SMU Dedman Law excels in recent Best Graduate and Law School national ranking reports and is positioned in the first tier of U.S. law schools

Lee Tempietto and Storey Hall, SMU Dedman School of Law

SMU Dedman School of Law excels in various ranking methodologies as highlighted in Reuters, U.S. News & World Report, and Law.com. These rankings place SMU Dedman Law in the first tier of law schools and emphasize the school’s success in employment outcomes for its students.

Recently, Reuters ranked SMU Dedman Law #15 in the nation among law schools with the highest percentage of 2022 graduates placed in long-term, full-time, bar-passage required jobs.

In March 2023, Law.com in its 2023 Go-To Law Schools hiring report ranked SMU Dedman Law #29 for the highest percentage of 2022 J.D.s into associate jobs at the nation’s largest 100 law firms.

Published online today, SMU Dedman Law rose in the ranks of the nation’s top law schools in the 2023-24 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools. Among 196 law schools fully accredited by the American Bar Association, SMU Dedman Law ranks #45.

The U.S. News methodology for 2023-24 bases nearly 60 percent of its evaluation of law schools on placement and bar passage of graduates - putting greater emphasis this year in measuring law schools’ success in preparing students for jobs after graduation.

In the U.S. News ranking of law programs and specialties, the following subject-specific programs at SMU Dedman Law are in the top 50 in the nation:

- Health Care Law - #29
- Criminal Law - #36
- International Law - #42
- Corporate/Business Law - #47
- Trial Advocacy Law - #47
- Tax Law - #50

“SMU Dedman School of Law continues to provide a legal education of the highest quality,” said SMU Dedman Law Dean Jason P. Nance. “Our faculty and staff are deeply committed to our students’ success in every way.”