Creighton Law offers a Jesuit legal education in Omaha emphasizing service and professional judgment. Its JD options include a traditional three-year program, an accelerated two-year route, and reduced-load study, alongside clinical and externship opportunities.
This guide walks you through how to get into Creighton Law.
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1. Creighton Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Creighton Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 156 | Median: 153 | 25th: 150
- GPA: 75th: 3.74 | Median: 3.51 | 25th: 3.14
Creighton Law Class of 2027:
- LSAT: 75th: 156 | Median: 152 | 25th: 149
- GPA: 75th: 3.73 | Median: 3.42 | 25th: 3.02
The 2025 entering class increased the LSAT median from 152 to 153 and the GPA median from 3.42 to 3.51. Both lower quartiles also rose. The ABA full-time intake combines May accelerated and August entrants. The full-time class grew from 153 to 162 students.
Aim to be at or above at least one median to be competitive. Above both puts you in a stronger position. Below both medians, this is a prayer, not a reach.
For context on how medians affect your strategy, see How to Build a Smart Law School List.
2. Creighton Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
Submit no more than two double-spaced, typed pages. Creighton asks about you: what led you toward law, the experiences and talents that distinguish you, and obstacles or events that shaped your perspective.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
The prompt permits meaningful discussion of background and perspective within the personal statement; it does not require a separate diversity essay.
For more on discussing your background and perspective within this personal statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
Dean’s Fellows Essay (required for selected applicants)
Indicate interest on the application. Selected applicants are asked for a 250-word essay on servant leadership and an interview.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
Academic or standardized-test explanations may not exceed one double-spaced, typed page. Required character-and-fitness explanations must identify the charge, disposition, and relevant sanctions; the reporting duty continues after matriculation.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Creighton Law Resume Requirements
A descriptive resume is required, limited to three typed pages. Include education, employment, service, activities, honors, and relevant achievements. Work history must be complete and chronological, with organization names, employment dates, and hours worked. Do not omit substantial employment simply because it was outside law.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Creighton Law Letters of Recommendation
Submit two or three letters through CAS. Choose recommenders who can assess your analytical ability, communication, academic readiness, and character through actual examples. The strongest letter is not necessarily from the most senior person.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Creighton Law Interview Process
Selected Creighton Scholars and Dean’s Fellows applicants interview for those programs. Prepare specific examples of academic engagement, service, and leadership, and understand the obligations attached to the program you are pursuing.
6. Creighton Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Application Dates
- Fall 2027 application opens: September 1, 2026.
- Nonbinding Early Action: November 1, 2026. The published process offers an admit, deny, or hold decision within 14 business days of a completed application; take the LSAT by September for this route.
- Priority scholarship deadline: February 1, 2027.
- Final fall deadline: June 1, 2027.
- Dean’s Fellows: The program lists February 15 priority consideration, interviews through March 1, and April 1 acceptance. These are separate from the general scholarship priority date.
Testing, Fees, and Program Formats
The current checklist requires the LSAT. The application fee is $50, with waivers available. Accelerated applicants must take the LSAT by March and plan for a May start.
- Format: The JD requires 90 credits. The traditional program takes three years; the accelerated program takes two years with summer study. Reduced-load study generally takes four to six years. Early Action itself is not binding, but accepting Creighton Scholars is.
For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
7. Creighton Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
The admission application triggers consideration for applicable merit scholarships. The offer states the award; current ABA disclosures describe renewal based on good academic standing rather than a separate class-rank condition.
Creighton Scholars
Apply by selecting the program on the JD application. Selected students receive full tuition and fees for three years while in good standing. Applying is nonbinding. Accepting is binding: you have 10 business days to sign and return the contract, must withdraw other applications, and may not initiate new ones.
Dean’s Fellows
This is a separate leadership program, not a synonym for a full-tuition scholarship. Benefits include mentoring and eligibility for a $1,000 in-house foreign-study stipend or a $250 research/professional-development grant. You may apply to both honors programs but join only one.
Need-Based Aid
File the FAFSA by the school’s preferred February 1 date for aid consideration.
2026–27 Costs
Traditional first-year tuition is $52,736, with a $92,416 cost-of-attendance budget. The accelerated first-year budget covers 45 credits across three terms: $74,160 tuition and $128,978 total estimated attendance costs. Faster graduation does not mean a smaller annual bill.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Creighton Law Joint Degree Programs
- JD/MBA with Heider College of Business can be completed in as little as three years. Apply separately to both programs, normally pursuing MBA admission during the second law-school semester. The published dual-degree instructions require statistics preparation and the GMAT; they do not permit substituting the LSAT.
- JD/MS in Government Organization and Leadership, or GOAL, is a three-year combination totaling 107 coordinated credits. Apply to GOAL by April 1 of the first law-school year. Its central experience is a full-time Washington, D.C., externship during the first semester of 3L, paired with leadership and public-service ethics coursework. The JD must be earned before the MS is awarded.
Neither option should be assumed to fit the two-year accelerated calendar without an approved academic plan.
9. Creighton Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Creighton Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 84.1%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 9.7%
- Federal clerkships: 1.8%
- Public service (including government): 18.6%
Nebraska is the largest destination by a substantial margin; Illinois and Kansas are the next reported markets. Large firms and federal clerkships are possible, but they are not the typical outcome. Creighton’s strongest practical case is a regional career plan, with a manageable price and deliberate use of clinics, externships, and alumni relationships.
10. Creighton Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Dispute resolution: The Werner Institute supports a concentration in negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, alongside client-counseling and other competition teams. This is useful for applicants interested in resolving disputes without assuming every client problem belongs in a trial courtroom.
International and comparative law: The Samuel and Ida Kaiman Center for International Criminal Justice and Holocaust Studies anchors work on accountability and international criminal law. The Howard Kaiman From Nuremberg to The Hague summer program adds a distinctive historical and institutional setting.
Business law: The Business Law concentration requires a substantial project and coordinated coursework. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic adds work with Omaha enterprises and nonprofits, while the Heider JD/MBA offers a separate route for deeper business training.
Government and public service: GOAL connects coursework with a semester inside a government or public-facing organization in Washington. Previous placements include the Department of Justice, National Indian Gaming Commission, and Senate committees. The value is supervised substantive work.
Sports law: The Sports Law concentration covers issues including NCAA compliance, collective bargaining, antitrust, and intellectual property. A Division I athletic-compliance externship can connect these subjects to institutional practice, with substantial-project requirements keeping the concentration more than a course label.
Additional concentrations include criminal law, family law, health law, litigation, and energy, environmental, and sustainability law.
11. Creighton Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Creighton’s four named legal clinics provide different kinds of supervised client work:
- Abrahams Legal Clinic: Handle civil matters for qualifying low-income Douglas County residents, working through the client relationship, factual development, and legal representation.
- Bankruptcy Legal Clinic: Help clients evaluate debt problems and pursue a financial fresh start, with the careful documentation and counseling that bankruptcy practice requires.
- Juvenile Justice Legal Clinic: Represent young people in Douglas County’s Separate Juvenile Court under faculty supervision.
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic: Assist Omaha entrepreneurs and nonprofits with matters such as entity formation, contracts, and compliance. It began operating in 2026.
Clinic enrollment requires the appropriate upper-level eligibility and student-practice certification; accelerated students reach that stage on a different calendar. Do not assume a first-semester client assignment.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Externships follow a distinctive rule: approved placements are with nonprofits, government, or judicial offices. Named examples include CHI Health’s regulatory-compliance and privacy office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Council Bluffs, Justice For Our Neighbors, and Creighton Athletic Compliance. Students become eligible after completing 1L courses. This structure gives public service a concrete place in the curriculum rather than leaving it only to extracurricular volunteering.
12. Creighton Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Patrick Borchers, Lillis Family Professor of Law, works on conflict of laws, federal courts, and international arbitration. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and International Academy of Comparative Law.
- Michael J. Kelly, Senator Allen A. Sekt Endowed Chair in Law, studies international law, national security, and related regulatory questions. He is the founding director of the Kaiman Center and coordinates the international and comparative program.
- R. Collin Mangrum, A. A. and Ethel Yossem Endowed Chair in Legal Ethics, teaches and writes about evidence and constitutional questions. His Nebraska and Utah evidence treatises provide a concrete connection between scholarship and courtroom practice.
- Edward A. Morse, McGrath North Mullin and Kratz Endowed Chair in Business Law, focuses on taxation, technology, and regulation. He is also an Iowa CPA and a former Tenth Circuit law clerk.
Journals
- Creighton Law Review: The Law Review places particular emphasis on Nebraska and Eighth Circuit issues.
- Creighton International and Comparative Law Journal: Articles on international and comparative law.
13. Creighton Law Culture and Student Life
Creighton’s Jesuit identity is best understood through its service-oriented externships, leadership programs, and attention to professional formation. You do not need to manufacture a religious narrative. A record of showing up for other people can explain your fit far better than repeating the school’s mission language.
Omaha gives the program a regional professional center rather than a detached campus setting. The traditional, accelerated, and reduced-load routes also bring different life stages into the school. Think about how you will participate in mentoring, journal work, and client service within the calendar you choose.
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Related Reading
→ How to Build a Smart Law School List
→ Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
→ How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships
→ 6 Proven Steps to Get Off a Law School Waitlist
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ What Holistic Law School Admissions Really Means
→ Blog Directory
Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the Creighton Law website before applying.
Think you spotted an outdated requirement or something that doesn't look right? Email moshe@sharperstatements.com with the school and a link to the current information.
