Ave Maria School of Law

What Ave Maria School of Law does

Ave Maria School of Law is a private, nonprofit Catholic law school founded in 2000 by Tom Monaghan and located on a 12.5-acre campus in Naples, Florida. The institution offers a three-year Juris Doctor (JD) degree requiring 90 credit hours, including 74 core credits and 6 experiential credits. It is the only law school in the United States to offer a concentration in Natural Law, and its curriculum is grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition inspired by Pope John Paul II's encyclical Fides et Ratio. Specialized offerings include the Summer Start Advantage Program, Business Law Institute, Bar Preparation Strategies, Clinical Programs (Estate Planning, Veterans Law, Intellectual Property), and a Study Abroad program in Rome, Italy.

The school generates revenue primarily through tuition — $49,500 per academic year for 2025-26 and $50,900 plus $2,850 in fees for 2026-27 entering 1L students — supplemented by alumni and donor contributions managed by the Office of Development. Federal Direct Loan Program participation facilitates student financing, and the Yellow Ribbon Program supports veteran enrollment. Ave Maria applies a sophisticated scholarship strategy with merit-based awards ranging from $10,000 to full tuition plus stipends, with approximately $5,000,000 awarded to the Fall 2025 entering class of 160 students and approximately two-thirds of entering students receiving first-year renewable scholarships.

The school's go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven, leveraging the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) application portal with rolling admissions, year-round enrollment (Spring, Summer, Fall), national recruitment at LSAC forums, and on-campus visit programs. Students enroll from 49 states and 82+ undergraduate institutions, with a median LSAT of 155 and median GPA of 3.36. The institution is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education, and has been consecutively recognized as The Princeton Review's Most Conservative Law School and preLaw Magazine's Most Devout Law School.

Name

Ave Maria School of Law

Legal name

Ave Maria School of Law

Website

https://avemarialaw.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ave Maria School of Law is a private, nonprofit Catholic law school in Naples, Florida offering a three-year JD program with the only U.S. Natural Law concentration, serving approximately 450-500 students enrolled from 49 states through ABA-accredited, faith-integrated legal education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Law School

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 industry

Specialty Law Schools (e.g., Tax, IP, International, Trial Advocacy) (EDAHAIAF)

Keywords

• Legal education
• Juris doctor program
• Catholic law school
• Bar preparation
• Natural law concentration

Headquarters

HQ city

Naples

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Primary revenue stream from tuition. For 2025-26: $49,500 per academic year. For 2026-27: $50,900 tuition plus $2,850 fees for entering 1L students. Additional fees for summer enrollment at $2,475 per credit hour plus $788 fees.
2. Alumni and Donor Contributions: Office of Development manages annual fund, scholarship fund, memorial funds (Monsignor Frank McGrath Memorial Fund), estate gifts, and planned giving programs.募
3. Federal Student Loans: Participation in Federal Direct Loan Program including unsubsidized loans and Grad PLUS loans, facilitating student financing which generates loan processing relationships with federal government.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ave Maria School of Law is a Catholic-affiliated law school delivering a three-year Juris Doctor (JD) degree program rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition and natural law philosophy. It offers the only Natural Law concentration in the United States, supported by clinical programs in estate planning, veterans law, and intellectual property; a Business Law Institute; bar preparation; and a Study Abroad in Rome program.

Product overview

Ave Maria School of Law is a Catholic law school offering a unified Juris Doctor (JD) degree program as its primary educational product. The school provides specialized concentrations including the only Natural Law concentration in the United States, supported by experiential learning through Clinical Programs (Estate Planning, Veterans Law, and Intellectual Property Law clinics), a Business Law Institute, and comprehensive Bar Preparation. The Summer Start Advantage Program allows incoming students to get a head start on their 1L coursework. Year-round enrollment is available with Spring (January), Summer (May), and Fall (August) start dates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Juris Doctor (JD) Degree Program Three-year residential Juris Doctor degree program requiring 90 credit hours for graduation, blending a rigorous 74-credit core curriculum with 6 experiential credits, including the only Natural Law concentration in the United States and grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition.
• Summer Start Advantage Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked #1 Most Conservative Students and #2 Most Competitive Students by The Princeton Review
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Bar Association (ABA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 January 2026ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar approved law school. Students won first place at National ABA Law Student Tax Challenge competition.
• First Liberty InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2025Co-filing of Supreme Court amicus briefs on religious freedom cases. Ave Maria School of Law and First Liberty Institute jointly filed amicus briefs defending religious freedom before the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Thomas More SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlumni Royce Hood works with the Thomas More Society as a pro-life attorney and strategist. The society is one of several national organizations supported by Ave Maria alumni.
• March for LifeminorOthersAnnual tradition since school opened in 2000. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni travel to Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life. Local March for Life event and campus walk held annually.
• Law School Admission Council (LSAC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial application processing through LSAC. Subscription to Credential Assembly Service required for domestic and international applicants. LSAC forums used for national recruitment.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Marquette University Law School: Jesuit Catholic law school in Milwaukee, WI with ABA-accredited JD program. Comparable faith-based mission and similar mid-size scale to Ave Maria.
• DePaul University College of Law: Vincentian Catholic law school in Chicago, IL offering ABA-accredited JD. Comparable urban-adjacent Catholic identity and similar mid-market tuition positioning.
• Fordham University School of Law: Jesuit Catholic law school in New York City offering ABA-accredited JD. Comparable faith-based mission and similarly committed to ethics-oriented legal training.
• University of Detroit Mercy School of Law: Jesuit and Mercy Sisters Catholic law school in Detroit, MI with ABA-accredited JD. Comparable faith-based, mid-size private law school with regional Catholic identity.
• Gonzaga University School of Law: Jesuit Catholic law school in Spokane, WA with ABA-accredited JD. Comparable faith-based mission and similar mid-size, regionally-rooted Catholic law school profile.
• Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law: ABA-accredited Catholic law school in Washington, DC founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops. Closest peer to Ave Maria as a faith-rooted JD program with similar size and mission orientation.
• Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law: Augustinian Catholic law school in Villanova, PA with ABA-accredited JD program. Comparable faith-based, mid-size private law school profile.
• Boston College Law School: Jesuit Catholic law school in Newton, MA offering ABA-accredited JD. Comparable faith-based mission and values-aligned legal education framework.
• St. John's University School of Law: Vincentian Catholic law school in Queens, NY with ABA-accredited JD program. Comparable faith-based mission and similar scale to Ave Maria.
• University of Notre Dame Law School: Premier Catholic law school affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross. Comparable in mission and Catholic intellectual tradition, though larger and more research-oriented than Ave Maria.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AveMariaLaw
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/AveMariaSchoolofLaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/AveMariaSchoolofLawNaples
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ave-maria-school-of-law
• Instagraminstagram.com/avemarialawschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Ave Maria School of Law