The advocacy program at South Texas College of Law Houston continues to dominate in 2025-26 “Best Law Schools” rankings by U.S. News & World Report, holding steady at 6th in the nation among 194 ranked law schools.
STCL Houston jumped 10 spots — up to 128 — in the overall rankings over last year because of its strong success in areas that now receive more emphasis: career outcomes (now weighted 33%) and first-time (18%) and ultimate bar passage rates (7%).
“South Texas Law has been producing exceptional graduates for more than a century, and it’s incredibly gratifying to see the rankings world pay more attention to important outcome factors that previously carried less weight,” said South Texas Law President and Dean Rey Valencia. “While rankings are not our primary benchmark of success, we are proud of the great work our teams are doing to support students in passing the bar and getting great jobs. Our most recent results in both of these categories are upwards of 90%.”
The law school demonstrated significant strength in ultimate bar passage rate (up 30% in rankings), bar passage rate for first-time test takers (up 28%), and in [career] outcomes 10 months after graduation (up 20%). STCL Houston’s ranking also increased 26% for its placement success rate.
South Texas Law’s advocacy program is one of the only law schools in the nation consistently ranked in the top 10, and it is widely known for preparing student teams to win national championships in moot court and mock trial competitions against tough competitors (148; significantly more than any other law school in the country).
Other specialty programs that continue to rank well are dispute resolution (tied for 24th) and legal writing (tied for 36th). Leaders of law schools’ specialty programs rank one another for these categories.
The U.S. News “Best Law Schools” rankings are based on 12 key factors. In addition to employment rates and bar passage rates, they include acceptance rate, faculty resources, student-faculty ratio, library resources, peer assessment and lawyers/judges assessment, and median LSAT/GPA.
STCL Houston, the city’s oldest law school founded in 1923, is the only independent, non-university connected law school in Texas. South Texas Law is located in downtown Houston, has a strong alumni network of more than 16,000 attorneys across Texas and the nation, and has produced exceptional leaders in the legal profession including state Supreme Court justices, thousands of judges, partners in BigLaw and independent firms, public service attorneys, and general counsels for international corporations.
