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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 10/30/23
If you’re interested in advocating for people’s rights and freedoms, read on to learn more about the best schools for constitutional law.
What makes a good lawyer? Strong people skills? Excellent critical thinking? Good judgement?
While all of these traits are fundamental to practicing law, they begin with a supportive, resource-rich, and high-quality learning environment. The law school you choose will directly influence the type of lawyer you become.
To ensure you become the best lawyer you can be, it’s essential you carefully consider your options and choose a school that can help you reach your personal and professional goals. This is especially important for students interested in working in constitutional law.
Considering this area of law deals directly with human rights and freedoms, it’s imperative your education equips you with the necessary skills to help maintain equality. To aid you in your decision, this guide will go over the best constitutional law schools in the nation!
Unfortunately, knowing the specialty you want to pursue won’t narrow down your law school options. Almost every accredited law school in the nation offers a constitutional law program!
Out of the 187 constitutional law programs in the nation, here are the top 10 best constitutional law schools based on the resources, support, and experiences they provide. Some are in the Ivy League, while others are at prestigious non-Ivy League institutions. Let’s get into them.
The best law school for constitutional law is Harvard University, which likely comes as no surprise! This T14 law school consistently ranks as one of the best in the nation for various legal specialties. So, if you’re eager to secure a top-notch constitutional law degree, Harvard should be at the top of your list.
Harvard’s constitutional law concentration gives students the opportunity to learn from some of the leading experts in the field. These experts have contributed greatly to the understanding, meaning, and interpretation of the Constitution.
Aside from just learning from the best, students at Harvard consistently engage in intellectual debate to grapple with questions regarding the validity and fairness of the death penalty, what constitutes equality, and much more!
To join these lively debates and be part of a scholarly community, students will need high scores. The median LSAT score to gain admission to Harvard is 174, and the median GPA is 3.92. Only 6.9% of students are able to meet these expectations.
Yale University is also one of the most highly selective constitutional law programs. Students hoping to attend this school should maintain a GPA of around 3.9 and achieve a nearly perfect LSAT score of 175.
Yale has a low acceptance rate of 4.35%, but these lucky few students are given access to some of the best resources the nation has to offer and are highly sought after post-graduation.
Yale is known as the center for scholarship in constitutional law. It offers students an exhaustive list of constitution law courses and a variety of legal clinics to begin getting their feet wet and working with real clients!
Another one of the best schools for constitutional law is Columbia University. Columbia’s Constitutional Law, Regulation, and Public Policy program prepares students to effectively safeguard the nation’s most important institutions, rights, and applications of justice.
Offering students diverse courses and experiential learning opportunities in existing and emerging interpretations and applications of the law, Columbia law aims to produce lawyers that can evolve and respond to the modern realities of the legal world.
One of their most unique experiential learning opportunities includes the Knight First Amendment Institute which defends the freedom of speech in the digital age.
With an acceptance rate of only 11.4%, students will need to wow the admissions committees to stand a chance of getting into Columbia. Prospective students should have GPAs of around 3.87 and LSAT scores of 173 to be considered competitive applicants.
The University of Chicago ties with Columbia Law as the third-best law schools for constitutional law. With a philosophy of teaching through discourse, UChicago students are given reign over their education and encouraged to be active participants in their learning.
Students hoping to join this law school and become well-rounded, socially conscious doers, and critical thinkers, should know they will be up against fierce competition! UChicago only accepts 14.2% of its applicants, and of this 14.2% the majority have LSAT scores of 173 or higher and GPAs of 3.91 or higher.
NYU is a common top law school choice for aspiring lawyers, regardless of their desired area of practice.
For those interested in constitutional law specifically, though, this school boasts of its leading Constitutional, Civil Rights, and Democracy program that features some of the most distinguished faculty in the world!
Some of these faculty members have been involved in prominent discussions surrounding same-sex marriage and executive power after 9/11.
Regardless of the particular constitutional laws or questions you want to learn more about, NYU guarantees students will find enthusiastic faculty and robust experiences to facilitate their pursuit of knowledge and inquiry.
Previous NYU students had a median LSAT score of 172 and GPA of 3.88. This law school has an acceptance rate of 15.7%.
Stanford University is another law school giant that expectedly makes this list. This school offers a constitutional law program that provides students with a deep understanding of the US Constitution and how it is applied to everyday life.
To ensure students receive a unique legal education, Stanford has several academic programs and centers, policy lab practicums, student journals, and multiple student-run organizations.
Most excitingly, this school offers a one-of-its-kind Supreme Court Litigation Clinic that has enabled Stanford students to participate in 260 Supreme Court cases to date! To have a chance of working on these revered cases, you’ll need an LSAT score of around 173 and a GPA of 3.92. Around 6.9% of students meet these standards.
UVA is another one of the best schools for constitutional law. It places emphasis on teaching students about the nation’s past US Constitution and its present constitution, so they can have a comprehensive understanding of the country’s legal landscape.
This school prides itself on its unparalleled courses, seminars, and clinics in this legal specialty. If this sounds like the right school for you, you’ll need to dedicate an adequate amount of time to your LSAT prep, as the median LSAT score of past applicants is 171.
Your GPA will also play a crucial role in the selection process and should be around 3.94 to maximize your chances of acceptance. UVA is highly competitive, with an acceptance rate of only 12.9%.
UC Berkeley accepts 13.7% of its applicants. This limited pool of candidates typically have GPAs of 3.83 and LSAT scores of 169. While these scores will require dedication and hard work to achieve, they will lead to substantial reward.
UC Berkeley is at the forefront of high-quality legal education. This school offers a robust constitutional law program that examines the law, institutions, governments, norms, and decision-making processes that regulate the relationship between the government and its citizens.
To ensure students are ready for practice as soon as they leave law school, UC Berkeley offers substantial hands-on learning experiences to all of its students, which they can begin participating in during their very first semester!
If you’ve ever wondered how members of law enforcement came to recite the famous Miranda warning, starting with the phrase “you have the right to remain silent,” you may be surprised to know this warning was established by the University of Michigan.
Michigan Law has a long tradition of shaping US constitutional laws and prepares its students to do the same in their own careers. With several civil and constitutional law organizations, journals, clinics, and societies, students can expect to receive a comprehensive legal education at Michigan Law.
To be part of a school that has made such significant contributions to the legal system, you’ll need high scores—a 3.83 GPA and 171 LSAT score, to be exact. Michigan Law accepts just under 13.5% of its candidates into its programs each year.
The final school on this list is Georgetown University. As the final T14 law school, it is very selective and has an acceptance rate of 17.6%.
Successful applicants who are granted admission to Georgetown Law receive unrivalled legal experience. Located in Washington, D.C., close to the US Supreme Court, this school is considered to be the literal center of the country’s most engaging constitutional debates.
Beyond constitutional law study, students also have access to various externships, internships, and other opportunities to begin building their resumes and differentiating their post-graduation applications.
But, before worrying about their post-graduate applications, it’s essential prospective students perfect their law school applications. Students should prove their academic excellence by scoring 171 on the LSAT and maintaining a GPA of 3.86.
For any remaining questions about the best constitutional law schools, read on to find your answers.
There are several factors to consider when choosing the perfect law school for you. The main one is the resources it can provide you. Research into the clinics, faculty, and experiences you will have access to in each school, and make your decision based on your findings.
Aside from this, take your budget and ideal location into consideration as well.
Yes, constitutional law is complex and difficult to study. There are seemingly an endless amount of ways to apply these laws, which change over time as society progresses. Aspiring constitutional lawyers must be able to adapt to these changes and understand how to interpret these laws correctly.
The best law school for constitutional law is Harvard University.
Columbia Law is the best school for constitutional law, followed closely by New York University.
You’ll need to score high on the LSAT to be considered competitive at these top-ranking schools. Aim for a score between 169-174 to meet the expectations of these schools.
One of the most common reasons students pursue careers in law is to fight injustice and ensure the distinction between right and wrong is secure and upheld. Constitution law is the best legal field to pursue this passion, as it deals with fundamental human rights and freedoms.
Join a top constitutional law program to ensure you can meet the rigorous demands of constitutional law and can consistently provide the most effective legal aid to your clients!
