How to Get Into Gonzaga Law (2026-2027 Guide)

Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane combines a Jesuit approach to professional responsibility with substantial clinical training. Its accelerated Executive Two-Year JD is completed in person, with study continuing through the summers.

This guide walks you through how to get into Gonzaga Law.

Jump to a section

Admissions numbers
Application essays
Resume
Recommendations
Interviews
Deadlines and testing
Scholarships and cost
Programs and curriculum
Employment outcomes
Areas of study
Clinics and experience
Faculty and journals
Student life

1. Gonzaga Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics

Gonzaga Law Class of 2028:

LSAT: 75th: 158 | Median: 155 | 25th: 153
GPA: 75th: 3.76 | Median: 3.55 | 25th: 3.24

Gonzaga Law Class of 2027:

LSAT: 75th: 157 | Median: 154 | 25th: 153
GPA: 75th: 3.80 | Median: 3.55 | 25th: 3.32

The 2025 entering class grew from 190 to 203. The LSAT median rose from 154 to 155 and the upper quartile from 157 to 158; the lower quartile held at 153. GPA held at a 3.55 median, with the upper and lower quartiles declining from 3.80 to 3.76 and 3.32 to 3.24. These full-time figures combine the traditional and accelerated programs.

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. Gonzaga Law Application Essays

Personal Statement (required)

Submit a statement of no more than two double-spaced pages explaining your motivation for attending law school at Gonzaga.

For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.

For more on addressing school interest within this personal statement, see my Why X Essay Guide.

Addenda (optional)

Gonzaga permits separate addenda addressing diversity, public service, or other relevant information. Gonzaga does not specify a universal length limit for these optional addenda.

For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.

Carl Maxey Social Justice Scholarship Statement (required for scholarship applicants)

Applicants to the Carl Maxey Social Justice Scholarship Program submit an additional statement of no more than 500 words. Explain your service, leadership, and commitment to using the legal profession to advance social justice. The scholarship application and completed law application are due February 1.

For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.

Addenda and Character & Fitness Resources

I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.

3. Gonzaga Law Resume Requirements

A resume is required. Include employment, education, extracurricular activities, internships, and community service. Gonzaga does not publish a general page cap. Make dates and responsibilities easy to follow, and show what you actually contributed.

For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.

4. Gonzaga Law Letters of Recommendation

Gonzaga requires two letters through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service. At least one academic recommendation is strongly encouraged. Applicants who have been away from college for several years may use an employer who can evaluate their ability to succeed in a demanding academic setting.

For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).

5. Gonzaga Law Interview Process

Gonzaga does not list a routine evaluative interview requirement for JD applicants. Visits and admissions-counselor conversations are opportunities to learn about the school. Carl Maxey scholarship finalists may be invited to interview; prepare to discuss sustained service and leadership, not just an interest in receiving the award.

6. Gonzaga Law Deadlines and Decision Options

Testing Policy

Gonzaga accepts the LSAT, GRE, and JD-Next, but strongly encourages the LSAT and requires it for guaranteed consideration for merit scholarships. GRE and JD-Next applicants have more limited scholarship opportunities.

If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.

Application Dates and Fees

Applications open: September 1.
Traditional JD annual completion deadline: April 15. Later traditional applications may receive individual consideration.
Executive Two-Year JD annual completion deadline: March 31.
Carl Maxey deadline: February 1.
Review: Begins in January, and decisions typically take six to eight weeks.
Application fee: Waived.

There is no separately advertised binding early-decision program.

Program Formats

The traditional JD takes three years. The Executive JD begins in late May and runs for six consecutive semesters, including summers. Both are in-person Spokane programs requiring 85 credits for current entrants. The Executive curriculum has fewer elective and scheduling choices. Gonzaga has no separate part-time JD; an individually approved reduced course load is different from an evening program.

7. Gonzaga Law Scholarships and Financial Aid

2026–27 Costs

For 2026–27, full-time law tuition is $30,429 per semester. Two traditional semesters total $60,858 in tuition, plus $1,155 in mandatory fees, or $62,013 before living expenses, books, and personal costs. The Executive JD uses three tuition-bearing semesters per year.

Merit Scholarships

Incoming applicants are considered for merit scholarships during admission. Gonzaga's ordinary awards are nonconditional in the law-school sense: recipients must remain full-time and academically eligible, rather than satisfy a separate scholarship class-rank requirement.

Named Scholarships and Public-Interest Grants

The Carl Maxey Social Justice Scholarship provides full tuition to selected traditional three-year JD students. It is not available to Executive JD students. Its separate 500-word statement, February 1 completion deadline, and finalist interview process make it a distinct application project.

The Honorable Frank Burgess Law Scholarship is considered automatically for incoming students; no additional application is required. The Gonzaga Public Interest Law Project also awards grants for otherwise unpaid summer public-interest work.

Need-Based Aid

File the FAFSA while applying using Gonzaga's code, 003778.

For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.

8. Gonzaga Law Joint Degree Programs

Gonzaga offers four dual degrees:

JD/MBA: With Gonzaga's Graduate School of Business, combining legal training with management and business study.
JD/MAcc: With Gonzaga's Graduate School of Business, adding graduate accountancy training for financial, transactional, and related practice.
JD/MS in Taxation: Also with Gonzaga's Graduate School of Business, focused on tax and accounting expertise.
JD/MSW: With Eastern Washington University, normally four years, or three for students granted advanced standing in social work. The combined program admits no more than four students annually.

All require separate admission to both schools. Business dual-degree students must also notify the law registrar and graduate business admissions office to establish dual-degree status. Their completion schedules depend on the approved study plan and transfer credits, rather than a single advertised accelerated timeline.

The JD/MSW keeps the first law year intact and includes joint colloquium and practicum work later in the program.

9. Gonzaga Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)

Gonzaga Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):

Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 78.3%
BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 4.5%
Federal clerkships: 1.0%
Public service (including government): 29.3%

Washington is the dominant employment destination, followed by California and Alaska. Government and public-interest work form a substantial part of the class's outcomes; large-firm hiring is a much smaller path. Gonzaga is strongest as a deliberate regional choice. Connect your target employers, clinical work, and scholarship-adjusted cost before choosing it over another Pacific Northwest option.

10. Gonzaga Law Areas of Study and Specializations

Civil and human rights: The Center for Civil and Human Rights connects legal scholarship with community advocacy. The Lincoln LGBTQ+ Rights Clinic and Catholic Charities Immigration Clinic provide distinct opportunities to work on individual representation and systemic issues.

Business law and professional ethics: The Kennelly Center for Law, Ethics & Commerce supports business-oriented study. The Business Innovation Clinic adds contract, entity, and regulatory work with actual clients, while the Executive JD emphasizes an accelerated, structured course of study.

Environmental and climate law: The Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment partners with the Environmental & Climate Law Clinic. Students can connect natural-resource and climate questions with casework, policy research, and legislative drafting.

Intellectual property: The Intellectual Property Law Clinic offers patent and trademark work, including searches and application drafting. It is a separate practice from the Business Innovation Clinic, not simply another label for small-business counseling.

Tax and elder law: The Federal Tax Law and Elder Law clinics turn benefits, estate-planning, and tax-dispute issues into supervised client work. The taxation dual degree offers a separate graduate-study route.

11. Gonzaga Law Clinics and Experiential Learning

Clinical Legal Programs operates as a supervised legal-services practice. Opportunities include:

Business Innovation Clinic: Students advise entrepreneurs and nonprofits on entity choices, agreements, and regulatory questions. Its work is transactional rather than litigation.
Elder Law Clinic: Students help lower- and middle-income Spokane County residents age 60 and older with estate planning, housing, benefits, probate, and related matters.
Federal Tax Law Clinic: Students represent low-income taxpayers in IRS disputes, negotiate resolutions, and work on Tax Court litigation. The clinic has also offered appellate advocacy in the Ninth Circuit.
Catholic Charities Immigration Clinic: Client advocacy covers matters such as family reunification, asylum, citizenship, and humanitarian protection. Policy work can include amicus briefs, regulatory comments, and community resources.
General Public Practice and Indian Law Clinic: Students interview clients, investigate facts, develop case theories, and prepare advice or pleadings in civil and tribal-law matters. Court appearances require eligibility under Washington's student-practice rule.
Intellectual Property Law Clinic: Students perform patent prior-art and trademark-clearance searches, draft applications, and counsel clients through prosecution.
Lincoln LGBTQ+ Rights Clinic: Students handle client interviews, fact development, briefs, and hearings involving identification documents, family protection, estate planning, and discrimination.
Environmental & Climate Law Clinic: Students work on clean air and water, land use, pollution, and climate policy, including legal research and legislative drafting with community partners.

Pro Bono and Experiential Learning

Externships combine supervised fieldwork with a seminar after completion of 28 credits. Named examples include the U.S. Attorney's Office and Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington & Idaho, Columbia Legal Services, and Northwest Justice Project. Students perform substantive legal work under an attorney or judge rather than simply observe proceedings.

Traditional students complete six experiential credits; Executive students complete eight. Gonzaga also requires 30 volunteer public-service hours, which need not all be legal work. The Executive program guarantees a clinic experience beginning as early as the second semester.

12. Gonzaga Law Notable Faculty and Journals

Faculty

Linda D. Jellum, Interim Dean: An administrative-law, statutory-interpretation, and tax scholar, Jellum previously chaired the ABA's Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section. Her scholarship has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jason Gillmer, John J. Hemmingson Professor of Civil Liberties and Professor of Law: A legal historian and civil-rights scholar, Gillmer wrote Slavery and Freedom in Texas. He founded the Center for Civil and Human Rights and directed it through 2026.

Andrew Lah, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law: His work covers policing, criminal procedure, and trial advocacy. Before joining Gonzaga's 2026–27 faculty, he created the Oakland City Attorney's Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit and worked as a federal public defender.

Mirisa Torres, Lecturer in Law: Her teaching expertise includes wills, trusts, and elder law. She joined Gonzaga's externship administration as Assistant Director in 2024 before being named to the 2026–27 lecturer cohort.

Journals

Gonzaga Law Review: Covers general legal scholarship.
Gonzaga Journal of International Law: An online journal focused on international and transnational issues.

Journal work develops research, editing, and sustained legal-writing skills; the international journal also organizes a symposium.

13. Gonzaga Law Culture and Student Life

Gonzaga's Spokane setting and Jesuit identity give the school a distinct community focus. Public service is part of the degree, not only an extracurricular option. Student Affairs frames its work around cura personalis, care for the whole person, alongside academic-success and wellness support.

Organizations include the First Generation College Student Law Association, Gonzaga Public Interest Law Project, and Environmental Law Society. The Ski & Board Club and Running Club offer ways to build friendships outside the library. For applicants choosing the Executive JD, community still happens on campus: this is an intensive in-person program, not a remote professional credential.

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Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the Gonzaga 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.