Idaho Law offers two settings for the same degree: a university-town campus in Moscow and a state-capital setting in Boise. Its strengths include public service, tribal law, and natural-resource work.
This guide walks you through how to get into Idaho Law.
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1. Idaho Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Idaho's ABA reports combine the Moscow and Boise entering classes. They do not provide separate campus admissions quartiles.
Idaho Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 157 | Median: 153 | 25th: 149
- GPA: 75th: 3.81 | Median: 3.54 | 25th: 3.07
Idaho Law Class of 2027:
- LSAT: 75th: 157 | Median: 152 | 25th: 149
- GPA: 75th: 3.71 | Median: 3.46 | 25th: 3.07
These are fall 2025 and fall 2024 entrants. The LSAT median rose from 152 to 153; its 157/149 quartiles held steady. GPA rose from 3.46 to 3.54 at the median and 3.71 to 3.81 at the upper quartile, while the lower quartile held at 3.07. The 2025 class had 197 students, compared with conflicting 2024 totals of 163 in the central report and 169 in the school copy.
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. Idaho Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
Submit a statement of up to two double-spaced pages in 12-point type.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Unique Perspectives Statement (optional)
Provide context about life circumstances or factors relevant to your application. No separate length or formatting limit is specified for this optional statement.
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
Character-and-fitness disclosures should answer the actual question, identify the event and disposition, and include the requested explanation.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Idaho Law Resume Requirements
Idaho requests a resume of no more than two pages. Include education, employment, service, leadership, and significant activities with dates and concrete responsibilities. Paid work matters even when it was not legal work. Describe the people, processes, or problems you handled rather than listing personality traits.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Idaho Law Letters of Recommendation
Submit two or three letters of recommendation through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service. Recent students should generally prioritize professors who know their work; an employer can provide useful evidence for an applicant who has been working.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Idaho Law Interview Process
Idaho's published fall 2027 JD requirements do not list an interview.
6. Idaho Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
The current fall 2027 admissions instructions call for the LSAT. The 2026–2027 catalog also lists the GRE, so applicants proposing a GRE-only application need admissions confirmation before relying on that route. A test appearing in a catalog does not settle a conflicting cycle-specific instruction.
If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
Application Dates and Fees
- Fall 2027 applications open: September 1, 2026.
- Priority deadline: March 1.
- Final deadline: June 30.
- Recommended FAFSA date: December 1.
- Application fee: $50, with a published waiver through January 15, 2027, and a waiver for military veterans and serving full- or part-time armed-forces members.
A separate direct-admission pathway has academic and eligibility restrictions. Do not treat it as a general test waiver. Applicants outside that pathway should plan around the ordinary application requirements. The published standard process does not identify a binding early-decision option.
For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
7. Idaho Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
2026–2027 Costs
For 2026–2027, published annual tuition and fees are $28,180 for residents and the applicable Western Regional Graduate Program rate, and $47,656 for nonresidents. Estimated total cost of attendance differs substantially by location: $49,972 resident and $69,448 nonresident in Moscow, compared with $59,672 and $79,148 in Boise.
Nonresident Tuition Assistance
All first-year students receive in-state tuition. Eligible Western Regional Graduate Program students retain that rate for all three years; other nonresidents can pursue Idaho residency afterward. Residency is something to qualify and apply for, not an automatic discount to assume in every later year.
Merit Scholarships
For 2024–2025, Idaho reported no scholarships reducible or eliminable for academic performance beyond failure to maintain good academic standing. Read your offer for its duration and enrollment requirements.
Compare three-year net costs using the actual award and the correct campus budget.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Idaho Law Joint Degree Programs
The JD requires 90 credits. Moscow and Boise are locations for the degree, not separate law schools with interchangeable day-to-day opportunities. Concurrent degrees require coordination with the partner program; JD admission alone does not admit you to the second degree.
- JD/MBA: The University of Idaho business pathway can be pursued from either law location. Up to 12 MBA credits count toward the JD, and up to 12 JD credits count toward the MBA.
- JD/Master of Accountancy: The University of Idaho accountancy option is associated with Moscow. It combines legal study with graduate accounting work and requires the appropriate academic preparation.
- JD/MS in Accountancy, Taxation: The Boise option partners with Boise State University and takes three to three and a half years. It is a different institutional arrangement from Idaho's Moscow accountancy degree.
- JD/MS in Environmental Science: The Moscow-based pathway connects legal training with interdisciplinary environmental study. The scientific component is substantive graduate work, not simply additional environmental-law electives.
- JD with graduate Water Resources study: Moscow offers concurrent arrangements involving the MS or PhD in Water Resources, with published four-year and six-year paths, respectively. Research and dissertation requirements make the doctoral path materially different from an ordinary three-year JD plan.
- JD/MPA: Public administration provides another concurrent option through the University of Idaho’s Department of Politics and Philosophy, available in Moscow and Boise.
9. Idaho Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Idaho Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 83.2%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 2.2%
- Federal clerkships: 0.7%
- Public service (including government): 35.0%
Idaho is primarily a regional-practice and public-service choice, not a large-firm recruiting play. Government and public-interest work account for a substantial share of this class, while firms with 101 or more attorneys account for a small one. Evaluate the school against your intended market and debt level, and investigate the employers and placements available from your chosen campus.
10. Idaho Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Natural resources and environmental law: Connect environmental coursework with Idaho's water, land-use, and resource questions. The environmental and water-resources concurrent degrees offer a deeper interdisciplinary route for students who actually need that additional training.
Tribal law: The Tribal Law Clinic provides a concrete connection between legal study and representation involving tribal communities.
Business and entrepreneurship: Transactional courses and the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic let students investigate how lawyers help organizations begin and operate. The MBA and accounting pathways serve different professional goals and should not be treated as equivalent credentials.
Public service and litigation: The Legislative Research Assistance Program pairs Boise students with Idaho legislators for legal research and writing. Clinics, externships, and the supervised pro bono requirement create additional ways to build experience. Choose the setting that develops the skills you need, rather than collecting unrelated activities.
Immigration: The Immigration Litigation and Appellate Clinic connects doctrine with client interviewing, documentation, and representation. Availability and case assignments depend on supervision and program capacity.
A concentration, clinic, and concurrent degree are different commitments. Identify the combination that serves your goal without assuming you need every credential available.
11. Idaho Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Idaho identifies six clinical offerings across its two locations. Campus and semester availability matter.
- Community Law Clinic, Moscow: Students work on civil legal problems for clients who need assistance. Interviewing, factual development, research, and drafting connect classroom rules to a client's actual circumstances.
- Tribal Law Clinic, Moscow: Students participate in supervised representation involving tribal communities. The work requires attention to the governing legal system, the client's objectives, and the setting in which a matter will be resolved.
- Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, Boise: Students assist entrepreneurs and organizations with transactional legal needs. Entity planning, agreements, and practical counseling develop skills different from courtroom advocacy.
- Family Justice Clinic, Boise: Students work on family-law matters under supervision. Client communication, preparation of filings, and the procedural demands of representation are central to the experience.
- Immigration Litigation and Appellate Clinic: Offered across the two locations, this clinic involves immigration representation and related litigation or appellate work. Research and written advocacy must serve a particular client's case, not an abstract policy position.
- Low Income Taxpayer Clinic: Students assist eligible taxpayers in disputes with the IRS. This is a representation opportunity, not a general tax-return preparation service.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
The practical-training program also includes externships and semester-in-practice opportunities. Documented past placements include Ada County Public Defender, Idaho Legal Aid Services, and the U.S. District Court. Students conduct legal research and substantive legal work under attorney or judicial supervision. Moscow's semester-in-practice emphasis includes criminal practice; Boise offers a broader range of placement settings. Students complete 50 hours of supervised pro bono work. Qualifying work must be legal in nature, approved by the Pro Bono Director, and professionally supervised.
The Patent Pro Bono program's administration moved to Mi Casa in 2026. Do not mistake that separate referral program for an additional current Idaho in-house clinic.
12. Idaho Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Geoffrey Heeren, Professor of Law and Director of the Immigration Litigation and Appellate Clinic, works in immigration, clinical education, and constitutional law. He previously founded and directed Valparaiso University’s Immigration Law Clinic.
- David Pimentel, Allan G. Shepard Professor of Law, studies judicial independence, international rule of law, and post-conflict justice. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Sarajevo in 2010–2011.
- Jessica Millward, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Tribal Law Clinic, works in tribal, poverty, administrative, and health law. She earned Georgetown’s LL.M. in Advocacy in 2023.
- Wendy Gerwick Couture, James E. Wilson Distinguished Professor of Law, focuses on corporate, securities, and white-collar law. She earned her JD summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University.
Journals
- Idaho Law Review: The student-edited journal publishes general legal scholarship and typically produces three editions annually. Its active symposium program held a Boise event in April 2026.
13. Idaho Law Culture and Student Life
Moscow offers a university-town setting, while Boise places students in the state capital. That difference affects housing, transportation, and the professional community around you. Neither setting should be reduced to a claim that one is serious and the other is social.
Use student organizations, journal work, and pro bono service to understand how you would participate. Talk to students in the location you are considering, especially students with jobs, families, or career goals similar to yours. A good campus choice should work on an ordinary weekday, not only during an admitted-student visit.
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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 Idaho 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.