Black Student Enrollment More Than Doubles in Harvard Law’s Class of 2028

Harvard Law School enrolled 50 Black students in its 2028 J.D. class, a more than two-fold increase from the historic low in the previous class, according to data released by the American Bar Association on Monday.

The jump comes one year after Black enrollment fell sharply in the Class of 2027, which was the first cohort admitted after the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in higher education. Black students make up 8.6 percent of the Class of 2028, up from 3.4 percent of the prior class.

The increase in Black enrollment for the J.D. Class of 2028 also contrasts with enrollment trends at Harvard College, which saw Black undergraduate enrollment fall by 2.5 and 4 percentage points over the last two cycles.

Asian student enrollment remained consistent with recent HLS classes, with 126 students in the J.D. Class of 2028, compared with 132 and 103 students in the two previous cohorts at the time of enrollment. Hispanic enrollment stood at 44 students, similar to the 39 enrolled in the Class of 2027, but fewer than the 63 students in the Class of 2026.

In October, the College reported a 5 percentage point decline in Hispanic student enrollment and four percentage point increase for Asian students in its most recent class.

HLS spokesperson Jeff Neal declined to comment on the demographic composition of the Class of 2028, instead pointing to a statement from last year cautioning that conclusions drawn from one year of data are “necessarily limited.”

Bianca C. Williams-Alonzo, the president of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, said the club strengthened outreach initiatives to prospective Black applicants in response to the “sense of urgency” members felt after seeing last year’s enrollment decrease.

“We are delighted to see the rise in Black enrollment,” she said, citing the group’s efforts to review student applications and attend conferences for students on the pre-law track.

“One of the important parts of what this moment reflects is the role that student organizations can play in showcasing part of the HLS community,” Williams-Alonzo added.

Two American Indian or Alaska Native students also enrolled in the Class of 2028, the first time students of those identities enrolled at HLS in the last three years, according to the ABA, which releases demographic and test score data for law schools every December.

HLS published a profile of the Class of 2028 on its website in early September, including median test scores, total number of enrollees, and the acceptance rate of the class. But unlike for its prior three classes, HLS did not publish information about the percentage of students who were women, first-generation, low-income, LGBTQ+, international, or students of color.

Neal did not respond to a request for comment about the relative share of students in the Class of 2028 who made up those backgrounds or why HLS omitted the figures from this year’s published profile.

The omissions come as Harvard has moved to narrow — and, in some cases, rebrand — the way it talks about identity and inclusion across the University.

In April, Harvard renamed its central Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to “Community and Campus Life,” a shift the University announced publicly as national pressure campaigns against DEI intensified. In the months that followed, Harvard shuttered or scrubbed web pages for several identity-focused centers and programs, moves that student leaders and some faculty described as abrupt.

But unlike other graduate schools — like the Harvard Kennedy School, where administrators rebranded the school’s diversity office — HLS has not updated the name of its Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging.