10 Best Law Schools in Texas

Texas produces more new lawyers than almost any state outside California and New York, and the market rewards them. Houston runs on energy and health care. Dallas and Fort Worth run on corporate finance and litigation. Austin runs on technology and government. San Antonio runs on military, health, and public service.

The state’s law schools reflect that spread. Two are national research programs. Two are trial-advocacy powerhouses. Two compete hard on price. All 10 send most of their graduates into the Texas bar, which makes the state bar exam the single most useful measuring stick available.

That measuring stick moved in 2025. Graduates of Texas law schools taking the bar exam for the first time passed at 90.67 percent in July 2025, the first time in more than 20 years that the figure cleared 90 percent. The rate for all first-time takers in the state, including out-of-state graduates, was 84.11 percent.

The 10 law schools in Texas covered in this guide are:

1. University of Houston Law Center (Houston, public)
2. South Texas College of Law Houston (Houston, private)
3. University of Texas School of Law (Austin, public)
4. Texas A&M University School of Law (Fort Worth, public)
5. St. Mary’s University School of Law (San Antonio, private)
6. Baylor University School of Law (Waco, private)
7. Texas Tech University School of Law (Lubbock, public)
8. Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Houston, public)
9. University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law (Dallas, public)
10. SMU Dedman School of Law (Dallas, private)

The numbering below groups the schools for comparison. It is not a strict quality ranking. The best law school in Texas is the one whose cost, market, and specialty match what you intend to do with the degree, and that answer changes from applicant to applicant.

1. University of Houston Law Center

The University of Houston Law Center is a public law school in Houston with a 22.99 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 163, and a median GPA of 3.79. Founded in 1947, it is the strongest Texas option for health law, energy law, and intellectual property, and it sits inside the largest legal market in the state.

What is the background of the University of Houston Law Center?

The University of Houston Law Center opened in 1947 and is located at 4604 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77204. It is the flagship public law school of Texas’s largest city, and it operates specialized institutes in health law, intellectual property, and energy, along with clinics in entertainment law, immigration, and entrepreneurship.

Location is the whole argument for UH. The campus sits minutes from the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, and a short drive from the energy corridor that runs Houston’s economy. Health law and energy law students at UH are not reading about the industry. They are interning in it.

What are the admissions requirements at the University of Houston Law Center?

The University of Houston Law Center admitted 22.99 percent of applicants for the fall 2025 entering class. The school received 3,510 applications, extended 807 offers, and enrolled 246 first-year students. The median LSAT was 163, with a 25th to 75th percentile range of 160 to 165. The median undergraduate GPA was 3.79.

A 163 LSAT is a realistic target for a strong applicant who prepares seriously. That number sits above the national median and well below the T14 threshold, which makes UH the highest-value target in Texas for applicants scoring in the low 160s.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at the University of Houston Law Center?

The University of Houston Law Center reports a first-time bar passage rate of roughly 89 percent, and full-time tuition of about $37,554 for Texas residents and $52,279 for non-residents. Overall employment at 10 months after graduation runs near 95 percent. The Law Center offers a locked tuition rate, meaning the rate you enroll at holds for all three years.

Degrees offered at UH include the JD, an LLM with concentrations in health law, energy and environmental law, intellectual property and information law, international law, and tax law, plus joint degrees including JD/MBA, JD/MPH, and JD/MD with Baylor College of Medicine.

Read the full profile in our guide to the University of Houston Law Center, and compare it against the best health law schools if health practice is the goal.

2. South Texas College of Law Houston

South Texas College of Law Houston is a private law school with a 33.65 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 155, and a median GPA of 3.41. It has the highest acceptance rate of any Texas law school and the strongest advocacy program, having won more national trial and moot court championships than any law school in the country.

What is the background of South Texas College of Law Houston?

South Texas College of Law Houston was founded in 1923 and is located at 1303 San Jacinto Street, Houston, TX 77002. It is the oldest law school in Houston and the third oldest in Texas. The school is independent, meaning it is not attached to a parent university, and it built its national reputation on advocacy competition.

The advocacy record is the headline. South Texas teams have taken more national advocacy championships than any other US law school, and the training filters into the classroom. Students who want to try cases, not paper them, take this school seriously regardless of its rank.

What are the admissions requirements at South Texas College of Law Houston?

South Texas College of Law Houston admitted 33.65 percent of applicants for fall 2025. The school received 2,770 applications, made 932 offers, and enrolled 437 first-year students, the largest 1L class in Texas. The median LSAT was 155, with a 153 to 158 range. The median GPA was 3.41, with a 3.08 to 3.65 range.

This is the most accessible ABA-accredited law school in Texas by acceptance rate. Applicants in the low 150s with a GPA in the 3.2 to 3.5 band have a realistic path here that does not exist at A&M, UT, or Baylor.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at South Texas College of Law Houston?

South Texas College of Law Houston reports a first-time bar passage rate of roughly 91 percent and annual full-time tuition of about $44,960. That bar result outperforms the overall Texas first-time rate by a wide margin, which is the number that matters more than the school’s national rank.

The school offers the JD full time and part time, including evening and weekend options built for working students. That flexibility is rare in Texas and is a decisive factor for career changers.

Read our full profile of South Texas College of Law Houston, and see the best trial advocacy law schools for the national picture.

3. University of Texas School of Law

The University of Texas School of Law is the highest-ranked law school in Texas, with a 14 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 172, and a median GPA of 3.89. Founded in 1883, Texas Law is a national program with federal clerkship and large-firm placement that no other school in the state matches.

What is the background of the University of Texas School of Law?

The University of Texas School of Law opened in 1883 and is located at 727 East Dean Keeton Street, Austin, TX 78705. It is the flagship public law school of Texas and consistently ranks in the national top 20. Its alumni fill the Texas judiciary, the state’s largest firms, and a disproportionate share of federal clerkships.

Austin does the rest of the work. The state capitol, the Texas Supreme Court, the legislature, and a technology sector that generates constant intellectual property and regulatory work all sit within walking or driving distance of the campus.

What are the admissions requirements at the University of Texas School of Law?

The University of Texas School of Law admitted about 14 percent of applicants for fall 2025. The school received 6,297 applications and made 881 offers. The median LSAT was 172, with a 166 to 173 range. The median GPA was 3.89, with a 3.75 to 3.96 range. Texas Law also runs a binding early decision program that grants resident tuition rates to admitted non-residents.

That early decision term is the most valuable admissions feature in Texas. A non-resident admitted through binding early decision pays in-state tuition for all three years, which can be worth more than $55,000 across the degree.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at the University of Texas School of Law?

The University of Texas School of Law reports a first-time bar passage rate of 95.9 percent and tuition of about $38,236 for Texas residents and $56,822 for non-residents. Overall employment 10 months after graduation runs near 98 percent, with more than 91 percent of graduates in full-time, long-term, bar-required positions.

Texas Law offers the JD, an LLM, and an SJD, plus joint degrees with the business school, the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and other university programs.

Read our full profile of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, and see where it lands nationally in the law school rankings.

4. Texas A&M University School of Law

Texas A&M University School of Law is the most selective law school in Texas, with a 12.1 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 169, and a median GPA of 4.00. It has climbed faster than any law school in the country over the last decade and now ranks around #22 nationally, with a top-10 intellectual property program.

What is the background of Texas A&M University School of Law?

Texas A&M University School of Law is located at 1515 Commerce Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102. The school opened in 1989 as the Dallas/Fort Worth School of Law, later became Texas Wesleyan School of Law, and was acquired by Texas A&M University in 2013. Since the acquisition it has raised its LSAT median by 12 points and its GPA median by 0.59.

The trajectory is the story. In 2016 the school’s median LSAT was 157. For the fall 2025 class it was 169. That is the largest single-decade improvement of any law school in the United States, and it was bought with money, faculty hires, and aggressive scholarship spending.

What are the admissions requirements at Texas A&M University School of Law?

Texas A&M University School of Law admitted 12.1 percent of applicants for fall 2025. The school received 5,240 applications, made 634 offers, and enrolled 121 first-year students. The median LSAT was 169, with a 161 to 170 range. The median GPA was 4.00, the highest GPA median of any ABA-accredited law school in the country, with a 3.67 to 4.00 range.

Read the numbers carefully before you apply. A 4.00 GPA median means A&M is buying GPA, and applicants with a 3.6 GPA need an LSAT well above 169 to compete. The class is also tiny, at roughly 121 students, which compresses the odds further.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at Texas A&M University School of Law?

Texas A&M University School of Law reports a first-time bar passage rate around 93 percent and tuition of about $32,634 for Texas residents and $48,522 for non-residents. That combination, a top-25 national rank at public-school pricing, is the reason its Texas A&M law school ranking rose so quickly.

A&M offers the JD, an LLM, a Master of Legal Studies, and online graduate legal certificates. Its intellectual property program consistently ranks in the national top 10, and its dispute resolution program ranks in the top 5.

The intellectual property strength is worth a separate look. Compare it against the national field in our guide to the best intellectual property law schools, and see the career path in our intellectual property lawyer guide.

5. St. Mary’s University School of Law

St. Mary’s University School of Law is a private Catholic law school in San Antonio with a 25.98 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 153, and a median GPA of 3.49. It is the strongest Texas school for public service, human rights, and immigration practice, driven by a large clinical program.

What is the background of St. Mary’s University School of Law?

St. Mary’s University School of Law was founded in 1927 and is located at One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX 78228. It is the only law school in San Antonio and the oldest Catholic law school in the Southwest. Its Center for Legal and Social Justice houses the clinics, which handle immigration, human rights, civil justice, and criminal defense matters for real clients.

The mission is not decoration. Students are required to complete pro bono service before graduation, and the school publishes The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race and Social Justice alongside its main law journal.

What are the admissions requirements at St. Mary’s University School of Law?

St. Mary’s University School of Law admitted 25.98 percent of applicants for fall 2025. The school received 2,906 applications, made 755 offers, and enrolled 279 first-year students. The median LSAT was 153, with a 151 to 156 range. The median GPA was 3.49, with a 3.14 to 3.69 range.

The GPA range is unusually wide. A 3.14 at the 25th percentile means St. Mary’s reads applications holistically and will take a strong LSAT over a strong transcript. That is useful information for a career changer with an uneven undergraduate record.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at St. Mary’s University School of Law?

St. Mary’s University School of Law reports annual tuition and fees of about $46,310, and its July 2025 first-time bar passage rate was 84.54 percent. Its two-year ultimate bar passage rate runs near 87 percent, which is the more forgiving and arguably more honest measure for a school that admits a wider band of applicants.

St. Mary’s offers the JD full time and part time, an online JD, and LLM programs in international and comparative law. The online JD was one of the first ABA-approved fully online JD programs in the country.

Read our full profile of St. Mary’s University School of Law, and see the specialty field in our human rights law schools guide.

6. Baylor University School of Law

Baylor University School of Law is a private law school in Waco with a 20.6 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 164, and a median GPA of 3.77. It runs the most demanding litigation training program in Texas, known as Practice Court, and posts one of the highest bar passage rates in the country.

What is the background of Baylor University School of Law?

Baylor University School of Law traces its founding to 1857 and is located at 1114 South University Parks Drive, Waco, TX 76706. It is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and among the smallest, enrolling roughly 165 first-year students across three entering quarters: spring, summer, and fall.

Practice Court is what Baylor is known for. It is a full-quarter litigation immersion, widely described as one of the hardest experiences in American legal education, and it produces graduates who can stand up in a courtroom on day one. Firms in Texas hire Baylor graduates specifically for that reason.

What are the admissions requirements at Baylor University School of Law?

Baylor University School of Law admitted 20.6 percent of applicants for fall 2025. The school received 3,658 applications, made 753 offers, and enrolled 165 first-year students. The median LSAT was 164, with a 159 to 165 range. The median GPA was 3.77, with a 3.47 to 3.85 range.

Baylor’s three-start calendar is an underused admissions lever. Spring and summer entering classes are smaller and less crowded, and an applicant who misses the fall cycle can often start months earlier than they could anywhere else in Texas.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at Baylor University School of Law?

Baylor University School of Law reports a first-time bar passage rate of 94.9 percent, roughly 13 points above the overall Texas rate, and annual tuition in the high $60,000s. Overall employment at 10 months runs near 98 percent, with more than 95 percent of graduates in bar-required positions and a federal clerkship rate above 6 percent.

Baylor offers the JD plus five dual degrees: JD/MBA, JD/MBA in Healthcare Administration, JD/Master of Taxation, JD/Master of Divinity, and JD/Master of Public Policy and Administration. For a school of this size, that dual-degree range is unusual.

Baylor is expensive, and that is the honest trade. You pay private-school tuition in a small city for elite litigation training and near-perfect employment outcomes. If you intend to litigate in Texas, the math generally works. If you intend to do transactional work in New York, it does not.

Read our full profile of Baylor University School of Law, and see what the debt actually looks like in our breakdown of law school cost.

7. Texas Tech University School of Law

Texas Tech University School of Law is a public law school in Lubbock with a 25.6 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 159, and a median GPA of 3.69. It is the best value in Texas legal education, combining low resident tuition with strong advocacy, legal writing, and dispute resolution training.

What is the background of Texas Tech University School of Law?

Texas Tech University School of Law opened in 1967 and is located at 3311 18th Street, Lubbock, TX 79409. It serves West Texas and the Panhandle, a region no other law school covers, and it places graduates across the state’s smaller and mid-sized markets where competition for jobs is far lighter than in Houston or Dallas.

The Texas Tech law school ranking is not what recommends it. The debt figure is. Tech graduates carry meaningfully lower average debt than graduates of most Texas law schools, which changes what jobs they can afford to take.

What are the admissions requirements at Texas Tech University School of Law?

Texas Tech University School of Law admitted 25.6 percent of applicants for fall 2025. The school received 2,011 applications, made 515 offers, and enrolled 168 first-year students. The median LSAT was 159 and the median GPA was 3.69. Tech also grants out-of-state tuition waivers to qualified non-resident applicants.

That waiver matters. A non-resident who qualifies can attend Texas Tech at close to resident rates, which makes it one of the cheapest routes to a Texas law license available to an out-of-state applicant.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at Texas Tech University School of Law?

Texas Tech University School of Law reports a first-time bar passage rate of roughly 86 percent and tuition of about $27,532 for Texas residents and $38,782 for non-residents. Roughly 87 percent of graduates are employed within 10 months, and average graduate debt runs near $80,000, well below the national law school average.

Tech offers the JD, joint degrees including JD/MBA and JD/MPA, and specialty concentrations in advocacy, business, criminal law, and estate planning.

Read our full profile of the Texas Tech University School of Law, and see the national low-cost picture in our guide to the cheapest law schools.

8. Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law

Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law is a public HBCU law school in Houston with an acceptance rate near 36 percent, a median LSAT near 150, and a median GPA near 3.33. It has the lowest tuition of any law school in Texas and a founding mission rooted in one of the most important civil rights cases in American history.

What is the background of Thurgood Marshall School of Law?

Thurgood Marshall School of Law was founded in 1947 and is located at 3100 Cleburne Street, Houston, TX 77004. The school exists because of Sweatt v. Painter, the case in which Heman Sweatt was denied admission to the University of Texas law school on racial grounds. Thurgood Marshall argued the case, and the Supreme Court’s 1950 decision helped set the foundation for Brown v. Board of Education.

The school is named for the lawyer who argued it. Few law schools in the United States have a more direct connection to the legal history they teach, and the school has produced a disproportionate share of Black lawyers, judges, and legislators in Texas.

What are the admissions requirements at Thurgood Marshall School of Law?

Thurgood Marshall School of Law admits roughly 36 percent of applicants and enrolls about 180 students each fall. The median LSAT sits near 150, with a 25th to 75th percentile band roughly from 148 to 152. The median GPA is near 3.33. The program is offered full time only.

This is the most accessible admissions profile among Texas law schools by test score. It is also the school where the bar passage question deserves the most scrutiny.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at Thurgood Marshall School of Law?

Thurgood Marshall School of Law has the lowest tuition in Texas, at roughly $28,167 a year, and its first-time bar passage rate has run well below the state average, near 64 percent. The Texas Southern law school ranking is depressed primarily by that bar figure, and the school has invested in academic support programs to close the gap.

Face the number honestly. A first-time bar passage rate near 64 percent, against a Texas first-time rate of 84 percent, means roughly one in three graduates does not pass on the first attempt. Ultimate two-year passage rates are substantially higher, but a failed first attempt costs six months and a bar prep cycle.

That is not an argument against the school. It is an argument for going in with a plan: treat the academic support program as mandatory, target the top of the class, and start bar preparation early.

Read our full profile of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and understand the exam itself through our guides to the bar exam and current bar passing rates.

9. University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law

The University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law is a public law school in downtown Dallas with an acceptance rate near 25 percent, a median LSAT near 153, and a median GPA near 3.41. It is the newest law school in Texas and the lowest-cost option for Texas residents, built explicitly around access and practical skills.

What is the background of UNT Dallas College of Law?

UNT Dallas College of Law opened in 2014 and is located at 106 South Harwood Street, Dallas, TX 75201. It occupies the historic Dallas Municipal Building, the same building where Lee Harvey Oswald was held and shot. The school was denied ABA accreditation in 2016, granted provisional approval in 2017, and received full ABA approval in February 2022.

The founding mission was affordability. UNT Dallas was created to open the legal profession to students who were being priced out of it, and its tuition remains the lowest in the state for Texas residents.

What are the admissions requirements at UNT Dallas College of Law?

UNT Dallas College of Law admits roughly a quarter of applicants. The median LSAT sits near 153, with a 25th to 75th percentile band around 150 to 156. The median GPA is near 3.41. The school offers full-time, part-time, and evening JD tracks, and requires 90 semester credit hours to graduate.

The evening program is the point for many applicants. A working professional in Dallas can complete a JD at UNT Dallas without leaving their job, and at a tuition figure that does not require six-figure borrowing.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at UNT Dallas College of Law?

UNT Dallas College of Law charges roughly $18,762 a year for Texas residents and about $31,199 for non-residents, and its first-time bar passage rate has run near 73 percent. Those are the lowest tuition figures of any ABA-accredited law school in Texas.

The trade is visible in the numbers. You get the cheapest ABA-accredited JD in Texas, in the second-largest legal market in the state, from a school that is still too new to have a deep alumni network. Whether that trade is good depends entirely on how much debt you were prepared to take on elsewhere.

Read our full profile of the UNT Dallas College of Law.

10. SMU Dedman School of Law

SMU Dedman School of Law is a private law school in Dallas with a 24.59 percent acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 167, and a median GPA of 3.81. In July 2025 it posted the highest first-time bar passage rate of any law school in Texas, at 98.52 percent, and it is the dominant feeder into the Dallas corporate legal market.

What is the background of SMU Dedman School of Law?

SMU Dedman School of Law was founded in 1925 and is located at 3315 Daniel Avenue, Dallas, TX 75205. It sits in University Park, minutes from the Dallas corporate core, and its alumni run a large share of the city’s law firms, in-house departments, and judiciary.

Dallas is the asset. It is a top-tier legal market with concentrations in corporate finance, energy trading, private equity, real estate, and complex commercial litigation, and SMU is the school those employers recruit from first.

What are the admissions requirements at SMU Dedman School of Law?

SMU Dedman School of Law admitted 24.59 percent of applicants for fall 2025. The school received 3,038 applications, made 747 offers, and enrolled 254 first-year students. The median LSAT for the class that enrolled in fall 2025 was 167 and the median undergraduate GPA was 3.81. SMU accepts the GRE only from applicants who have not previously taken the LSAT.

That GRE rule is a trap worth knowing. If you take the LSAT and score poorly, you cannot switch to the GRE and apply to SMU on the stronger score. Decide which test you are taking before you sit either one.

What is the bar passage rate and tuition at SMU Dedman School of Law?

SMU Dedman School of Law posted a 98.52 percent first-time bar passage rate on the July 2025 Texas bar exam, the highest of any law school in the state. That result ran 14.41 points above the overall Texas first-time rate of 84.11 percent. Annual tuition and fees sit in the high $60,000s, the highest in Texas.

SMU offers the JD, LLM programs including taxation, an SJD, and a Master of Legal Studies with a sports law track for non-lawyers. It also runs 10 clinics and an extensive externship program.

Read our full profile of the SMU Dedman School of Law, and see the national tuition ceiling in our guide to the most expensive law schools.

How Do You Choose a Law School in Texas?

Choose a law school in Texas on 6 criteria: the market you want to practice in, your realistic LSAT and GPA band, total cost after scholarship, first-time bar passage rate, employment outcomes in bar-required jobs, and specialty program depth. Rank matters less than fit, because more than 80 percent of graduates from Texas law schools stay in Texas.

Start with geography, not rank. Texas legal hiring is regional. A Baylor graduate has an advantage in Waco and Central Texas litigation. An SMU graduate has an advantage in Dallas corporate work. A UH graduate has an advantage in Houston energy and health law. A Texas Tech graduate has an advantage across West Texas. These advantages are real and they do not transfer.

Then run the cost math. Compare 3-year total cost after scholarship, not sticker tuition. A full scholarship at Texas Tech and a sticker-price seat at Baylor are separated by more than $150,000, and that gap decides which jobs you can afford to take when you graduate.

Then check the bar number. First-time bar passage rate against the state average is the single most predictive figure a law school publishes. A school 10 points above the state rate is teaching effectively. A school 20 points below it is not.

The table below compares all 10 Texas law schools on the figures that decide the answer.

Before you build a school list, run your numbers through our law school admission predictor, review the standard law school requirements, and work through the law school application process. A strong personal statement matters most at the schools that read holistically, which in Texas means St. Mary’s, South Texas, and UNT Dallas.

How Can Lexinter Help You Choose a Law School in Texas?

Lexinter helps you choose a law school in Texas by publishing an individual profile for each ABA-accredited school, with admissions data, bar passage, tuition, and program depth in a consistent format. Lexinter is a US legal directory and legal-education platform covering law schools, admissions, the bar exam, legal careers, and practicing attorneys across all 50 states.

Use Lexinter in 4 steps. Read the state hub, which is this page. Open the individual profiles for your 3 or 4 target schools. Compare them against the national picture in our law school rankings guide. Then check the specialty hub for the field you want, whether that is health law, intellectual property, criminal law, tax, or environmental law.

Lexinter also runs a national attorney directory, which is the part most applicants ignore and should not. Search practicing lawyers in your target city, look at where they went to law school, and you will learn more about which degree actually opens doors in that market than any ranking will tell you. Attorneys can get listed free, and firms can review pricing for enhanced placement.

If something on this page is out of date, tell us. Data changes every December when the ABA releases new disclosures, and you can contact us directly with a correction.

What Is the Best Law School in Texas for Sports Lawyers?

Texas A&M University School of Law is the best law school in Texas for sports lawyers. It sits in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, which supports six professional franchises and multiple Division I athletic programs, runs a top-5 dispute resolution program, and hosts an active Sports and Entertainment Law Society with an annual sports law symposium.

Be clear about what does and does not exist. There is no US News specialty ranking for sports law, so any page claiming a definitive national sports law rank is inventing one. The honest evaluation runs on 4 factors: market access, negotiation and dispute resolution training, intellectual property and contracts depth, and an alumni network inside sports organizations.

Texas A&M wins on all 4. Its dispute resolution program ranks among the top 5 nationally, and sports law is negotiation and arbitration far more than it is litigation. Its intellectual property program ranks in the national top 10, which covers the name, image, and likeness work that now dominates college sports practice. And Fort Worth puts students inside the market.

SMU Dedman is the second choice, and the better one for a non-lawyer. SMU runs a Master of Legal Studies with a dedicated sports law track covering NIL, licensing, trademarks, copyright, and negotiation, designed for agents and sports business professionals who do not intend to practice law.

The University of Houston Law Center is a third route, through its Entertainment Law Clinic and its Sports and Entertainment Law Organization, with the Houston professional market next door.

Understand the career before you pick the school. Our guide on How to Become a Sports Lawyer: Education and Career Pathway Guide sets out the path, and our sports law schools hub covers the national field. The underlying doctrine sits in our sports law area page.

What Is the Best Law School in Texas for Human Rights Lawyers?

St. Mary’s University School of Law is the best law school in Texas for human rights lawyers. Its Center for Legal and Social Justice houses immigration, human rights, and civil justice clinics that represent real clients, it requires pro bono service before graduation, and it publishes a law review dedicated to race and social justice.

Human rights practice is clinical, not theoretical. The credential that gets you hired is a caseload: asylum applications you filed, detention hearings you attended, country-condition reports you wrote. St. Mary’s is structured to give you that, and San Antonio sits close to the border work that generates most of it.

The University of Texas School of Law is the alternative, and it is the stronger choice if your target is international human rights rather than domestic immigration practice. Texas Law operates a human rights clinic and a research center focused on international human rights, and its national reputation opens doors at multilateral organizations that a regional degree does not.

Choose between them on 2 questions. Do you want to represent individuals in immigration and civil rights matters in the United States? Choose St. Mary’s. Do you want to work in international human rights policy, litigation, or advocacy at a global institution? Choose UT.

Read our guide on How to Become a Human Rights Lawyer: Essential Steps and Education Requirements, the national picture in our human rights law schools guide, and the doctrine in our human rights law area page. Immigration is the adjacent practice, covered in our immigration law schools guide.

What Is the Best Law School in Texas for Health Lawyers?

The University of Houston Law Center is the best law school in Texas for health lawyers. Its Health Law and Policy Institute is one of the oldest and most established health law programs in the country, it offers a dedicated LLM in health law, and the campus sits minutes from the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world.

Proximity is not a soft factor in health law. The Texas Medical Center employs more than 100,000 people across dozens of institutions, and every one of them generates regulatory, compliance, transactional, and litigation work. UH students extern into that ecosystem while they are still in school.

The Law Center’s health law offering includes 3 components: a JD with a health law concentration, an LLM in health law for JD graduates and foreign lawyers, and joint degrees including JD/MPH with UTHealth Houston and JD/MD with Baylor College of Medicine.

Baylor University School of Law is the strong second choice through its JD/MBA in Healthcare Administration, which is built for graduates who want to run the business side of a health system rather than advise it from outside.

Read our guide on How to Become a Health (Medical) Lawyer: Essential Steps and Pathway to Success, compare programs in our health law schools guide, and read the doctrine in our health law area page.

Which Law School in Texas Has the Highest Acceptance Rate?

South Texas College of Law Houston has the highest acceptance rate of any ABA-accredited law school in Texas, at 33.65 percent. It admitted 932 of 2,770 applicants for fall 2025 and enrolled 437 first-year students, the largest 1L class in the state. Thurgood Marshall School of Law is close behind at roughly 36 percent by some reporting cycles.

Do not read a high acceptance rate as low quality. South Texas posts a first-time bar passage rate around 91 percent, which beats the overall Texas rate by roughly 10 points and beats several schools that admit far fewer applicants. Admissions selectivity and teaching quality are different variables.

The 3 most accessible law schools in Texas by acceptance rate are South Texas College of Law Houston at 33.65 percent, Thurgood Marshall School of Law at roughly 36 percent, and Texas Tech University School of Law at 25.6 percent. St. Mary’s and UNT Dallas both sit near 26 percent.

See the national picture in our guide to the easiest law schools to get into, and the opposite end of the scale in our guide to the hardest law schools to get into.

How Much Does Law School in Texas Cost?

Law school in Texas costs an average of roughly $40,301 a year for Texas residents and $48,310 for non-residents in tuition and fees. The range runs from about $18,762 a year at UNT Dallas for residents to the high $60,000s at SMU Dedman and Baylor. Add roughly $20,000 to $25,000 a year for living costs to reach a true cost of attendance.

Four factors drive the cost of law school in Texas:

• Public versus private. Public schools charge Texas residents far less. UT, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UNT Dallas, and Texas Southern all have resident rates. Baylor, SMU, St. Mary’s, and South Texas are private and charge one rate to everyone.
• Residency. The in-state and out-of-state gap at Texas public law schools runs from roughly $11,000 to $19,000 a year. Establishing Texas residency before your second year can save more than $30,000.
• Scholarship. Most Texas law schools award grants to 75 percent or more of students. Sticker price is not what most people pay, and your LSAT is the main lever on the discount.
• Cost of living. Lubbock and Waco cost far less to live in than Austin and Dallas. That difference alone can move total 3-year cost by $20,000 or more.

What Is the Cheapest Law School in Texas?

The University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law is the cheapest law school in Texas for Texas residents, at roughly $18,762 a year, and Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law is the cheapest overall at roughly $28,167 a year. Texas Tech University School of Law is the cheapest of the established public programs, at about $27,532 for residents.

The 3 cheapest law schools in Texas are UNT Dallas College of Law, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and Texas Tech University School of Law. All 3 are public. All 3 are dramatically cheaper than the national average law school tuition, which sits above $50,000.

Price is only half the calculation. UNT Dallas is cheap and new. Thurgood Marshall is cheap and has a bar passage problem. Texas Tech is cheap, established, and posts an 86 percent first-time bar rate, which is why it is usually the strongest value answer rather than the strictly cheapest one.

What Is the Most Expensive Law School in Texas?

SMU Dedman School of Law is the most expensive law school in Texas, with tuition and fees in the high $60,000s, followed closely by Baylor University School of Law. Both are private. Both post outstanding bar passage and employment outcomes, which is the case for paying the premium.

Run the comparison honestly. Three years at SMU or Baylor at sticker price costs roughly $200,000 in tuition alone, before living costs. Three years at UNT Dallas as a Texas resident costs roughly $56,000. That is a difference of nearly $150,000, and it takes a long time to earn back on a $90,000 starting salary.

The premium is worth paying when 2 conditions are met: you are targeting a large-firm or corporate job that the cheaper school does not reliably reach, and you have a substantial scholarship that closes most of the gap. If neither is true, the expensive school is a bad trade.

See our national guides to the most expensive law schools and available law school scholarships before you accept any offer at sticker price.

The table below compares tuition and outcomes across all 10 schools.

What Are the Advantages of Getting Into Law School in Texas?

There are 8 advantages to attending law school in Texas. They are: a large and growing legal market, low resident tuition at public schools, no state income tax, a rising statewide bar passage rate, strong regional employer loyalty to Texas schools, low cost of living outside Austin, industry concentration in energy and health care, and 10 accredited schools spread across 5 distinct markets.

The 8 advantages, in detail:

• Market size. Texas is one of the 3 largest legal markets in the United States. Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth all sustain independent legal economies.
• Low public tuition. Five Texas law schools charge residents less than $40,000 a year. Three charge under $30,000.
• No state income tax. A Texas salary goes further than the same salary in New York or California, which changes the debt math after graduation.
• Rising bar performance. Texas law school graduates passed the July 2025 bar at 90.67 percent on first attempt, the first time over 90 percent in more than two decades.
• Regional hiring loyalty. Texas employers recruit heavily from Texas schools. A regional degree carries real weight here in a way it does not in every state.
• Cost of living. Lubbock, Waco, San Antonio, and Fort Worth are affordable places to spend 3 years.
• Industry depth. Energy, health care, technology, aerospace, logistics, and agriculture all generate specialized legal work that a Texas degree connects you to directly.
• Geographic spread. The 10 schools cover Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Waco, and Lubbock, so you can study in the market you intend to practice in.

The bar exam is now the same one used across most of the country, which removes an old objection. Texas administers a Uniform Bar Examination-based test, so a strong Texas score is portable to other UBE jurisdictions rather than trapping you in the state.

What Are the Disadvantages of Getting Into Law School in Texas?

There are 7 disadvantages to attending law school in Texas. They are: limited national portability outside UT and Texas A&M, heavy competition for a small number of large-firm seats, wide quality variation across the 10 schools, high sticker tuition at the private schools, a bar passage gap at the bottom of the market, geographic isolation at some campuses, and a hiring market that discounts out-of-state degrees.

The 7 disadvantages, in detail:

• Portability. Outside UT and Texas A&M, a Texas law degree does not travel well. A South Texas or St. Mary’s graduate looking for a job in Chicago is at a serious disadvantage.
• Big-law competition. The large firms in Houston and Dallas hire a small number of graduates, mostly from UT, SMU, A&M, and Baylor. Everyone else competes for the rest.
• Quality spread. The gap between the best and worst outcomes among the 10 schools is enormous. A 98.5 percent bar rate and a 64 percent bar rate exist in the same state.
• Private-school cost. SMU and Baylor charge close to $70,000 a year, which is national-elite pricing without a national-elite rank.
• Bar risk at the bottom. At the lowest-performing school, roughly one graduate in three fails the bar on the first attempt.
• Isolation. Lubbock and Waco are a long way from the state’s major legal markets, which makes networking and 1L internships harder.
• Insularity cuts both ways. Texas employers favor Texas schools, which is good if you are in one and bad if you are not.

The honest summary is that Texas is an excellent place to go to law school if you intend to practice in Texas, and a mediocre one if you do not. That single sentence should drive most of your decision.

The table below matches each Texas law school to the career goal it serves best.

Is Getting Into Law School in Texas Worth It?

Yes, law school in Texas is worth it if you intend to practice in Texas and you keep your debt under control. The state has one of the largest legal markets in the country, no state income tax, low resident tuition at 5 public schools, and a statewide first-time bar passage rate that exceeded 90 percent for Texas graduates in July 2025.

The value depends on 3 conditions being met. You get into a school with a first-time bar passage rate at or above the state average. Your total debt at graduation stays below your realistic first-year salary. And you want to work in Texas, or in a UBE jurisdiction that will accept your score.

When those conditions fail, the answer flips. A student who borrows $220,000 to attend a school with a 70 percent bar passage rate and no reliable path into a firm is not making a good investment, regardless of how much they want to be a lawyer. That is true in Texas and it is true everywhere.

The good news is that Texas gives you cheap options that clear the bar. Texas Tech at resident tuition, with an 86 percent first-time bar rate and a low debt load, is one of the better value propositions in American legal education. UNT Dallas is cheaper still.

Before you commit, read our guide on how to become a lawyer and the realistic Juris Doctor timeline. If you are not certain you want to practice, a master of law or one of the other law degree types may fit better than a JD.

Is It Hard to Get Into Law School in Texas?

It depends entirely on which Texas law school you target. Texas A&M admits 12.1 percent of applicants and the University of Texas admits 14 percent, which makes both genuinely hard. South Texas College of Law Houston admits 33.65 percent and Thurgood Marshall admits roughly 36 percent, which makes both accessible to applicants with a median LSAT in the low 150s.

The state splits into 3 admissions tiers:

1. Hard. Texas A&M (12.1 percent, LSAT 169, GPA 4.00) and the University of Texas (14 percent, LSAT 172, GPA 3.89). Both require a top-decile LSAT and a near-perfect transcript.
2. Competitive. Baylor (20.6 percent, LSAT 164), SMU (24.6 percent, LSAT 167), and the University of Houston (23 percent, LSAT 163). All 3 are reachable with a low-to-mid 160s LSAT and a GPA above 3.7.
3. Accessible. Texas Tech (25.6 percent, LSAT 159), St. Mary’s (26 percent, LSAT 153), UNT Dallas (about 25 percent, LSAT 153), South Texas (33.7 percent, LSAT 155), and Thurgood Marshall (about 36 percent, LSAT 150).

The LSAT is the lever. A 10-point LSAT increase moves you across tiers and can be worth six figures in scholarship money. Nothing else in the application produces that return on the same amount of effort.

Note the A&M anomaly before you calibrate. A median GPA of 4.00 is the highest of any law school in the country, which means A&M is competing for applicants on transcript rather than on test score. If your GPA is below 3.7, your LSAT has to carry the entire application there.

Build your test strategy first. Read our guides to the LSAT, target LSAT scores, how to prepare for the LSAT, and whether the GRE is a better fit than the LSAT for your profile. SMU, notably, will only accept a GRE from applicants who have never taken the LSAT.

Once you are in, the finish line is the same for everyone: the bar exam. Understand the bar exam requirements, how to prepare for the bar exam, and the bar reciprocity rules if you may leave the state. Compare Texas against neighboring markets in our guides to law schools in Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas, or start from the law school hub.