Howard University School of Law: The Civil-Rights Powerhouse

Is Howard University School of Law a good law school?

Yes, for the applicant who values mission, legacy, and network over ranking. Howard is the most influential historically Black law school in American history, and its alumni hold a remarkable share of the country’s Black judiciary, civil-rights leadership, and public-service legal positions. For students drawn to that tradition, no school in the country offers more.

The honest counterweight is conventional. Its U.S. News rank is #117, and its first-time bar pass rate sits below the average for its main jurisdictions, so the numbers a generalist applicant scans will look modest.

The way to read Howard is that its value is concentrated in things rankings do not measure: a 150-year mission, a singular place in legal history, and a network that opens doors specific to civil-rights, government, and public-interest careers. Matched to the right applicant, it is one of the most powerful choices in legal education.

What is Howard Law’s acceptance rate?

Howard Law’s acceptance rate is 24% for the 2025 cycle, with 584 offers from 2,428 applications. The enrolled class posted a median LSAT of 156 and a median GPA of 3.63, with the middle 50% scoring between 153 and 160 on the LSAT.

That 24% rate is actually tighter than several higher-ranked D.C. schools, including GW and American, which surprises applicants who look only at the LSAT median. The explanation is Howard’s admissions philosophy: it reviews holistically and weighs alignment with its mission, so the record as a whole, not just the score, drives decisions.

How does Howard compare to other Washington, D.C. law schools?

Howard sits in the District’s accessible-by-numbers tier while admitting selectively by rate. The table uses each school’s 2025 ABA 509 data; for the full landscape, see our guide to law schools in Washington, D.C.

Howard and UDC are the District’s two HBCU law schools, but they play different roles. UDC is public, clinic-intensive, and built for local public-interest access at the lowest cost; Howard is private, national in reach, and built around a civil-rights legacy and an elite alumni network.

What is Howard Law known for?

Howard Law is known, above all, as the engine room of the American civil-rights movement. Founded in 1869 to train Black lawyers at a time when nearly every other law school excluded them, it became the institution that produced much of the country’s Black legal profession for generations.

Charles Hamilton Houston and the desegregation strategy

In the 1930s, Charles Hamilton Houston transformed Howard Law into a rigorous, fully accredited institution and built it into the legal laboratory for dismantling “separate but equal.” Houston trained his students to be social engineers, lawyers who used the Constitution as a tool for social change, and he architected the litigation campaign that the NAACP would carry to the Supreme Court.

His most famous student was Thurgood Marshall, who graduated first in his Howard Law class in 1933, served as lead counsel in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, and became the first Black Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. That lineage is why Howard is often called the academic home of modern constitutional and civil-rights litigation.

Mission, network, and public service

That history is not a museum piece; it shapes the school today. Howard remains explicitly mission-driven, with a student body that is overwhelmingly diverse, and it funnels graduates into human rights, civil-rights, and government work where its name carries real weight. Its alumni network across the judiciary, Congress, federal agencies, and the civil-rights bar is unmatched for a school of its size.

For an applicant aiming at human-rights or civil-rights practice, public service, or the judiciary, that network is the asset that the overall ranking simply does not capture.

How much does Howard Law cost?

Full-time tuition at Howard Law is about $39,780 for 2025-26, with a total estimated cost of attendance near $71,710 a year once living expenses are included. That makes Howard the most affordable of the District’s private law schools, well below GW, American, and Catholic.

Aid is common: roughly half of students receive grant or scholarship funding. For a mission-driven applicant headed into public-interest or government work, where salaries are modest, that lower cost and aid availability materially change the debt math. See our guides to the cost of law school and law school scholarships to model your real number.

What are Howard Law’s bar passage and employment outcomes?

This is where candor matters. Howard’s first-time bar passage rate for the Class of 2024 was about 77%, below the average for the jurisdictions where its graduates most often sit (primarily New York and Maryland). Any applicant should plan for serious, sustained bar preparation.

Employment is stronger than the rank suggests, and it leans toward exactly the careers Howard is built for. Roughly 84% of the Class of 2024 landed bar-required positions, with most full-time and long-term, and the school’s network pushes graduates into government, the judiciary, public-interest organizations, and firms with civil-rights and public-policy practices.

The pattern, again, is that Howard rewards students who lean into its mission and network rather than treating the degree as a generic credential. Used that way, its outcomes in public service and civil-rights law outrun what #117 would imply.

Who should choose Howard Law?

Choose Howard if you want to practice civil-rights, human-rights, government, or public-interest law, you value the HBCU experience and mission, and you want access to the most storied network in that world. For that applicant, Howard is close to unmatched, and its affordability strengthens the case.

If your priority is a high overall rank, a guaranteed BigLaw salary, or the District’s strongest bar-passage numbers, Georgetown or GW fit better; compare across the field with our best law schools on the East Coast. Howard awards the standard Juris Doctor (JD) over three years of full-time study, and its mission-aligned admissions reward applicants who can show a genuine reason to be there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Howard University School of Law a good law school?

Yes, for applicants who value mission, legacy, and network. Howard is the nation’s preeminent historically Black law school, with an unmatched civil-rights legacy and alumni network, though its overall U.S. News rank (#117) and bar passage are modest.

What is Howard Law’s acceptance rate?

Howard Law’s acceptance rate is 24% for the 2025 cycle, with 584 offers from 2,428 applications. The enrolled class posted a median LSAT of 156 and a median GPA of 3.63.

What is Howard Law known for?

Howard Law is known as the engine of the civil-rights movement. Founded in 1869, it was shaped by Charles Hamilton Houston and educated Thurgood Marshall, lead counsel in Brown v. Board of Education and the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice. It remains a leader in civil-rights, human-rights, and public-interest law.

How much does Howard Law cost?

Full-time tuition is about $39,780 for 2025-26, with a total estimated cost of attendance near $71,710 a year. Howard is the most affordable of the District’s private law schools, and about half of students receive grant aid.

What is Howard Law’s bar passage rate?

Howard’s first-time bar passage rate for the Class of 2024 was about 77%, below the average for its primary jurisdictions (mainly New York and Maryland). Applicants should plan for rigorous bar preparation.

Is Howard Law a historically Black law school?

Yes. Howard is one of only six HBCU law schools in the United States and the most prominent, founded in 1869 to train Black lawyers. UDC’s David A. Clarke School of Law is the other HBCU law school in Washington, D.C.