Established in 1845, UNC School of Law is among the oldest law schools in the nation and is the oldest law school in North Carolina. It is consistently ranked in the top-tier of law schools, and its 2011 U.S. News and World Report ranking is No. 30. Further, according to the U.S. News and World Report, UNC School of Law is ranked 17th in reputation among lawyers and judges and 20th among scholars.

With an average J.D. class size of 250, the law school has just over 700 students at any time, and retains a student-faculty ratio of 15.2 to 1. Admissions are highly competitive: for the Fall 2010 entering class, only 18% of applicants were accepted – making it one of the nation’s most selective law schools. Minorities represent 28% of the entering class, and nearly half of the class is female. Seventy-five percent of the incoming class is from North Carolina. This year’s entering class includes students from 22 states, plus 18 exchange students from France, Germany, Scotland, England and the Netherlands.