With its swaying palm trees and Spanish architecture, one of the big selling points for the University of San Diego School of Law is the beauty of its campus and surroundings in San Diego. But the school is quick to tell you that there's more to USD than a pretty face--San Diego Law was has been ranked among the top-100 law schools. Taxation law is the school's strongest department, with a faculty led by Judge David Laro. The school also boasts a chapter of the Order of the Coif, a national law school honor society.

San Diego Law offers concurrent degrees with the university's business school, as well as a JD/MA in international relations. According to Vault's surveys, students are enthusiastic about the professors as well as the classes--though they seem to skew towards the theoretical, and some students complain that there is a narrow selection. The market in San Diego is routinely flooded by freshly-graduated students, so employment prospects for San Diego Law grads widen outside the immediate metropolitan area.