University of San Francisco - School of Law

Although the University of San Francisco itself is a Jesuit institution, the law school “is not in any apparent way Jesuit affiliated,” with one student going so far as to note that “the only sign of religion I have experienced at school are holiday decorations around Christmas.” Meanwhile, “a majority of the staff in the Office of Career Planning has changed. They are extremely dedicated to professional development and career placement. They are very, nice, outgoing, and well connected.” “It’s up to each student to work hard and seal [the] deal within the job market but the office of career planning does a great job of putting students in positions to succeed within the job market.”
With a “highly supportive administration and faculty, who are always willing to work with students to help them excel and provide support/flexibility for part-time students who work full-time,” USF students say that “faculty are more than accessible—they respect students as lawyers in training rather than underlings.” Some feel the 1L curve “is a little bit too strict for our academic reputation and lends to professors grading more harshly than necessary,” but they note that the overall academic experience can be described as “intellectually stimulating.”
Students do wish that the administration would focus a bit more on “being open and transparent about how the tuition money of students is spent and managing costs, so students are not burdened with heavy debt,” and several students call for a more practical approach to law that deals less with the “Socratic method of teaching, exam taking, and grading curve,” wishing that USF would focus more on “preparing students from the very beginning on taking and passing the CA and other Bar Exams successfully” and “preparing students for actual practice of law such as research, procedure, writing skills, client skills, business skills, etc.”
Some students note that “the school recently got rid of the Child Advocacy Clinic, led by the amazing and well-respected Professor Fitzsimmons.” But the school replaced it with the course/externship hybrid focused on child and family law, and the school also recently added a new Immigration and Deportation Defense Law Clinic. In addition, “Public Interest Law is really big and the school does a lot in helping the surrounding communities. Also the teachers here are great. Most of them are amazing with very diverse backgrounds. Every teacher I have had really wants you to do well and understand the subject and they go out of their way to be there when you need them to.” Another student adds, “Many of my peers are successfully pursuing business law careers,” which is no doubt helped by the fact that “USF Law is located near the tech capital of the world, with currently the strongest economy in the country.”

Students love the location in San Francisco, the intense amount of diversity (with one student going so far as to say, “USF is one of the most diverse schools in the nation however that diversity is not just color based but on sexual orientation and cultural and sexual identity”). As for the sense of community, USF is “a very inclusive campus and everyone from professors, faculty and the students are very supportive.” From a purely cosmetic standpoint, “the classrooms and library are really new and nice with amazing views of SF and the USF campus. Resources are widely available and updated, including study rooms with projectors and a state of the art moot court room.” Furthermore, “the food in the cafeteria is literally the worst thing [we] have to complain about.” A typical student comment is, “I could not be happier to be at this school. The quality of life is excellent and everyone from faculty to students are really invested in your success.”