List of NLUs in India 2024: Ranking, Courses, Admission Process

National Law Universities (NLUs) are the premier law schools in India and are seen as flagbearers of legal education. The NLUs represent the second-generation reforms in legal education. The first NLU, named as National Law School of India University (NLSIU) was established under the National Law School of India Act (Karnataka Act 22 of 1986). Currently, there are 26 NLUs including an off-campus of GNLU Gandhinagar known as GNLU Silvassa.

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This Story also Contains

1. List of Top NLUs in India - NIRF NLU Ranking
2. Law Courses Offered by Top NLUs in India
3. Entrance Exams for NLUs
4. Admission to NLUs through CLAT
5. Admission to NLU Delhi through AILET
6. NLUs Admission - Eligibility Criteria
7. AILET Vs CLAT - A comparison

Out of 26 NLUs, 24 offer admissions through the Common Law Admission Test. NLU Delhi and NLU Meghalaya conduct their admissions through different entrance exams. CNLU Patna conducts its a separate admission test for LLM programme. RPNLU Prayagraj is the newest NLU to conduct admission throught CLAT. Although NLU Prayagraj uses CLAT scores for its admission, it is not part of the centralised admission and counselling.

Almost all national law universities (NLUs) offer integrated LLB, LLM and PhD programmes. Some of the NLUs also offer various certification programmes. NLSIU Bengaluru and NLUO Cuttack are the only NLUs to offer a 3-year LLB programme for students who have completed their graduation. NLSIU Bengaluru offers admission to 3-year LLB through National Law School Admission Test (NLSAT) which is conducted online. In this article, students can get the full list of NLUs along with various other related details including law courses, admission process, seats, entrance exam, and cutoffs for NLUs.

NLU Full Form

NLU stands for National Law University. These universities were established to take legal education in India on par with global standards. They are no less in status than IIMs and IITs are for management and engineering respectively. Currently, there are 26 NLUs in the country. Read on to find out the list of NLUs in India rank-wise.

Top NLUs in India

NLU ranking is an important factor for candidates when deciding their preferred institute. In NIRF Law rankings 2023 NLSIU Bengaluru occupies the top spot. The other universities that complete the top NLU ranking 2024 are NLU Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata, GNLU Gandhinagar, NLIU Bhopal, RGNLU Patiala, RMLNLU Lucknow, NUSRL Ranchi, and NLUJA Assam.

National Law Universities Seat Intake (Updated 2024)

List of Top NLUs in India - NIRF NLU Ranking

Law Courses Offered by Top NLUs in India

The national law universities offer 5-year integrated LLB, 3-year LLB, LLM and PhD courses. Candidates may check the list of law programmes offered by NLUs below.

Law Programmes offered by NLUs

Some NLUs such as NLSIU Bangalore also offer Master of Public Policy, Certificate courses in various disciplines of law, and MBA courses.

NLU Courses Full List

Entrance Exams for NLUs

There are two law entrance exams for admission to national law universities (NLUs). The first one is the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) organised by the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs). It is a common entrance exam for admission to 23 national law universities (NLUs). The second is the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) of the National Law University Delhi. It is important to note here that NLU Delhi is not a member NLU of the CLAT Consortium, so the CLAT scores are not accepted by it. NLU Meghalaya also conducts its exams namely MEG UAT and MEG PAT for its UG and PG admissions respectively.

CNLU Patna also conducts a separate admission test for the LLM programme. The university’s UG programme is offered through CLAT.

Admission to NLUs through CLAT

The Common Law Admission Test or CLAT is one of the most popular law entrance tests. It is conducted offline, in pen and paper format, across the country. The application form for CLAT is typically released in July and the entrance exam is conducted in the first or second week of December. The consortium tries to complete its admission process before May. The first week of August is the time when most of the NLUs commence their classes.

Admission to NLU Delhi through AILET

The NLU Delhi’s entrance examination, AILET, is also an offline-based examination conducted across the country. The application form of AILET is released for BA LLB, LLM and PhD programmes, around August. The exam is conducted in December and the classes start in the first week of August.

NLUs Admission - Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for admission to law programmes are the same across all 22 national law universities under the CLAT Consortium. NLU Delhi specified its eligibility criteria separately in its admission notification. Even though the basic eligibility criteria remain the same for admission across NLUs. Here are the details of NLU's eligibility criteria.

NLUs admission eligibility criteria

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AILET Vs CLAT - A comparison

One can find many similarities and differences in CLAT vs AILET comparison. CLAT is essentially a comprehension-based test designed to examine the reading and critical thinking skills of the aspirant. AILET on the other hand is a mix of both comprehension and non-comprehension-based questions. Here is a brief analysis of these two NLU entrance exams.

CLAT and AILET - An overview of the pattern

Also Read -

• Detailed CLAT exam pattern

• Detailed AILET exam pattern

CLAT vs AILET - Comparison of syllabus and test structure

The syllabus of the AILET and CLAT exams are more or less the same. Both entrance tests are known for testing the necessary skills required for pursuing law. However, there are some differences between CLAT and AILET as well. For example, AILET has a test structure based on both comprehension-based questions as well as simple objective questions. In CLAT, however, almost the entire test paper will be based on comprehension-based passages of 300-450 words, making it a lengthy paper. Candidates may check the details of the CLAT and AILET test structure below.

CLAT Vs AILET: Syllabus and Test structure

Also Read -

• Detailed CLAT syllabus

• Detailed AILET syllabus

NLUs Fee Structure

For undergraduate law programmes, the annual fees of NLUs range from 1.5 lakh per annum to 2.62 lakh per annum. While, in the case of LLM programmes, the annual fees range from 1.13 lakh to 1.89 lakh. In top-ranked NLUs, the annual fees tend to be higher due to the various facilities offered by them in addition to regular classes. Candidates may check the details of NLU fee structure from the quick links given below.

Fees in NLUs

Top Universities in India

• LPU

• Chandigarh University

• KL University

• UPES

• BML