University of Memphis Law ranked in top 20 for African American Students by preLaw Magazine

March 25, 2022 — The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law has been ranked the 19th-best law school nationally for African American students in the latest issue of preLaw magazine. Memphis Law was also included among the top schools on the magazine's annual "Diversity Honor Roll" for 2022.

“Memphis Law offers one of the oldest and most successful pre-admission programs for diverse applicants in the nation,” said Dean Katharine Schaffzin. “We consistently enroll 1L classes with an extremely high percentage of diverse students, often 30% or more of the class. Memphis Law has actively sought to improve the climate within the law school, while growing the number of student support resources and pipeline programs available to prepare potential diverse law school applicants."

Memphis Law’s diversity efforts are wide-ranging and impactful. PreLaw Magazine examined several of the law school's access and pipelining initiatives in their ranking.

The annual Diversity & Pre-Law Week is one of the law school’s most comprehensive diversity and inclusion recruitment events and devotes programming to highlight diverse student experiences and organizations while providing valuable information about the law school admissions process. This year’s event featured American Civil Liberties Union President Deborah Archer as the keynote speaker.

The law school also proudly offers the Tennessee Institute for Pre-Law (TIP) program, which is a unique admissions-by-performance program for Tennessee and border county residents that show potential for law school academic success and bring diversity to the entering class.

Another successful diversity initiative is the Memphis Professional Development Program (MPDP), which supports diverse and first-generation Memphis Law students by providing professional development opportunities that maximize potential in law school and beyond.

Partnering with the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), Memphis Law also offers our successful pipeline program in the Prelaw Undergrad Scholars (PLUS) Program for currently enrolled college freshmen and sophomores from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds. This summer program offers a first-hand introduction to the legal field and allows students to learn if a legal career is right for them, lets them network with practicing attorneys, develop confidence and skills needed to succeed in law school and the application process, learn about legal brief writing, appellate advocacy and have the opportunity to argue a legal brief in a moot court competition.

“I anticipate our ranking by preLaw Magazine will continue to improve as we grow our investment in staff, programs and scholarships supporting diverse students at Memphis Law,” said Schaffzin.

Other recent Diversity & Inclusion-related accomplishments for Memphis Law include being included in the 2021 Best Law Schools for African Americans rankings by preLaw Magazine; being ranked in the Top 25 for law degrees awarded to African Americans; a past recipient of the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award; and past rankings as a Best Bargain Law School for Black Law Students and a Top 5 Best Regional Law School for Black Students from Lawyers of Color Magazine.