Chicago-Kent IP Program Ranked as Best in the Midwest
The Intellectual Property program at Chicago-Kent College of Law has been ranked as one of the top 10 IP programs in the country, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 rankings of best graduate schools. Chicago-Kent’s program is ranked #9.
The new ranking puts Chicago-Kent as the #1 destination for IP scholars in the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois, and the entire Midwest. It also represents a nine-spot jump from 2024’s #18 position.
Chicago-Kent’s IP program was founded more than 25 years ago and has grown into a program with robust offerings for students. The program is currently directed by Chicago-Kent faculty members Graeme B. Dinwoodie, Sarah Fackrell, Greg Reilly, and Cathay Y. N. Smith.
Students can earn a J.D. certificate in IP or an LL.M in International IP Law, pursue advanced training in patent law by volunteering to assist real life inventors at the Chicago-Kent Patent Hub, or have their work published in the highly regarded, student-run Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property. Students also run their own Chicago-Kent Intellectual Law Society, which operates its own event schedule every year.
The Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Property functions as the program’s research arm, the first academic center of its kind in the nation, and it studies important questions about innovation and creativity. The center also hosts multiple events throughout the year, including the annual Supreme Court Intellectual Property Review conference and the Chicago Intellectual Property Colloquium.
