Michigan State University College of Law is based in East Lansing, with a public-university setting and practical legal training. Its distinctive strengths include Indigenous law, intellectual property, and trial practice.
This guide walks you through how to get into Michigan State Law.
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1. Michigan State Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Michigan State Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 165 | Median: 163 | 25th: 158
- GPA: 75th: 3.89 | Median: 3.76 | 25th: 3.42
Michigan State Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 164 | Median: 162 | 25th: 158
- GPA: 75th: 3.87 | Median: 3.73 | 25th: 3.47
The 2026 entering class has 160 students, compared with 150 in 2025. The LSAT median rose one point and the GPA median rose 0.03, but the GPA 25th percentile declined. The LSAT 75th percentile also rose, while its 25th percentile held at 158. For the 2025 entering class, MSU received 1,526 completed applications and made 397 offers.
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. Michigan State Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
MSU requires a personal statement of two to three double-spaced pages, with one-inch margins and 12-point font. You may choose your topic. Suggested subjects include your motivation for law, professional goals, preparation for legal study, obstacles you have encountered, the perspective you would contribute, and your interest in MSU.
MSU expressly invites school fit as a possible topic.
For more on how to write a Why X essay, see my Why X Essay Guide.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
For more on discussing obstacles and the perspective you would contribute within this personal statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
Scholarship Supplemental Statement (optional)
MSU allows an optional statement with information you want considered for scholarships.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
MSU permits supplemental explanations for academic or testing circumstances.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Michigan State Law Resume Requirements
A resume is required. MSU allows more than one page when warranted and emphasizes accomplishments, recent experience, and time commitments. Include hours worked during college when they help explain your responsibilities. Cut the career objective and high-school activities.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Michigan State Law Letters of Recommendation
MSU requires two letters of recommendation and accepts up to four through CAS. Letters must be signed and dated.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Michigan State Law Interview Process
Michigan State Law does not conduct admissions interviews.
6. Michigan State Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
MSU requires the LSAT and considers your highest score while receiving the scores in your CAS report.
Application Dates
The application fee is $60, with fee-waiver requests made before submission.
The 2025-2026 application calendar is:
- Application opens: August 15, 2025
- Priority application deadline: March 1, 2026
- Final application deadline: August 1, 2026
MSU uses rolling admissions and does not offer binding early decision. It describes review beginning in October, with offers typically beginning in November. An early, complete application gives the committee your full case together: test results, personal statement, recommendations, and any supplemental scholarship information.
Program Formats
The JD is full time, with new students entering in the fall. There is no spring start or part-time first-year option. Organize your application around that single entry point, especially when work or relocation affects your timing. Waitlist decisions can extend from May through August, so admission and deposit decisions at other schools may arrive first.
7. Michigan State Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Tuition and Fees
For 2026-2027, annual tuition is $44,220 for Michigan residents and $48,962 for nonresidents, plus $390 in listed fees. The standard annual cost-of-attendance budgets are $74,690 and $80,732, respectively. Those budgets include living expenses and other educational costs, not just the university bill.
Merit Scholarships
All admitted applicants receive automatic scholarship consideration. Awards can reach full tuition, and the scholarship decision accompanies the admission offer. MSU considers academic credentials alongside factors such as service, leadership, professional experience, and contributions to its community. The optional scholarship statement is an opportunity to supply relevant additional information, not a separate required application.
Scholarships are renewable for three years of full-time study with a cumulative 2.0 GPA and good academic standing. Compare your actual award and residency classification across three years rather than comparing headline tuition alone.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Michigan State Law Joint Degree Programs
MSU offers a structured business dual degree and individually planned concurrent degrees:
- JD/MBA: With the Eli Broad College of Business, generally completed in four years. Applicants must gain admission to both programs independently; approved credits can count toward each program's electives.
- JD with an MA, MS, or MPP: Custom concurrent options include English, interdisciplinary health and humanities, human resources and labor relations, urban and regional planning, community-related resource studies, and public policy. Requirements depend on the graduate department and the approved combined plan.
The JD/MBA supplies a defined four-year sequence; custom combinations require more individual coordination of law and graduate coursework.
9. Michigan State Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Michigan State's Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 81.2%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 14.2%
- Federal clerkships: 2.0%
- Public service (including government): 23.9%
Michigan is the dominant employment market, followed by Illinois and Florida. The class includes firm, government, and public-interest placements, so MSU is not a school to assess solely through its large-firm percentage. At the same time, a national university name does not make every legal market equally accessible. Applicants targeting another state should build a concrete plan for summer work, employer contacts, and bar admission there.
10. Michigan State Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Indigenous law and policy: The Indigenous Law & Policy Center connects the study of tribal sovereignty and federal Indian law with the Indian Law Clinic. It is a substantive fit for applicants interested in tribal representation, child welfare, and relationships between tribal and other governments.
Intellectual property: The Intellectual Property, Information & Communications Law program brings together patent, copyright, trademark, and communications subjects. The faculty's work includes biotechnology and creative industries, giving applicants different ways to connect technical, scientific, or creative experience to legal study.
Trial advocacy: The Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute is a two-year sequence built around eight required courses. Its subjects include pretrial work, jury selection, scientific evidence, and courtroom technology. That sustained structure is more meaningful than simply saying you enjoy public speaking.
Law and technology: The Center for Law, Technology & Innovation examines both the regulation of technology and technology's use in legal practice. Its work on legal innovation and changing service delivery can fit applicants who have encountered operational problems in business, public service, or law offices.
11. Michigan State Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
MSU's clinics put upper-level students into supervised work for real clients. Representative options include:
- Chance at Childhood Clinic: Law and social-work students collaborate on matters involving children and families, including interviewing and work connected to the Ingham County Legal Self-Help Center.
- First Amendment Clinic: Students assist school journalists and advisers and teach high-school workshops on speech, publication, privacy, and related legal issues.
- Housing Justice Clinic: Students represent lower-income tenants and homeowners through interviewing, negotiation, legal research, and court work, including eviction-related matters.
- Immigration Law Clinic: Students work with vulnerable immigrants, including children, asylum seekers, and survivors of crime or trafficking, on immigration representation and advocacy.
- Indian Law Clinic: Students assist tribal clients with research, briefs, and policy work, including Indian Child Welfare Act matters and tribal-court issues.
- Alvin L. Storrs Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic: Students combine a tax-practice seminar with representation of taxpayers in disputes with the IRS.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
For-credit externships place students with courts, government offices, nonprofits, corporations, and selected law firms. Clinics also provide substantial community service: Chance at Childhood works with the Ingham County Legal Self-Help Center, while First Amendment students assist school journalists. These settings develop client counseling, research, drafting, and advocacy skills.
12. Michigan State Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Wenona T. Singel: Associate Professor of Law and director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center. She studies tribal sovereignty and Indigenous rights and teaches federal Indian law.
- Jennifer Carter-Johnson: Associate Professor of Law whose scientific training informs her work on intellectual property, food and drug regulation, and bioethics. She previously held a visiting faculty fellowship at Washington University School of Law.
- Nancy A. Costello: Clinical Professor of Law and director of the First Amendment Clinic. Her media, writing, and intellectual-property work builds on commercial and defamation litigation at Dickinson Wright.
- Brian C. Kalt: Professor of Law and Harold Norris Faculty Scholar, researching structural constitutional law and juries. He clerked on the Sixth Circuit and practiced at Sidley Austin.
Journals
- Michigan State Law Review: Scholarship on timely legal issues.
- Animal & Natural Resource Law Review: Scholarship on animal law.
- Michigan State International Law Review: Scholarship on international legal issues.
13. Michigan State Law Culture and Student Life
MSU Law sits within the university's East Lansing campus, giving students a law-school community alongside the resources and activities of a larger university. The 2026 entering class draws from 72 undergraduate institutions, while most students are Michigan residents. That mix supports both local connections and different academic backgrounds.
Student organizations include the Native American Law Students Association, Intellectual Property Law Society, and First Generations Students at MSU Law. Beyond campus, clinical work with the Ingham County Legal Self-Help Center connects students to local needs. Michigan is the principal legal employment market to plan around.
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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 Michigan State 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.
