LAS VEGAS - Oct. 17, 2008 -This is the fourth consecutive year UNLV law school graduates, who took the Nevada Bar Exam for the first time, have passed the test with a higher percentage rate than the statewide average, according to results released Tuesday by the Nevada Board of Examiners.

Eighty-three percent of William S. Boyd School of Law graduates passed the exam - 13 percentage points higher than Nevada's overall pass rate for first-time test takers. Additionally, 48 percent of Boyd School of Law graduates, who repeated the exam this year, passed. This percentage is more than double last year's the law school's repeat-taker pass rate. Statewide, 34 percent of people who took the test again also passed.

"We are very pleased with our students' continued success on the Nevada Bar exam. We believe it reflects the rigorous program of legal education at Boyd as well as our emphasis on student success," said John Valery White, dean of the Boyd School of Law.

The Nevada bar is a three-day exam consisting of several Nevada essay questions, one Multistate Performance Test (MPT) problem, and a Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). The successful applicant must achieve a total scaled score of 75 on the exam as a whole, as well as passing at least three essays with a scaled score of 75.

The William S. Boyd School of Law has more than 450 students and offers three juris doctor degree programs: a full-time day program, a part-time day program, and a part-time evening program, and three dual degree programs: a J.D./MBA, a J.D./M.S.W. and a J.D./Ph.D. It is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the American Association of Law Schools, accomplishments it achieved in record time.