DARTMOUTH – The University of Massachusetts School of Law, based at UMass Dartmouth, says it outscored the Massachusetts Bar Exam statewide average for the second year in a row, three years after receiving full American Bar Association accreditation.
The results of the July bar exam show that UMass Law had an 82.6% pass rate for first-time test-takers, what the law school called a key metric in assessing a school’s academic quality. The state average was 81.6%.
That placed UMass Law fifth in the state behind Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College and Northeastern University. There are nine law schools in Massachusetts.
“As the only public law school in Massachusetts and with a focus on social justice, the importance of UMass Law to the commonwealth cannot be overstated,” UMass President Marty Meehan said in a press release. “The success of recent UMass Law graduates is further evidence that accessibility to public higher education is transformational for students and critical to the commonwealth.”
UMass Law was established in 2010 and has one of the most diverse student bodies among New England law schools. More than 30% of attendees are considered students of color, the school said.
Every UMass Law student is required to perform at least 30 hours of pro bono legal services while in law school. But the law school said graduates typically average five times that amount.
