National Law Schools in India

CLAT is a Common Law Admission Test conducted by the National Law Schools of India for admission to both undergraduate and postgraduate law courses. Presently, India has twelve National Law Schools/Universities spread across different parts of the country. Until 2007, each of these schools conducted separate entrance examinations across the country for admission to their respective universities.

However, considering the inconvenience to students and expenses involved the University Grants Commission, Ministry of HRD and the National Law Universities jointly initiated a common law admission Test (CLAT) for admission to different National Law Universities of the Country.

National Law Universities/Schools


Initially the following seven National Law Universities approved CLAT for admission to both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

National LawSchool of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore


It is the first Indian university established exclusively for legal studies and research. The university offers five year B.A., LL.B (Hons.) and two year LL.M program with specialization in Business Laws and Human Rights Laws. The university also offers research programmes and there is scope for distance education too. NLISU follows a trimester pattern for undergraduate programmes and has fifteen endowment chairs that promote the study of different subjects like Constitutional Law, Refugee Law, Corporate Law, International Trade Law and Consumer Law.

The LL.M program is based on semester pattern and has four semesters. Few compulsory subjects in the first semester include Law and Social Transformation in India, Indian Constitutional Law, Judicial Process, and Research Methodology. You can opt for specializations like Tax Law, IP Rights, the WTO, Environmental Law, and Corporate Governance in the second and third semesters. The fourth semester of LL.M is for dissertation.

NALSAR University, Hyderabad


Located in Andhra Pradesh, NALSAR is fully aimed at promoting research in law and its allied disciplines. The university offers innovative student exchange programmes, faculty and co-operative research with 16 foreign universities in Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Singapore, Switzerland, The Netherlands, U.Kand U.S.A. NALSAR offers five years B.A., LL.B (Hons.) and two years LL.M programme with specialization in Human Rights, Environment Law, IP Rights, Corporate Law and Governance, Insurance Laws, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, and International Trade and Business Laws. The university follows semester patterns for both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

National LawInstitute University, Bhopal


Recognized by both University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India, NLIU was established by the Rashtriya Vidhi Sansthan Vishwavidyalaya Adhiniyam in 1997 through the Act of the Madhya Pradesh State Legislature. NLIU has ten Centres of Excellence including Law, Governance, and Human Rights, Criminal Justice Administration, Gender and Health Law, Science, Technology and Law, Environmental Law, Business and Commercial Law, Law, Languages and Culture, Socio-Legal Studies, WTO Studies, and Clinical Legal Education.

NLIU offers five year B.A., LL.B (Hons.) and two year LL.M programs with specializations in Business Law, Environmental Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Criminal Law, Human Rights and Law, Science & Technology. The university also offers sponsored training programmes in the areas of Consumer Protection Laws, Foundational Training for Public Prosecutors and Legal Research Methods.

West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkatta


The Chief Justice of India is the Chancellor of WBNUJS that was established under the WBNUJS Act, 1999. The academic programs offered by the WBNUJS include B.A., LL.B (Hons.) and two year LL.M program general and special, one year LL.M programme, two-year double degree LL.M/M.A in Law and Public Policy, M.Phil, Ph.D and LL.D degree program. The university also offers a variety of diploma and certificate programmes through distance, contact and regular classroom sessions.

National LawUniversity, Jodhpur


Located on the outskirts of Jodhpur towards Western Rajasthan, NLU offers unique five year integrated 'double honors' programs B.B.A (Hons.), LL.B (Hons.) on interrelationship of Management studies and Law, B.P.Sc (Hons.), LL.B (Hons.) emphasizing on the changing socio-economic conditions, B.Sc(Technololgy)(Hons), LL.B (Hons.) that provides direct correlation with upcoming techno-legal disputes and IPR issues.

NLU is the only law university in the country to have well equipped science laboratories including electronic and communications, computers, chemistry and life science (biotech) labs. The double honors stream offered by the university includes IP Rights, Business Law, Constitutional Law and International Law. The university also offers two-year LL.M programme.

Hidayatullah NationalLaw University, Raipur


The University has few high ranked visiting professors including the Chief Justice of India. Chief Justice of the High Court of Chhattisgarh is the Chancellor of the university. HNLU is one of the famous law schools of the country that created a record by placing all the students of their first batch through campus recruitment programme. The recruiters include Grant Thorton, Human Rights Law Network, Axis Band, Bajaj Allianz, ICICI Bank and to name a few.

HNLU follows semester pattern and offers five years B.A., LL.B, (Hons.) and two years LL.M programme with specialization in International Trade and Investment Law, IP Rights Law, Corporate Law, Environmental Law, International Law and Organization, Labour, Capital and Law, Constitution and Legal Order, Human Rights Law and Administrative Law.

Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar


GNLU offers fiver year integrated degree course including B.A., LL.B (Hons.), and B.com, LL.B (Hons.) and B.Sc., LL.B (Hons.) and two year LL.M programme with specialization in Criminology, International Law and IP Rights. The compulsory subjects during the first semester of LL.M include Jurisprudence and Legal Theory, Comparative Constitutional Law, Law of Obligations, Research Methodology and Practical.

Following the success of CLAT 2008 that provided better quality of students, following four National Law Universities have also joined the CLAT 2009. In other words, if you clear CLAT henceforth, you can also seek admission the following National Law Universities apart from the ones listed above.

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow


The University offers five year B.A, LL.B (Hons.) programme, and two-year LL.M programme through semester pattern. The university also teaches foreign languages like French, German, and Spanish. Additional fee is charged for students who opt for the classes in foreign languages.

Rajiv GandhiNational University of Law, Punjab


Located in the heart of Patiala, RGUNL's Centres of Excellence include, Centre for Advanced Study in Criminal Law, Centre for Consumer Protection Law and Advocacy, School of Agricultural Law and Economics, and Centre for Advanced Study in International Humanitarian Law. The university offers both regular and distance education programs. The programs on offer include five year B.A., LL.B (Hons.) and two-year LL.M degree.

Chanakya NationalLaw University, Patna


Since 2006, the university offers five year integrated B.A, LL.B (Hons.) programme. The other programs recently started or to be started this academic year by CNLU include Ph.D, and LL.D Courses, one year PG diploma courses on Human Rights, Humanitarian Law and Refugee Law; Industrial and IP Law; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Cyber Laws; Disaster Management and Law and Disabilities and Law.

National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi


The University offers five year integrated degree on B.A, LL.B, (Hons.) through semester pattern. Apart from the Bar Council prescribed subjects for LL.B, the university also offers special subject areas like mining, maritime transactions, psychology and medicine, media and communications, forensic science, history of statutory presumptions, descriptive statistic and real estate.

All these universities have reserved quotas for foreign nationals. Contact the concerned university for further details of admission. Irrespective of undergraduate or postgraduate degrees, if you are an Indian seeking admission to any of these universities then you must clear CLAT. Each university has their own cut-offs and percentage of marks that are required for admission. However, special provisions exist for foreign nationals.

Undergraduate Programmes: Students who are seeking admission to undergraduate law programmes must have completed 10+2 examinations or equivalent with not less than 50% of marks. However, aggregate of 45% in 10+2 examinations is sufficient for students belonging to SC/SCT/OBC quota and for persons with disability. Students appearing for the same qualifying exam during March/April are also eligible to apply for the corresponding year. However, they need to provide proof of passing of the qualifying exam or need to provide a detailed mark sheet during counseling. You must have completed 20 years as on 1 July. In case of persons with disability and students belonging to SC/ST/OBC the age relaxation is up to 22 as on 1 July.

Post-graduate Programmes :If you are seeking admission to the two-year postgraduate programs, then you must have either cleared the LL.B or B.L degree from a recognized University with not less than 55% marks in aggregate. Students belonging to SC/ST/OBC and persons with disability have a relaxation of up to 50% in any of the above said law courses. Students appearing for their final year exams of LL.B or B.L are also eligible to apply provided they produce proof of passing the qualifying exam before or during the time of counselling.

CLAT is not applicable for postgraduate programs of NLU, Jodhpur. You will have to take a separate test from NLU, Jodhpur for admission to the same.

CLAT Preparation


Total marks for both undergraduate and postgraduate programme is 200. The test subjects for undergraduate law courses include English (comprehension), Elementary Mathematics, General Knowledge/Current Affairs, Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. While for the postgraduate, the CLAT test subjects include law of contracts, law of torts, family law, criminal law, constitutional law and legal theory.

You can either prepare for CLAT from home or join training academies that offer training for CLAT preparation. These training academies conduct periodical tests and provide access to previous question papers of CLAT. Find the best training academy in your region that has an expert legal practitioner or legal trainer.