For the first time, women make up a majority of law students, holding just over 50 percent of the seats at accredited law schools in the United States.

The number of men and women enrolled in juris doctorate programs has been nearly equal for a number of years, but this is the first time women have moved past the 50 percent mark, according to data released Thursday by the American Bar Association.

Currently, 55,766 women nationwide are studying for a juris doctor degree, compared with 55,059 men, according to the bar association. First-year students are more than 51 percent women, or 19,032, and 48.6 percent men, or 18,058.

The A.B.A. requires accredited law schools to annually disclose data in a number of areas, including admissions, financial aid and employment outcomes, but law schools do not require students to identify their gender, so there may be some students who are not listed as women or men.