International Law and Social Justice Lawyering concentrations offer different academic foundations for students interested in cross-border problems and community-based legal work.

Employment and Public Institutions: The Center for WorkLife Law studies workplace barriers involving pregnancy and caregiving. Work Law joins Criminal Law, Environmental Law, and Government Law among the school's concentrations, providing options beyond the technology and business fields most closely associated with the Bay Area.

11. UC Law SF Clinics and Experiential Learning

Students can develop distinct kinds of client-service experience:

Immigrants' Rights Clinic: Work on removal defense, asylum, and citizenship matters.
Refugee and Human Rights Clinic: Represent asylum seekers and undertake human-rights advocacy with the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies.
Medical-Legal Partnership for Seniors: Help older adults with health-care planning, public benefits, and related legal needs alongside UCSF and VA providers.
Workers' Rights Clinic: Advise workers through Legal Aid at Work on wages, discrimination, harassment, and unemployment benefits.
Mediation Clinic: Mediate disputes through the San Mateo County Small Claims Court and San Francisco Human Rights Commission.
Low Income Taxpayers Clinic: Assist clients in disputes with the IRS.
Social Enterprise and Economic Empowerment Clinic: Provide transactional counsel to social enterprises and nonprofit organizations.
Startup Legal Garage: Handle corporate and intellectual-property projects for startups under attorney supervision.

Pro Bono and Experiential Learning

Legal externship opportunities include the San Francisco Public Defender's Integrity Unit and Santa Clara County District Attorney's E-crimes Unit. California prosecution and public-defense placements involving pretrial or trial work require the Criminal Practice Clinic first, an important sequencing point for students planning that path.

The voluntary 45-hour Pro Bono Pledge recognizes qualifying service over three years through Pro Bono Society membership. Completing 150 hours earns additional recognition. This is a service commitment students choose, not a mandatory 45-hour graduation requirement.

12. UC Law SF Notable Faculty and Journals

Faculty

Robin Feldman, Arthur J. Goldberg Distinguished Professor of Law and director of the Center for Innovation, studies intellectual property, pharmaceutical competition, and artificial intelligence. She founded Startup Legal Garage.
Dorit Reiss, Professor of Law and James Edgar Hervey '50 Chair of Litigation, works in torts, administrative law, and public-health law, including scholarship on vaccination mandates and religious accommodation.
Jodi Short, Mary Kay Kane Distinguished Professor of Law, studies regulation and corporate compliance. Her scholarship includes In Search of the Public Interest in the Yale Journal on Regulation.
Radhika Rao, Professor of Law, works on constitutional law, property, and bioethics. She clerked for Supreme Court Justices Harry Blackmun and Thurgood Marshall.

Journals

UC Law Journal, the flagship, publishes articles and student notes across legal subjects.
UC Law Business Journal: Scholarship on domestic and international business law.
UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal: Scholarship on entertainment and media law.
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly: Scholarship on contemporary constitutional issues.
UC Law Environmental Journal: Scholarship on environmental law and policy.
UC Law SF International Law Review: Scholarship on international and comparative legal issues.
UC Law SF Journal of Crime & Punishment: Scholarship on criminal law, incarceration, and the legal system.
UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice: Scholarship on feminism, race theory, queer theory, and human rights.
UC Law Journal of Racial and Economic Justice: Scholarship on race, poverty, social justice, and legal disparities.
UC Law Science & Technology Journal: Scholarship on science, technology, and law.

13. UC Law SF Culture and Student Life

First-year students belong to one of five Inns, taking their core courses with that group before gaining more curricular flexibility in later years. That structure gives a large entering class a smaller academic community. Journals, clinics, and student organizations create additional connections across class years.

The San Francisco setting places students near courts, public agencies, firms, and nonprofit organizations. It also makes housing and commuting part of the law-school decision. Think about the daily experience of living in an urban legal center, not just the appeal of a Bay Area address.

Want Help Getting Into UC Law SF?

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Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the UC Law SF 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.