Best Law Schools in Florida: All 12, Ranked by Bar Passage

Twelve law schools have a campus in Florida. At the University of Florida, nine out of ten first time takers passed the bar exam last July.

At Cooley, closer to six out of ten did.

Same state, same exam, the same two days in a Tampa convention hall. That gap is 31 points, and it's the clearest thing you have to go on.

This guide covers all twelve, ranked by how many of their graduates get licensed. Every number comes from the Florida Supreme Court's own bar release or the school's ABA disclosure report, so you can check any of it yourself.

The Number That Decides This List

Before you can practice law in Florida you have to pass the Florida bar exam. It's two days, it's in Tampa, and everyone sits the same one no matter which school they came from.

The number here is the first time pass rate: out of everyone from that school taking the exam for the first time, how many passed.

That's the fairest comparison available. People who retake the exam eventually pass at much higher rates, so an overall rate quietly flatters schools that send weaker graduates back a second and third time.

One more figure puts the rest in context. Graduates of Florida's own law schools passed at 82.8 percent last July. People who studied somewhere else and came to Florida passed at 66.1 percent.

Going to school in the state you want to practice in is worth about 17 points.

That cuts both ways. If you are not sure Florida is where you want to practise, our roundup of the best law schools in the US is the wider view to start from.

Every Law School in Florida, Sorted by What Happens After

Tuition is what three years costs at today's rates, before fees and before any scholarship. Change is the movement from the previous July.

The Seven Schools Where Most Graduates Get Licensed

University of Florida

UF Levin posted the best result in the state, and it's been climbing: 90.6 percent the year before, 92.8 last July.

It's also the cheapest good option a Florida resident has, about $57,000 for the whole degree. That's roughly a quarter of what Miami costs.

The catch is getting in. UF made 642 offers out of 3,887 applications, and the middle of its class scored 169 on the LSAT, the highest bar in the state.

Jacksonville University

Jacksonville University runs the newest law school in the state. It opened its doors in 2022, earned ABA approval in early 2024, and sent its first class to the bar last July.

Eleven of the twelve passed. That's a real result, but it's twelve people, so read it as a promising start rather than a track record.

Its approval is still provisional, which means the school keeps all the rights of an approved school while it works toward full status. Its first year class of 70 is the smallest in the state, so you'd be taught in small rooms.

Florida International University

FIU is the quiet one. It sits in Miami, costs a Florida resident about $62,000 for the degree, and has finished near the top of the state three years running.

It's also selective, taking 582 of 3,100 applicants. If you want a Miami degree without a Miami price, this is it.

Florida State University

FSU is the hardest school in Florida to get into. It accepted 16 percent of applicants and its median GPA of 3.93 is the highest in the state.

It's in Tallahassee, a few streets from the capitol, which is why so many of its graduates end up in government and policy work.

It also runs a small class, 153 students, and it doesn't hand out scholarships that can be taken back. There's a money trick here too, and it's further down.

Stetson University

Stetson made the biggest jump of any school in the state last year, from 77.9 percent to 87.9.

Stetson is in Gulfport, near St. Petersburg, and it's the name people say when they mean trial work. Its advocacy program has a national reputation.

If you picture yourself in a courtroom rather than a conference room, this is the fit. It also runs the largest private class in Florida at 336 students, which cuts both ways: more classmates, more competition for the same clinic seats.

St. Thomas University

St. Thomas is the school that breaks the pattern. It takes six in ten applicants and its median LSAT of 152 sits near the bottom of the state.

Then 87 percent of its graduates pass the bar, ahead of Miami. It also enrolls the largest first year class in Florida at 431 students.

If your numbers won't open doors at UF or FSU, this is the proof your numbers aren't the whole story. Read the scholarship section before you sign anything.

University of Miami

Miami has the most expensive law degree in Florida, about $200,000 in tuition alone.

It has the money to show for it. Miami reports that 92 percent of its most recent graduating class was working within ten months, at an average starting salary of $122,755, with the middle of the range running from $80,000 to $170,000.

If big firm work is the plan, this is the shortest road to it in the state.

The Five Where a Quarter or More Don't Pass

Florida A&M University

FAMU has the cheapest law degree in Florida by a wide margin, about $41,000 in state for the whole thing.

Two years ago FAMU was the worst performer in the state, with fewer than half its graduates passing, and its dean resigned. Since then it has gone to 67 percent, then 76.

The line points up, and on a school this cheap that direction matters more than where it sits today.

Ave Maria School of Law

Ave Maria is a small independent Catholic law school in Naples. Despite the name it isn't part of Ave Maria University, they're separate institutions that share a founder.

Three in four graduates passed last July, up from 71 percent. The degree runs about $148,500, which is private school money for a middling result.

Nova Southeastern University

Nova Southeastern sits in Davie, near Fort Lauderdale, with a long standing name in maritime law.

Seven in ten of its graduates passed, and that number has been flat for two years while most of the state improved.

It costs about $148,000, roughly the same as Ave Maria and $22,000 more than Barry, so the price isn't buying a better bar result here.

Barry University

Barry is the only school in Florida that went backwards last year, and it wasn't close: 75.3 percent down to 65.9.

Every other number points the same way. Its median GPA of 3.23 and median LSAT of 150 are the lowest among Florida's own schools.

And of the 253 students who arrived on a scholarship that could be taken away, 148 lost some or all of it. One weak year is noise. This is a pattern.

Cooley

Cooley is a Michigan law school with a campus in Tampa, which is why the state lists it under schools with a Florida location rather than as a Florida school.

It has the lowest bar result in the state at 61.3 percent and the lowest median LSAT at 147. In fairness it's also improving fast, up from 51.6 percent.

But the degree still costs about $142,000, which is private school money for the weakest licensing odds in Florida.

The Cheapest Degree Here Costs a Fifth of the Priciest

The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive law degree in Florida is almost five times.

FAMU charges a resident $456 a credit and the degree is 90 credits, so tuition lands around $41,000. Miami charges $66,720 a year.

Both send you to the same two day exam in Tampa.

If you're coming from out of state, there's one thing worth knowing before you compare sticker prices. At FSU most non residents can be reclassified as Florida residents after the first year.

Pay out of state once and in state twice and the three year average drops from $42,657 a year to $27,310. Ask every public school you apply to whether it does the same, because the answer changes the real price more than any scholarship will.

The Scholarship That Can Be Taken Back

Some Florida law schools hand out scholarships that shrink or disappear if your grades slip. Schools have to report how often that happens, and the numbers are worth reading before you accept an offer.

The other eight schools don't award this kind of scholarship at all.

At Barry more than half the students who came in with one saw it cut. If an offer letter puts a condition on your money, ask the school for this exact number before you say yes.

The School Still Sitting on Other People's Lists

If you find a list of Florida law schools with Florida Coastal on it, the list is old.

Florida Coastal lost access to federal student loans in 2021, stopped teaching that summer, and its accreditation ended for good two years later. It doesn't exist.

It's a useful test. Any guide still recommending a school that closed four years ago hasn't checked anything else either.

Florida Is About to Change Who Can Sit the Bar

For as long as anyone reading this has been applying to law school, a Florida bar candidate needed a degree from an ABA approved school. In January the Florida Supreme Court rewrote that rule.

From October, schools approved by other accreditors can qualify too, as long as the accreditor is recognized by the US Department of Education and approved by the court.

Here's the part that matters right now: no other accreditor has been approved yet. The court still has to choose them.

So for this application cycle nothing changes, and the twelve schools above are still the list. It's worth watching if you're applying a year or two from now.

Questions People Ask About Law School in Florida

Which law school in Florida has the best bar passage rate?

The University of Florida. 92.8 percent of its first time takers passed last July, the best of the twelve schools with a campus in the state.

What's the cheapest law school in Florida?

Florida A&M, by a wide margin. A resident pays $456 a credit and the degree is 90 credits, so tuition comes to about $41,000 for all three years.

How many law schools are there in Florida?

Twelve have a campus in the state. Eleven are Florida institutions and one, Cooley, is a Michigan school with a Tampa campus.

Is Florida Coastal School of Law still open?

No. It stopped teaching in 2021 and its accreditation ended two years after that. Lists that still include it haven't been updated.

Do you need an ABA approved degree to take the Florida bar?

For now, yes. The Florida Supreme Court changed that rule in January and the change takes effect in October, but no other accreditor has been approved yet.

Which Florida law school is easiest to get into?

St. Thomas University, which accepted 60.3 percent of applicants. Worth noting that its graduates still passed the bar at 87.3 percent, ahead of Miami.