How to Get Into Indiana Maurer Law (2026-2027 Guide)

Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington combines a small entering class with a large research university. Its strengths include intellectual property, cybersecurity, environmental law, and business law, with connections to the Kelley School of Business.

This guide walks you through how to get into Indiana Maurer 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. Indiana Maurer Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics

Indiana Maurer Law Class of 2029:

LSAT: Median: 165
GPA: Median: 3.92

Indiana Maurer Law Class of 2028:

LSAT: 75th: 166 | Median: 164 | 25th: 158
GPA: 75th: 3.98 | Median: 3.91 | 25th: 3.63

The fall 2026 entering class has 177 students, compared with 186 in fall 2025. The LSAT median increased by one point, while the GPA median edged up from 3.91 to 3.92. Maurer enrolled a slightly smaller class with stronger medians, and its GPA profile remains demanding.

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. Indiana Maurer Law Application Essays

Personal Statement (required)

Write approximately two to three double-spaced pages. Maurer wants to understand your background, strengths, motivation for studying law, and interest in Indiana. The statement should also demonstrate clear organization and careful writing.

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

Adversity Statement (optional)

Maurer invites discussion of economic, social, educational, health, family, or other challenges that affected your educational opportunities or performance. Explain the circumstances, their effects, and the perspective you would bring to the class.

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

Why Indiana Maurer

Interest in Maurer is part of the personal statement prompt.

For more on how to write a Why X essay, see my Why X Essay Guide.

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

Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)

Maurer recommends explaining an LSAT score difference of five or more points.

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

3. Indiana Maurer Law Resume Requirements

A resume is required. Include professional and volunteer experience, academic accomplishments, and relevant background. Keep the presentation organized and the descriptions specific.

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

4. Indiana Maurer Law Letters of Recommendation

Maurer requires exactly two letters of recommendation and does not accept additional letters. Academic recommendations are preferred, although professional recommendations are welcome.

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

5. Indiana Maurer Law Interview Process

Indiana Maurer does not conduct formal admissions interviews as part of the standard application process.

6. Indiana Maurer Law Deadlines and Early Decision

Testing Policy

Maurer accepts the LSAT, GRE, and JD-Next. Its separate Direct Admit route serves eligible IU Bloomington undergraduates who have not taken the LSAT.

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

Application Dates and Fees

Applications Open: Around August 15.
Early Commitment Option Application Deadline: October 15.
Early Commitment Supporting Materials: November 1, including the test score; October LSAT results receive a first-week-of-November extension.
Early Commitment Decisions: Early November.
Priority Application Deadline: April 1 for admission and scholarship consideration.
International Application Deadline: May 1.
Regular Application Deadline: June 1.
Application Fee: Waived for all applicants.
Enrollment Confirmation: No seat deposit; admitted students submit a signed confirmation by the deadline in their admission letter.

Early Commitment Option

The Early Commitment Option is binding if you are admitted. Applicants held for regular review are released from that commitment. Use it when Maurer is your first choice and you are prepared to attend rather than compare competing offers.

For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?.

For regular admission, apply early in the cycle with a finished file. Maurer considers later test scores from exams taken before July of the entering year, but that does not replace the application deadline.

7. Indiana Maurer Law Scholarships and Financial Aid

Merit Scholarships

Maurer automatically considers applicants for merit scholarships using the admission file. Awards generally accompany admission offers and cover three years of JD study. Renewal requires satisfactory academic progress and compliance with academic and professional standards. Joint-degree awards are prorated to the law-school portion of enrollment.

Cost and Need-Based Aid

For 2026-2027, annual tuition is $36,950 for Indiana residents and $58,000 for nonresidents. The university's maximum nine-month cost-of-attendance budgets are $64,482 and $85,532, respectively. The standard JD tuition rate is fixed for three years, although living expenses still need their own budget. Submit the FAFSA for federal financial aid consideration.

Public Interest Support

The Kintner Public Interest Fellowship supports unpaid summer work, while the Public Interest Law Foundation raises additional summer funding. Eligible graduates pursuing public-interest or rural practice can receive a Bar Study Support Grant of up to $4,000 based on financial need.

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

8. Indiana Maurer Law Joint Degree Programs

Maurer's joint degrees connect the JD to other IU Bloomington programs. Admission to each participating program is separate.

JD/MBA: Kelley School of Business; four years, or an accelerated three-year option requiring prior approval and at least two years of significant work experience.
JD/MS in Cybersecurity Risk Management: University Graduate School, with law, business, and computing coursework; approximately three to four years.
JD/MPA: O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs; combines law with public management and policy study.
JD/MSES: O'Neill School; combines law with environmental science. Both O'Neill joint programs require 79 law credits and 36 O'Neill credits.

9. Indiana Maurer Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)

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

Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 84.8%
BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 30.5%
Federal clerkships: 4.3%
Public service (including government): 19.5%

Indiana was the largest employment destination, followed by Illinois and Washington, D.C. The large-firm share makes corporate practice a real part of the school's placement profile, alongside government and public-interest work. Build your school comparison around the market and type of practice you actually want, not a single outcome category.

10. Indiana Maurer Law Areas of Study and Specializations

Intellectual Property: The Center for Intellectual Property Research connects patent, trademark, copyright, and information-policy study. Courses such as Intellectual Property Transactions and the IP Colloquium complement the clinic, practitioner programming, and student-edited IP Theory journal.

Cybersecurity and Privacy: The Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research and Cybersecurity Clinic connect legal analysis with technical and organizational risk. This is a useful combination for applicants interested in how institutions protect information and respond when their systems fail.

Environmental Law: The Conservation Law Center gives environmental study a client-facing component. Its work on conservation easements, wildlife, and natural resources connects with the O'Neill School's environmental science and public-affairs programs, allowing students to study both legal tools and implementation.

Business and Entrepreneurship: The Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic and Kelley joint degrees connect business formation, contracts, and organizational choices. Students interested in advising emerging companies can combine legal coursework with direct work for entrepreneurs at Bloomington's Dimension Mill.

Constitutional Design: The Center for Constitutional Democracy involves selected JD affiliates in research supporting constitutional advising. Coursework examines institutional design, rights, and post-conflict questions, connecting comparative legal study to the practical work of drafting and revising constitutions.

11. Indiana Maurer Law Clinics and Experiential Learning

Clinics

Conservation Law Clinic: Work with Conservation Law Center attorneys for conservation organizations and public bodies. Projects include conservation easements, organizational documents, model legislation, and natural-resource advocacy.
Cybersecurity Clinic: Help under-resourced municipalities, schools, nonprofits, and businesses address cyber risks. Teams combine legal, technical, and management analysis with incident-response and governance planning.
Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic: Advise emerging businesses on formation, permits, contracts, leases, and intellectual property. The clinic works from Dimension Mill and collaborates with Kelley.
Intellectual Property Law Clinic: Work with pro bono clients on patent and trademark matters. Eligible students practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under supervision while developing research and advocacy skills.
Reentry Clinic: Work with Indiana Legal Services on expungements, court debt, and other consequences of criminal convictions. Students handle case assignments and attend an expungement hearing.
Civil Protection Order Clinic: Interview clients, prepare cases, assist with negotiations, and attend hearings involving protective orders. Certified legal interns may represent clients in court under supervision.

Pro Bono and Experiential Learning

The Access to Justice Program supports an aspirational goal of 60 pro bono hours over three years. Qualifying work is law-related, unpaid, and noncredit. This is not a graduation requirement.

Judicial externships include the Seventh Circuit and federal courts in Indiana, where students draft bench memoranda, orders, and opinions. The Semester Public Interest Program places third-year students in Washington, D.C., with agencies, Congress, or advocacy organizations alongside Lawyering in the Public Interest.

12. Indiana Maurer Law Notable Faculty and Journals

Faculty

Mark D. Janis: Robert A. Lucas Chair and Professor of Law; directs the Center for Intellectual Property Research. Studies patents and trademarks and co-authors the treatise IP and Antitrust.
Michael Mattioli: Professor of Law and Louis F. Niezer Faculty Fellow. Studies intellectual property and information sharing; co-editor of Big Data Is Not a Monolith and a former microchip designer.
Christian M. Freitag: Glenn and Donna Scolnik Clinical Chair of Conservation Law and Conservation Law Center president and executive director. Previously led Sycamore Land Trust for 18 years.
Amy G. Applegate: Clinical Professor of Law, Ralph F. Fuchs Faculty Fellow, and Civil Protection Order Clinic director. Her family-law and dispute-resolution work earned the Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award.

Journals

Indiana Law Journal: General legal scholarship and student articles.
Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design: Scholarship on constitutional drafting and design.
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies: Articles on globalization and international law.
Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality: Scholarship on legal and policy issues involving race, religion, gender, and class.
IP Theory: Articles, essays, and reviews on intellectual property law.

13. Indiana Maurer Law Culture and Student Life

Maurer offers a small law-school setting within IU Bloomington. Students can combine law organizations and journals with the wider university's activities, while Bloomington provides a college-town home rather than a downtown legal district. The Kelley relationship also makes it possible to build connections beyond the law-school classroom.

Bloomington also gives students access to entrepreneurial work at Dimension Mill and community representation through Indiana Legal Services. Federal judicial externships extend opportunities across Indiana, while the Semester Public Interest Program provides a Washington, D.C., option. The school's practice connections therefore reach beyond the college-town setting.

Want Help Getting Into Indiana Maurer Law?

I work with applicants one-on-one on the whole application process, from strategy through essays and submission.

Explore my services | Request a consultation

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