USF Law Will No Longer Provide Data to U.S. News

After careful consideration and in consultation with university leadership, members of our alumni, faculty, student, and staff community, we have decided to not participate in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of law schools. 

In recent weeks, law schools from across the country have announced that they are exiting the U.S. News rankings process. Here at USF Law, we share many of the same concerns they have voiced. For many years, we have specifically expressed dissatisfaction with the rankings’ disregard for the importance of diversifying the bar and the bench as well as U.S. News’ inability to capture the value of the mission-driven education that we provide here. In addition, U.S. News’ methodology ignores significant regional and state-level variations that meaningfully impact schools like USF Law. More perniciously, U.S. News’ methodology pressures law schools to overemphasize standardized tests at the expense of holistic assessments of prospective students.

The time and resources we spend supplying data to U.S. News for rankings purposes are better used serving students. With the ABA-required detailed reports that schools post, and with the advent of robust law school websites, prospective law students have more comprehensive sources of information than the reductive single ranking provided by U.S. News. While U.S. News announced some modifications to their methodology in early January, our perspective remains unaffected by these changes.

We are proud of our 110-year-old tradition of educating excellent, ethical, and skilled lawyers who graduate ready to serve many different communities. Long after graduation, our alumni remain engaged with our school and our students. Time and again, alumni tell us that the reason they return to USF to mentor and support future generations of USF lawyers is because of the enriched and inspiring experiences they had as USF law students. Whether it is providing indigent defense, working as in-house counsel at a technology company, or serving on the bench, the work of our outstanding alumni and their appreciation for their alma mater measure the quality of a USF Law education in ways that the U.S. News ranking does not.

To prospective students who are considering whether USF is the right place for you: please visit us and see for yourself. Speak with a current student or a recent alum. Meet with a member of our faculty. Tour our vibrant campus. Attend one of the many in-person and web-based events we host. Through these experiences, learn what makes USF School of Law a supportive, rigorous and inspiring community.

Susan Freiwald
Dean and Professor of Law