National Law School of India University

What National Law School of India University does

National Law School of India University (NLSIU) is a statutory public university established under the National Law School of India Act, 1986, by the Government of Karnataka and located in Bengaluru. It is India's top-ranked law school by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and pioneered the 5-year integrated BA LLB (Hons) degree, an academic format since adopted across the National Law University system. The university operates an on-campus portfolio of 17 programmes spanning undergraduate (5-year integrated BA LLB, 3-year BA Hons, 3-year LLB), postgraduate (1-year LLM, 2-year MPP), and doctoral degrees (PhD in Law and in Social Sciences, Humanities and Public Policy), supported by 168 faculty members and approximately 1,734 on-campus students.

The underlying delivery model combines residential instruction with an online and hybrid arm, PACE (Professional and Continuing Education), which offers post-graduate master's degrees and post-graduate diplomas to remote learners. Research infrastructure includes CEERA (Centre for Environmental Law, Education, Research and Advocacy), the Centre for the Study of the Legal Profession, the Centre for Legal History of India (in partnership with Max Planck), and the Advanced Centre for Research, Development and Training in Cyber Laws and Forensics. International reach is supported by student exchange, NLSAT-International admissions, and partnerships including Washington University in St. Louis' global AI partnership network.

Revenue is generated from three streams: on-campus tuition (explicitly subsidised, with student fees not covering programme costs), PACE online/hybrid programmes, and research and consultancy projects. Admissions to the flagship BA LLB and LLM programmes are administered via the CLAT Consortium; other programmes use the institution-specific NLSAT (including an international variant). The university receives CSR-backed financial aid (e.g., the Mirae Asset Scholarship from 2026-27) and operates under a Governing Body structure comprising an Executive Council and General Council.

Name

National Law School of India University

Legal name

National Law School of India University

Website

https://nls.ac.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

NLSIU is India's top-ranked statutory law university in Bengaluru, offering on-campus undergraduate to doctoral programmes in law and policy for 1,734 students, supplemented by online PACE continuing-education degrees and a portfolio of research centres.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Legal Education)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

ABA-Accredited JD-Granting Law Schools (EDAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Law School Continuing Legal Education (CLE) & Executive Programs (EDAHAIAH), LLM & Post-JD Graduate Law Programs (EDAHAIAC), SJD / JSD & Doctoral Law Programs (EDAHAIAD), Online / Hybrid Law Schools & Programs (EDAHAIAE), Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF)

Keywords

• Legal education
• Law degree programmes
• Continuing legal education
• Public policy research
• Legal scholarship

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangalore

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Student tuition fees (on-campus programmes): Revenue from fees received from academic programmes. Student fees from on-campus academic programmes do not meet expenses, so all students are subsidised by the university.
2. Professional and Continuing Education (PACE): Online and hybrid programmes offering post-graduate master's degrees and post-graduate diplomas generating revenue from remote learners
3. Research and consultancy projects: Revenue from research and consultancy projects and related activities

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

National Law School of India University delivers legal and interdisciplinary higher education through on-campus undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degree programmes, including the flagship 5-year integrated BA LLB (Hons), 3-Year LLB (Hons), LLM, Master's in Public Policy, and PhD programmes. The university also runs PACE (Professional and Continuing Education), an online and hybrid platform offering post-graduate master's degrees and diplomas for working professionals and remote learners, supported by dedicated research centres and international partnerships.

Product overview

National Law School of India University (NLSIU) is India's top-ranked law school offering a comprehensive portfolio of legal and interdisciplinary education programmes. The university operates a platform-plus-modules architecture comprising on-campus degree programmes (undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral), online and hybrid programmes through PACE (Professional and Continuing Education), and a research centre. The flagship offering is the 5-Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) Programme, supplemented by the 3-Year B.A. (Hons.), 3-Year LL.B. (Hons.), Master's Programme in Public Policy (MPP), 1-Year LLM, and Ph.D. programmes. PACE delivers 10 online/hybrid post-graduate programmes and certificates for remote learners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 5-Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) Programme Five-year integrated undergraduate degree combining arts and law, pioneering comprehensive training in legal and non-legal subjects; flagship programme of NLSIU.
• NLS BA (Hons) Programme Three-year undergraduate degree in arts with options for majors and minors in History, Sociology & Anthropology, Economics, and Politics, with an optional fourth-year research track.
• 3-Year LL.B. (Hons.) Programme Three-year postgraduate professional degree for graduates from any discipline, qualifying holders to practice law in India.
• LLM Programme One-year postgraduate degree in law organised around three trimesters annually.
• Master's Programme in Public Policy (MPP) Two-year interdisciplinary postgraduate programme providing comprehensive training in designing, translating, and evaluating the efficacy of public policies, with law as an interface for sustainable development.
• Ph.D (Law) Doctoral programme enabling candidates to contribute to academic scholarship in their chosen areas of law, with opportunities to teach or participate in ongoing research.
• Ph.D (Social Sciences, Humanities & Public Policy) Interdisciplinary doctoral programme involving research across disciplines to develop comprehensive perspectives on legal and policy problems.
• PACE (Professional And Continuing Education) Professional and Continuing Education department offering online and hybrid post-graduate master's degrees and seven post-graduate diplomas for students from all backgrounds, making legal education accessible to remote learners.

Quantifiable outcome

• NLSIU student Ayesha Khan was adjudged Best Speaker of the 2026 ICC Moot Court competition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Department of Energy, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Royal Government of BhutanminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026International training programme on 'Energy Security: Law and Policy' conducted from 17-21 June 2026 through CEERA and PACE department. Five-day technical training programme for Bhutanese legal professionals.
• Washington University in St. Louis School of LawcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2025NLSIU is one of nine partner law schools in the Global Artificial Intelligence Partnership network connecting law schools across six continents. Partnership beginning 2026 will facilitate academic exchange, aligned teaching methods, and inclusive curricula through virtual webinars, joint research forums, and in-person faculty and student training programmes.
• Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal TheorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal partnership with NLSIU Bangalore for the Centre for Legal History of India (CLHI) - the first dedicated institutional home for Indian legal history research at a German Max Planck Institute. The centre will offer training, mentoring, scholarships, and research fellowships to develop a new generation of Indian legal historians.
• Mirae Asset FoundationminorOthersMOU signed for Mirae Asset Scholarship to support student financial aid beginning Academic Year 2026-27. The scholarship is instituted with support of Mirae Asset Foundation, CSR arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad: India's other top National Law University offering a comparable 5-year integrated BA LLB, LLM, and PhD in law. Direct head-to-head competitor in NIRF rankings and CLAT admissions; explicitly cited as the co-partner with NLSIU in Max Planck's Centre for Legal History of India.
• National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi): Delhi-based NLU with 5-year integrated BA LLB, LLM, and PhD programmes competing for the same CLAT cohort. Frequently ranked alongside NLSIU in NIRF Top 5 law schools and similar in curriculum structure and outcome profile.
• West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata: Eastern India NLU offering integrated BA LLB and postgraduate law programmes through CLAT. Comparable in mission, structure, and peer rankings; faculty cited as cross-employer (e.g., Dr. Saurabh Bhattacharjee served on faculty at NUJS before joining NLSIU as Registrar).
• Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar: Top-tier NLU offering integrated law and LLM programmes under the same CLAT consortium framework. Directly competes for India-wide legal talent and features in NIRF top law school rankings.
• Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), O.P. Jindal Global University: Private Indian law school with BA LLB, LLM, and PhD programmes competing for elite applicants outside the NLU/CLAT system. Cited as a former employer of NLSIU affiliated faculty (Dr. Ashrita Prasad Kotha). Comparable on international outlook and English-medium curriculum.
• Symbiosis Law School, Pune: Large private law school under Symbiosis International offering BA LLB and LLM programmes with strong national intake via SET rather than CLAT. Comparable on curriculum breadth, moot culture, and corporate-law placement outcomes.

Emerging players

• Indian Law Institute, New Delhi: Specialised postgraduate law institution offering the LLM and PhD programmes referenced in NLSIU management bios (e.g., Dr. Harisankar K Sathyapalan's LLM from ILI). Comparable on legal-research mandate rather than undergraduate scale.
• Azim Premji University, School of Policy and Governance: Bengaluru-based university offering MPP and policy programmes that overlap directly with NLSIU's Master's in Public Policy. Several NLSIU faculty (Dr. Arun K. Thiruvengadam, Dr. Siddharth Swaminathan, Varsha Aithala) previously held roles here, evidencing direct competition for faculty and policy-research talent.

Broad incumbents

• Faculty of Law, University of Delhi: Historic central university law faculty offering 3-year LLB and LLM with very high applicant volumes. Comparable on legal-education content and Delhi/India-wide student pipeline, though delivery model is the older 3-year LLB rather than integrated.

Regional players

• Christ University, School of Law, Bangalore: Bangalore-based private university with BA LLB and LLM programmes drawing from the same city talent pool as NLSIU. Faculty cited (Lianne D'Souza) was previously at Christ before joining NLSIU, indicating direct local competition for faculty and students.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-child-and-the-law

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Law School of India University