Private (nonprofit)

Southwestern Law School

Los Angeles, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·swlaw.edu
Acceptance
Grad-only
—
6-yr Graduation
Grad-only
—
Total enrollment
1,006
peer median 484
Avg net price
Grad-only
—
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AboutProgram outcomesAccreditationFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsCampus safetyPeersIR OfficeDocumentsGrantsAlumni

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.

FVT/GE

Of 1 Title IV programs, 1 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail.

Total programs
1
Passing
1
100.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

1programs
  • Passing1 · 100.0%
  • No Data0 · 0.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
1
No data
0

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.

1
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
+98.7%
$108,350 vs $54,534

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

1
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
194%
$210,222 debt · $108,350 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Distance Education Accrediting Commission

Accredited since 2013Next review Jan 2016
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

Accredited since 1970Next review Aug 2032

Action history · 3

  1. Aug 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
  2. Oct 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
  3. Sep 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, students received in Pell grants, alongside $53.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
—
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
—
null total
Direct Loans
$53.4M
1,363 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
0k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Unsubsidized · Grad$16.1M
656 loan awards
Grad PLUS$37.2M
707 loan awards

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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 253 borrowers who entered repayment, 1 (0.3%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.3%
-2.0pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
253
Defaulted
1
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
1.1%
2017
0.8%
2018
0.8%
2019
0.3%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* 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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Southwestern Law School

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs2
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

289 total completions
01Legal Professions
289100.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
1,006
12-mo unduplicated
1,091

Gender split

Men
40%436
Women
60%655

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
3.15
3 offenses · 951 students

3-year trend

8.402 yrs ago12.941 yr ago3.15Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
23
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
2
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Arson
1
Aggravated assault
1
Motor vehicle theft
1

By location

3total
  • Public property3

VAWA offenses

2
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 1 report was later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Southwestern Law School vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Southwestern Law School selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

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
Grad-onlyGrad-only1,006Grad-only—
Abraham Lincoln University
0%Open admission112$28,584—
Albany Law School
Grad-onlyGrad-only670Grad-only—
Appalachian School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only154Grad-only—
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School
Grad-onlyGrad-only379Grad-only—
Ave Maria School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only299Grad-only—
Brooklyn Law School
Grad-onlyGrad-only1,125Grad-only—
Cal Northern School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only55Grad-only—
California Western School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only650Grad-only—
Charleston School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only692Grad-only—
CUNY School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only669Grad-only—
Massachusetts School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only273Grad-only—
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only1,163Grad-only—
New England Law-Boston
Grad-onlyGrad-only1,131Grad-only—
New York Law School
Grad-onlyGrad-only1,062Grad-only—
Roger Williams University School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only484Grad-only—
San Joaquin College of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only154Grad-only—
South Texas College of Law Houston
Grad-onlyGrad-only1,089Grad-only—
Southern University Law Center
32%Grad-only—Grad-only—
The Colleges of Law at Santa Barbara
Grad-onlyGrad-only78Grad-only—
The Colleges of Law at Ventura
Grad-onlyGrad-only288Grad-only—
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only262Grad-only—
Thomas M Cooley Law School
Grad-onlyGrad-only420Grad-only—
Trinity Law School
Grad-onlyGrad-only273Grad-only—
University of California College of the Law-San Francisco
Grad-onlyGrad-only1,195Grad-only—
University of New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce School of Law
Grad-onlyGrad-only718Grad-only—
University of West Los Angeles
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry367No freshman cohort—
Vermont Law and Graduate School
Grad-onlyGrad-only722Grad-only—
Peer group median16%—484$28,584

Institutions like Southwestern Law School

Explore the federal data for institutions in Southwestern Law School's comparison group.

IPEDS

Southwestern Law School Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Institutional Effectiveness
Phone
213-738-6700
Address
3050 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010, United States

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 page

Reports & documents (2)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Grants & funding (1)

Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.

USA Spending

Notable alumni of Southwestern Law School (6)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Tom Bradley
    Politics
  • Marcia Clark
    Law
  • Donald Sterling
    Business
  • Matt Fong
    Politics
  • Jim Gibbons
    Politics
  • Stanley Mosk
    Law

Frequently asked questions about Southwestern Law School

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Southwestern Law School.

What is the acceptance rate at Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School does not have a reported acceptance rate. This institution offers no undergraduate degree programs, so there is no undergraduate admissions cycle to report.

What is the graduation rate at Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School does not have a reported federal graduation rate. Federal graduation rates track first-time, full-time undergraduates seeking a degree. This institution offers no undergraduate degree programs, so there is no cohort to follow.

How many students attend Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School reports a total enrollment of 1,006 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School does not have a reported average net price. Net price is a federal metric for first-time, full-time undergraduates receiving federal aid. This institution offers no undergraduate degree programs, so it does not report one.

Where is Southwestern Law School located?

Southwestern Law School is located in Los Angeles, California 90010-1106.

Who runs Institutional Research at Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School's IR work is done by the Institutional Effectiveness.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDSFall 2025–26 release, published July 28, 2026
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant & loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant and Direct Loan recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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