After the establishment of this institution in 1949, the University of San Diego has grown to become one of the most respected Universities in California. Initially, it was known as San Diego College for Women and San Diego University.
This private university which is located in the city of San Diego has a motto “Send Forth thy Spirit”. Founded by the Roman Catholic Church, there are strong principles by which students abide.
The institution was formally governed by the Diocese of San Diego before a lay board of trustees took over all affairs regarding administration in the University. However, an enrolment strength of over 5,000 and an academic staff strength of close to 900 help keep up operations in the University.
Interestingly, the University has an acceptance rate of 41% and a graduation rate of 77% keeps the school as a highly sought after law school.
In addition to Law, there are over 79 degrees at the Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate level in the university.
Conclusively, University of San Diego has been ranked between 801-1000 by QS Rankings, 126 by Washington Monthly, 85 by U.S News and World Report and 140 by Forbes.
School Website
12. University of California Hastings
Tuition: $55,538 per year
This University is a public law school located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878, by the first Chief Justice of California, it became one of the first law schools to be instituted in the United States.
This institution stands out as one of the affiliated law schools that doesn’t share a campus with other postgraduate and undergraduate programs run by the institution.
Despite being located in the Ugliest part of the most beautiful city, it has an enrolment number of over 900 and has enjoyed bar pass success rate of 76%.
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The University of Hastings is managed by a nine-member Board of Directors who oversee the running of the school. Surprisingly, the Board exist independently and never report to the Regents of the University of California.
This institution offers a three year Juris Doctor program with a lot of concentration in criminal law, taxation, public interest, family, intellectual property law just to name a few.
Hastings takes part in the Concurrent Degree Program with U.C. Berkeley’s Haas Graduate School of Business. Therefore, upon completion of a four-year program, the student earns a Berkeley M.B.A. degree and a J.D. degree from UC Hastings College of the Law.
This University is ranked the 62nd best law school to study in as they continue to improve year to year.
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11. University of California Berkeley
Tuition: $55,345.50 per year
Founded in 1868, the University of California is a public university and stands as the flagship for ten campuses.
Berkeley’s total enrollment stands 42,519: 30,853 undergraduate and 11,666 graduate students, with women accounting for 52.6% of undergraduates and 46.4% of graduate and professional students.
However, to get admitted into UC Berkeley, you must pass an entry-level writing requirement before enrollment (typically fulfilled by minimum scores on standardized admissions exams such as the SAT or ACT). In addition, you must complete coursework on “American History and Institutions” before or after enrollment by taking an introductory class. Finally, you’ll need to pass an “American Cultures Breadth” class at Berkeley, as well as requirements for reading and composition and specific requirements declared by the department and school.
Berkeley alumni, faculty members and researchers have together won 107 Nobel laureates, 25 Turing Award winners, and 14 Fields Medalists. Furthermore, they have also won 19 Wolf Prizes, 45 MacArthur Fellowships,[13] 20 Academy Awards, 19 Pulitzer Prizes, and 207 Olympic medals (117 gold, 51 silver and 39 bronze).
University of California Berkeley ranks 5th internationally in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, 28th in the QS World University Rankings, 13th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and 4th in the U.S. News & World Report Global University Rankings. This ranking makes it a big part of our list on the cheapest law schools in California.
School Website
10. Chapman University
Tuition: $54, 540 per year
This is a private university located in Orange, California. It was established in 1861 and has Daniele C. Struppa as the President.
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Chapman University possesses 110 areas of study (49 majors and 61 minors), and encompasses ten schools and colleges: Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Argyros School of Business and Economics, the School of Communication, Schmid College of Science and Technology, College of Performing Arts, Dale E. Fowler School of Law, College of Educational Studies, the School of Pharmacy and the Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.
However, the Chapman University School of Law is located in Kennedy Hall. Law degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees in various specialities.
It was ranked 125th for the very first time by the National Universities Group. Subsequently, it has ranked 5th among Master’s level universities in the Western region, while nationally the business school was ranked tied for 85th, the education school tied for 143rd, and the law school tied for 132nd.
School Website
9. University of California Los Angeles
Tuition: $54,052.30 per year
The University is a public research university in Los Angeles. established in 1919, it is one of the oldest of the campuses in Southern California.
To further show their credibility, the institution boasts of a graduation rate of 91% and an acceptance rate of 18%.
The University of California, Los Angeles is sectioned into six undergraduate colleges, seven professional schools, and four professional health science schools. The undergraduate colleges are the College of Letters and Science; Samueli School of Engineering; School of the Arts and Architecture; Herb Alpert School of Music; School of Theater, Film and Television; and School of Nursing.
Admission rates vary in this institution because of certain laws that restrict admission. However, this institution boasts of having one of the best colleges and the affordable tuition makes it one of the cheapest law schools in California.
Times Higher Education ranked the school 15th in the world for academics, No.1 US Public University for academics, and 13th in the world for reputation. In 2019, it ranked 14th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings.
School Website
8. University of California Davis
Tuition: $53,220 per year
This University is a public research university adjacent to Davis, California. It has the third-largest enrollment in the system after UCLA and UC Berkeley.
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The law school of the University has been recognized as one of the exceptional schools and is regarded as one of the cheapest law schools in California.
An acceptance rate of 42% increases your chances of getting admitted although you’ll have to meet the requirements stated by the institution.
However, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Davis the 11th-best public university in the United States, 39th nationally and 60th globally. Washington Monthly ranked UC Davis 11th in its 2019 National University ranking, based on its contribution to the public good as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.
School Website
7. Santa Clara University
Tuition: $52,528 per year
This is a private Jesuit University founded in 1851. Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California and the west coast of the United States and has remained in its original location for 168 years.
Santa Clara University offers bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and doctoral degrees through its six colleges, the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Education and Counseling Psychology, Leavey School of Business, School of Engineering, Jesuit School of Theology, and School of Law.
The law school offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degree. It also offers several double degree programs, including J.D./Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.) and J.D./Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS), offered in conjunction with Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, ranked 10th in graduate programs on the U.S. News & World Report graduate schools rankings.
A graduation rate of 85% and an acceptance rate of 48% makes it easy to get admitted into the law school.
School Website
5. Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Tuition: $51,000 per year
Established in 1969, Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a private law school located in San Diego, California. This school accredited by the American Bar Association but there have been threats to remove it.
Sadly, the School of Law is not ranked in National Jurist’s rankings of the top 80 law schools in the United States. Furthermore, the bar pass rate was 25% for first-time takers and 10% for repeat takers.
The law school offers Master of Laws (LL.M.), Master of Science of Law (M.S.L) and JSD “Doctor of Laws or Juridical Science” degrees
School Website
5. Golden State University
Tuition: $51,000 per year.
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This private, non-profit, nonsectarian university located in San Francisco, California was founded in 1901. The law school is one of the professional graduate schools of Golden Gate University. Therefore, it is located in downtown San Francisco, California and is fully accredited by the American Bar Association.
Golden State University offers a first degree in law (J.D.) and first graduate degrees in law (L.L.M., and doctoral S.J.D.) programs in intellectual property, environmental law, taxation, U.S. legal studies and international law.
In addition, students also may get combined degrees: J.D./M.B.A. with Golden Gate University’s Ageno School of Business or J.D./Ph.D. with Palo Alto University.
An interesting 34% of Golden Gate graduates passed the bar exam on their first trial which shows the level of training instilled and yet it stands as one of the cheapest law colleges in California.
The law school of Golden State University received an “A” in The National Jurist 2016 rankings in the “Most Diverse” and “Best for Practical Training” categories. The school’s Environmental Law Program was ranked in 2012 by the U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 25 programs in the nation.
School Website
4. University of San Francisco
Tuition: $50,770 per year
The University is located between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Golden Gate Park. USC records a graduation rate of 70% and an acceptance rate of 71%. For this cause, it ranks as one of the universities with a high acceptance rate.
They offer more than 230 undergraduate, graduate, professional, and certificate programs on its main Hilltop Campus. USF also offers programs at several additional campuses.
USF was ranked tied for 97th overall by U.S. News & World Report, tied for 63rd “Best College for Veterans”, and 67th in “Best Value” in the National University category in 2020.
School Website
3. Western State University
Tuition: $42,860 per year
Western University is a public university established in 1901 that offers a full complement of degrees in the technical fields of computer science and engineering.
An admission rate of 92% and a graduation of 36% make it one of the cheapest law schools in California where you can easily admitted to study.
They offer over 100 undergraduate areas of study and seven graduate areas of study including law and engineering.
U.S. News & World Report placed this school in three categories for 2020: Regional Universities West, Top Performers in Social Mobility, and regional Top Public Schools. Forbes designated Western Colorado University as one of the top 100 institutions in the West in 2017. Western has also appeared on Forbes lists in 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015 and 2014. Elevation Outdoors magazine named Western the “Top Adventure School in the West” for the third time in 2017. LendEDU lists Western as having among the lowest student-debt rates in the nation.
School Website
2. University of La Verne College of Law
Tuition: $30,280 per year
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This is an accredited law school founded in 1970 and located in Ontario, Canada.
University of La Verne College of Law offers the Juris Doctor (JD) law degree. The program requires 88 credits which can be completed on a full-time basis over 3 years or on a part-time basis over 4 years.
The school also offers two dual degree programs in conjunction with the University of La Verne College of Business and Public Management, the Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA) and Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration (JD/MPA).
Unfortunately, the school is “unranked” in the U.S. News & World Report, “Best Law Schools” report.
School Website
1. Standford University
Tuition: $20,725 per year
Standford University is a private research university in Stanford, California. The school is known for its academic achievements, wealth, close proximity to Silicon Valley.
This University holds the top spot in our list of cheapest law schools in California. However, this doesn’t equate to a bad system but an added encouragement for students who wish to study.
Although the acceptance rate is as low as 5%, the graduation rate spikes at 95%. The university is organized around three traditional schools consisting of 40 academic departments at the undergraduate and graduate level and four professional schools that focus on graduate programs in law, medicine, education and business.
Very importantly, Stanford ranks high and often first in many domestic college ranking measures, leading Slate to dub Stanford in 2014 as “the Harvard of the 21st century,” and The New York Times in the same year to conclude that “Stanford University has become America’s ‘it’ school, by measures that Harvard once dominated.