How much does a law degree from Howard University cost?

1. Sticker price: what the listings say about annual law tuition

Publicly available listings show small but material variation in the annual “sticker” tuition for Howard’s JD program. CollegeTuitionCompare and TestMasters list annual tuition at $38,612 for Howard University School of Law ^{[1] [5]}. U.S. News lists full‑time law tuition at $39,756 ^[2]. Wikipedia records the 2022–2023 law tuition and fees as $37,160 ^[3]. These are all reported tuition figures, not total cost of attendance ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

2. Total cost of attendance (COA): tuition plus living, fees and extras

“Cost of attendance” measures commonly used for financial aid packaging are higher than tuition alone. Wikipedia’s past entry lists an estimated COA for the law school at $68,620 for 2022–23 ^[3]. CompareLawSchools estimates 2026 COA of $71,710 for Howard’s law program, which includes living costs, books, transportation and other typical student expenses; after reported average grants that COA figure can fall ^[4]. Howard University’s own financial services pages provide COA frameworks and annual updates but the specific law school COA numbers vary by year and student choices ^{[6] [7]}.

3. Scholarships, grants and net price: sticker vs what many students pay

Several sources note that a substantial share of students receive grants that reduce net price. CollegeTuitionCompare reported that about 50.6% of Howard Law enrollees received grants with an average grant around $15,550, which would materially lower net tuition for many students ^[1]. CompareLawSchools’ summary likewise shows COA estimates “after receiving grants and scholarships” falling compared with sticker COA ^[4]. Exact net price depends on an individual’s aid package and varies year to year ^{[1] [4]}.

4. Year‑to‑year variation and why numbers disagree

Different sources use different base years, include different fee bundles, or estimate future increases. For example, some sites project 2025 tuition based on multi‑year trendlines and report an “estimated” 2025 tuition of about $41,412, while others quote the university’s published tuition or earlier academic‑year figures nearer $38k–$39k ^{[4] [1] [2]}. Institutional pages tend to emphasize current academic‑year COA methodology rather than a single immutable sticker price ^{[6] [7]}.

5. Outcome context: debt and value considerations

Reporting on Howard University more broadly shows graduate tuition averages and projected multi‑year costs — for example, average graduate tuition around $39,178 and institutional projections of multi‑year costs for degrees — which can help when comparing law tuition to other graduate programs ^{[8] [9]}. Law School Transparency and similar aggregators track debt, employment, and salary outcomes for law graduates; those pages are available for Howard and are relevant when weighing cost versus expected returns ^{[10] [11]}.

6. How to get the most accurate current figure

Howard University’s Student Financial Services posts year‑specific Cost of Attendance and tuition/fees pages that explain what’s included for each academic year; those pages are the authoritative place to confirm the current law‑school COA and any program‑specific differentials ^{[6] [7]}. For immediate planning, compare: the university’s current law‑school tuition page (if available), U.S. News law profile, and Law School Transparency—then factor in likely grants and living costs shown in COA estimates ^{[2] [10] [4]}.

Limitations: available sources present multiple, slightly different annual tuition figures and COA estimates across years; this summary reports those published numbers but does not reconcile them into a single definitive current sticker because institutional pages and aggregators differ ^{[1] [4] [2] [3] [6]}. If you want, I can check Howard University’s current official law‑school tuition page and recent COA table and produce a single up‑to‑date net‑price example based on likely grant scenarios.