Top 10 Law Colleges of India

Every student in their final school years is concerned about what should be their choice of career trajectory that gives the growth and stability. Though many of them choose the traditional path of being an engineer or doctor, there is a shift in the trend of choice. Nowadays, students are more attracted to the course of law than any other course either because of the growing career prospects or because of less competition compared to other streams. Those who pursue their higher education in law have stable career growth in the government sector and the private sector. There are two ways to get the degree of law either you can get enrolled in three years LLB program after completing graduation, or you can get admission in five years integrated course with B.Sc, B.A or B.Com. After completing L.L.B ( Legum Baccalaureus, which is a Latin word for Bachelors of Law), a student can either start their career by joining a law firm, starts legal practice in court, can start their preparation for judicial services, or can do Masters degree in law known as L.L.M ( Magister Legum). L.L.M is a two-year-long course after which some of the students get enrolled themselves in Ph.D. There are many governments and private universities and colleges in India for the course of law, and there are more than 1000 colleges that offer this course. Most universities and colleges conduct entrance tests for taking admission. Still, the most popular entrance exam for the law is CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) which is a centralized entrance test at the national level for admission in 22 National Law Universities of India. Many self-financed and private law colleges also accept the scores of this entrance test for admission. Here is the list of India's top 10 law colleges.

1. National Law School of India University, Bengaluru.

This is the most renowned and prestigious law school established in 1986 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is the first national law university of India set up under the National Law School of India University Act. NLSIU is a member of AIU (Association of Indian Universities) and is recognized by the UGC. It was ranked as the no. 1 University for the Law by NIRF in 2021. Earlier, NLSIU used to take admission through CLAT. Still, from 2020 it is conducting its own national level entrance test called the National Law School Admission Test that is a three-stage exam comprised of 2 written exams and interviews. The notable alumni of this law school are Sudhir Krishnaswamy (VC of NLSIU), Menaka Guruswamy (senior advocate, Supreme Court and named as one of Times 100 Most Influential Person 2019), and K. Vijay Kumar (IPS).

2. National Law University, Delhi

National Law University was established in 2008 in Delhi through the National Law University Delhi Act 2007. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law, Ph.D. and it also offers PG Diploma courses. It offers 7 streams across two courses. NLUD conducts a national-level entrance test called the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) for admission. This law school of Delhi is known for its teaching and educational pedagogy that includes seminars and tutorials by experienced faculty and law experts. The notable alumni of this law school are Dushyant Chautala (Deputy CM of Haryana).

3. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad

This law school is one of the famous and prominent law schools in the country where students want to get admission. The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) was established in Hyderabad, Telangana, in 1998. Its entrance exam for admission is highly competitive, where more than 80,000 students appear for its LLB program, and only 120 students get admission. It takes admission through the CLAT exam. It offers various courses like 5 years integrated B.A, LLB, LLM, MBLA ( Masters in Business Law and Administration), M.Phil, Ph.D., MSTL(Masters in Space & Telecommunications Laws), MALATM( Masters in Aviation Law and Air Transport Management), PG Diploma and now it also offers 2 year MBA program( first among all the Indian National Law Universities). It has also collaborated with different research centers and universities like the University of Ireland to conduct various research programs.

4. National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata

This school was established in 1999 by the government of West Bengal in conjunction with the Bar Council of India. It is among one of the best elite law colleges. It offers 5 years integrated B. A / B.Sc L.L.B (Hons), L.L.M. It takes admission on the basis of marks scored in CLAT. The main goal of this law school is to advance learning and knowledge of legal process and law and their role in national development, to promote the interdisciplinary study of law concerning technology, management, development, and international cooperation. The courses it offers also focus on the learning of students through legal research and moot court competition.

5. IIT Kharagpur

It is an autonomous institute of national importance that was founded in 1951. Many out there has no idea that IIT Kharagpur also offers law courses, and according to the NIRF ranking of 2021, the institution has been ranked 5^th in law. IIT Kharagpur collaborates with many institutes like the University of Melbourne and Curtin, IIM Calcutta, etc. It has a huge campus of 2100 acres with immense facilities available for the students. It conducts entrance exams for admission in L.L.B and L.L.M, consisting of two-level, i.e., objective computer-based tests and interviews. The eligibility criteria for the course of law in IIT Kharagpur include a bachelor's degree in medicine, technology, and engineering with a first-class of master's degree in pharmacy or a first-class MBA degree.

6. Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar

This law school was established in 2003 under Gujarat National Law University Act 2003. This law university is recognized by the University Grant Commission (UGC) and the Bar Council of India (BCI). It is a member of many national and international organizations like the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), the International Association of Law Schools (IALS), United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), Shashtri Indo Canadian Institute, and Asian Law Institute (ASLI). It also has collaboration with different universities of countries like Australia, Spain, the USA, France, the UK, Germany, Japan, and many other countries. It offers many courses like B.Com L.L.B Hons, B. A L.L.B Hons, B.B.An L.L.B Hons, B.S.W L.L.B, L.L.M, and MBA Financial Management and Business Law. This law school takes admission on the basis of the scores of CLAT for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, whereas for taking admission in MBA, it is essential to obtain valid scores in CAT/MAT/CMAT. For taking admission in Ph.D. GNLU takes entrance, followed by an interview.

7. Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi

It is one of the leading and oldest universities in India. It was established during British Raj in 1920 and was moved to its current location in 1935. In 1988 it became the central university. It is ranked 7^th by NIRF ranking 2021 and received an A++ ranking by NAAC. It has collaboration with several foreign universities like the University of Virginia, USA, INALCO, France, and student exchange program with the University of Applied Science, Erfurt, Germany. For the course of law, it offers B.A. L.L.B and L.L.M. The candidates who wish to get admission need to clear the entrance exam conducted by the Jamia Milia Islamia University. Its campus has all the necessary facilities for students and also has one of the largest libraries in India. The most notable alumni of this university are Anjana Om Kashyap, Virendra Sehwag, Shahrukh Khan.

8. National Law University, Jodhpur

This law university was established in 2000 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. It is a publicly owned state university that is recognized by the University Grant Commission (UGC). Its NIRF ranking 2021 is 8^th in the category of law. The vision and objective of this law university are to provide a conducive environment for its student and attain perfection in legal education. It takes admission on the basis of CLAT and CLAT PG (for masters in law). The courses it offers are B.A L.L.B Hons, B.B.A L.L.B Hons, L.L.M, and Ph.D. (for admission in Ph.D. University conducts entrance exam followed by interview). NLU Jodhpur has collaboration with many foreign universities like School of Law, King's College, University of London, Ural State Law Academy, Russia, Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, Freiburg University, and Law School, Germany. The campus of this university has the latest and modern IT infrastructure and has all the necessary amenities.

9. Symbiosis Law School, Pune

This law school was established in 1977, and it became the constituent college of Symbiosis International University in 2002. It is recognized by the Bar Council of India (BCI), and it also awarded this law school with Gold Star Award 2013. It has more than 1900 students enrolled and more than 140 faculty members. It offers admission in UG, PG, and Diploma in 11 courses. They also offer B. A L.L.B Hons and B.B.A L.L.B which is a five-year integrated course and also offers many specializations options for the course of LLM. For admission, candidates have to clear the entrance test comprised Symbiosis All India Admission Test and Symbiosis Law Admission Test. It has collaboration with many foreign universities like Harvard Law School, University College Cork, School of Law, Ireland. University College Dublin, Ireland, etc.

10. Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar

This institute was established in 1992 by Achyuta Samanta with a vision to create an institution that is beneficial for society. Though it had a small beginning, it has a strong foundation that helped this institute to become one of the leading universities in India. In 2004 it was declared as Deemed to be University by MHRD and accredited as Tier 1 (Washington Accord) by NBA. KIIT has been ranked 10^th in the list of top law schools in India by NIRF in 2021. For the course of law, it offers L.L.B and five years integrated L.L.B programs. Students can get admission by getting an acceptable score in the entrance exam conducted by the institute.KIIT has collaboration with Trinity College, London, Hanbat National University, South Korea, Deakin University, Australia, and many other foreign universities. It is recognized as the Institute of Eminence Tag by UGC, Best Regional University by The Socrates Committee UK. ASSOCHAM also awards it as the Best University of the Year, ISAS Badge from IAU, etc.