About
Southwestern Law School is a private law school in Los Angeles, California. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an Art Deco National Register of Historic Places landmark built in 1929. Southwestern is an independent law school with affiliation to the undergraduate program at California State University, Northridge.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 1 Title IV programs, 1 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing1 · 100.0%
- No Data0 · 0.0%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Distance Education Accrediting Commission
American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
Action history · 3
- Aug 2023Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
- Oct 2018Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
- Sep 2018Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, students received in Pell grants, alongside $43.0M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 253 borrowers who entered repayment, 1 (0.3%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Southwestern Law School
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- Public property12
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Data quality: 1 report was later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Southwestern Law School vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Southwestern Law School selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectSouthwestern Law School | — | — | 1,006 | — | — |
| 0% | — | 112 | $24,825 | — | |
| — | — | 670 | — | — | |
| — | — | 154 | — | — | |
| — | — | 379 | — | — | |
| — | — | 299 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,125 | — | — | |
| — | — | 55 | — | — | |
| — | — | 650 | — | — | |
| — | — | 692 | — | — | |
| — | — | 669 | — | — | |
| — | — | 273 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,163 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,131 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,062 | — | — | |
| — | — | 484 | — | — | |
| — | — | 154 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,089 | — | — | |
| 32% | — | — | — | — | |
| — | — | 78 | — | — | |
| — | — | 288 | — | — | |
| — | — | 262 | — | — | |
| — | — | 420 | — | — | |
| — | — | 273 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,195 | — | — | |
| — | — | 718 | — | — | |
| — | — | 367 | — | — | |
| — | — | 722 | — | — | |
| Peer group median | 16% | — | 484 | $24,825 |
Institutions like Southwestern Law School
Explore the federal data for institutions in Southwestern Law School's comparison group.
- California
Abraham Lincoln University
Grad rate0%Admit rate—Enrollment112Net price$24,825View data - New York
Albany Law School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment670Net price—View data - Virginia
Appalachian School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment154Net price—View data - Georgia
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment379Net price—View data - Florida
Ave Maria School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment299Net price—View data - New York
Brooklyn Law School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,125Net price—View data - California
Cal Northern School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment55Net price—View data - California
California Western School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment650Net price—View data - South Carolina
Charleston School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment692Net price—View data - New York
CUNY School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment669Net price—View data - Massachusetts
Massachusetts School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment273Net price—View data - Minnesota
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,163Net price—View data - Massachusetts
New England Law-Boston
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,131Net price—View data - New York
New York Law School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,062Net price—View data - Rhode Island
Roger Williams University School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment484Net price—View data - California
San Joaquin College of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment154Net price—View data - Texas
South Texas College of Law Houston
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,089Net price—View data - Louisiana
Southern University Law Center
Grad rate32%Admit rate—Enrollment—Net price—View data - California
The Colleges of Law at Santa Barbara
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment78Net price—View data - California
The Colleges of Law at Ventura
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment288Net price—View data - California
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment262Net price—View data - Michigan
Thomas M Cooley Law School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment420Net price—View data - California
Trinity Law School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment273Net price—View data - California
University of California College of the Law-San Francisco
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,195Net price—View data - New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce School of Law
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment718Net price—View data - California
University of West Los Angeles
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment367Net price—View data - Vermont
Vermont Law and Graduate School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment722Net price—View data
Southwestern Law School Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Institutional Effectiveness page of Southwestern Law School provides contact details including a phone number and physical address of the school. Specific mission information or links to resources like a factbook or data request forms are not provided on the page.
Visit IR office pageReports & documents (2)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- FactbookInstitutional Effectiveness | Southwestern Law School2026The page for Southwestern Law School's Institutional Effectiveness details various academic, faculty, administrative, and student life programs. It emphasizes sections on admissions, J.D. and LL.M. programs, curriculum, experiential learning, and career services. It covers essential school attributes like campus services, library access, and alumni engagement, along with the institution's nondiscrimination policies. The page provides comprehensive information regarding school operations, school programs, and legal compliance features including accreditation and privacy policies.swlaw.edu
Grants & funding (1)
Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.
Notable alumni of Southwestern Law School (6)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Tom BradleyPolitics
- Marcia ClarkLaw
- Donald SterlingBusiness
- Matt FongPolitics
- Jim GibbonsPolitics
- Stanley MoskLaw
Frequently asked questions about Southwestern Law School
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Southwestern Law School.
How many students attend Southwestern Law School?
Where is Southwestern Law School located?
Who runs Institutional Research at Southwestern Law School?
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