The University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law in Concord offers residential and hybrid JD programs. Its strengths include intellectual property, health and life sciences, sports and entertainment, and public service.
This guide walks you through how to get into UNH Franklin Pierce Law.
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1. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
UNH Franklin Pierce Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 159 | Median: 156 | 25th: 152
- GPA: 75th: 3.76 | Median: 3.57 | 25th: 3.25
UNH Franklin Pierce Law Class of 2027:
- LSAT: 75th: 158 | Median: 156 | 25th: 151
- GPA: 75th: 3.68 | Median: 3.52 | 25th: 3.15
The residential full-time entering classes of 2025 and 2024 held the LSAT median at 156 while the GPA median increased from 3.52 to 3.57. The full-time class grew from 142 to 156 students. Both the lower LSAT quartile and all three GPA points rose. These are the residential cohorts.
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. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
The school's instructions:
“We want to hear from you. Your personal statement of two pages (double-spaced) is required and must be submitted electronically. We’d like you to tell us why you are applying to law school and why UNH Law specifically. What motivates you to become a lawyer? This is your opportunity to share what makes you unique. Share your abilities, your character and your experiences. We consider this statement seriously in our decision-making and expect it to be concise and well-written.”
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Supplemental Statement (optional)
The school's instructions:
“Please include any statement of extraordinary circumstance(s) that could not be appropriately included in the personal statement or elsewhere in the application. The admissions committee is interested in an applicant's relevant life experience and learning more about your background. This statement should not exceed one page (double-spaced).”
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
Hybrid JD Interest Statement (required for hybrid applicants)
The school's instructions:
“This is a required essay in addition to the personal statement. You write this to share your specific experience or interest in Intellectual Property and/or Health and Life Sciences and then upload it to the LSAC website.”
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)
An affirmative conduct response requires the offense or charge, date, and disposition. The duty to update the application continues after submission.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Resume Requirements
A detailed resume is required. Include employment, internships, education, honors, activities, service, and relevant skills or interests. Account for gaps in your history; no fixed page maximum is stated.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Letters of Recommendation
Submit two to three letters of recommendation through CAS. Teachers and employers are appropriate; recent graduates should include a professor. The Wildcat Scholars route requires two academic recommendations.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Interview Process
Hybrid JD applicants are not required to interview. Wildcat Scholars applicants complete an on-campus committee interview. For that route, be ready to explain your academic preparation, reasons for studying law, and interest in Franklin Pierce.
6. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
UNH accepts the LSAT or GRE taken within five years of enrollment. A reportable LSAT remains part of the review even when you also submit the GRE.
If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
Application Dates and Fees
- Applications Open: September 1.
- Priority Deadline: March 15.
- Final Deadline: July 15.
- Application Fee: $0.
- Daniel Webster Scholar Early Interest: Submit the JD application before February 1 to request consideration through that route.
Admissions review is rolling, generally taking four to six weeks after completion. The February DWS step expresses interest in a selective program that begins in the second year; it is not an automatic place in it.
Program Formats
Hybrid JD: The usual schedule is ten semesters over three and a half years, combining online coursework with required in-person immersions. Apply through the hybrid application and include its additional interest statement. The program focuses on IP and health and life sciences rather than functioning as an interchangeable evening version of the residential JD.
Wildcat Scholars: Eligible recent UNH undergraduates can pursue a narrow alternative-test route based on undergraduate performance and qualifying SAT or ACT results.
7. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
All admitted JD students receive automatic consideration for merit assistance. Academic renewal is tied to good standing rather than a separate class-rank condition.
Dean's Scholarships and Access and Equity Grants
Dean's Scholarships emphasize academic credentials. Access and Equity Grants recognize strengths arising from background, obstacles overcome, employment, advanced study, and other experiences.
Karl F. Jorda and Practice-Ready Scholarships
The Jorda scholarship supports qualified STEM applicants pursuing patent or other IP work. American Mock Trial Association participants seeking Practice-Ready consideration must email admissions after applying.
Public Service Support and Costs
The Rudman Center offers summer public-service fellowships of up to $4,800 for qualifying government or nonprofit legal work. Students secure their placements.
Current posted annual residential tuition is $43,000 for New Hampshire residents, $51,000 for nonresidents, and $47,000 for eligible New England Regional students. Adding $364 in standard annual fees and the school's $29,974 living-expense allowance produces estimated totals of $73,338, $81,338, and $77,338. Hybrid tuition is per credit: $1,435 resident, $1,640 nonresident, or $1,538 regional; immersion travel adds to the practical budget.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Joint Degree Programs
- JD/MBA: The JD/MBA with the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics ordinarily takes three and a half years.
- JD/MPP: The JD/MPP with the Carsey School of Public Policy ordinarily takes three and a half years.
- JD/MSW: The JD/MSW with UNH's College of Health and Human Services has a sequence that depends on the social-work track.
Each requires separate admission to the partner program.
- JD/LLM and JD/master's: Within the law school, joint JD/LLM and JD/master's routes cover intellectual property or commerce and technology. Students apply during the first year and can complete the additional degree within the regular JD timetable. These are distinct from the university's dual degrees, which involve another school and additional scheduling.
9. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
UNH Franklin Pierce Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 57.8%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 10.4%
- Federal clerkships: 0.0%
- Public service (including government): 18.8%
New Hampshire leads placement, with Massachusetts and New York the next largest markets. The IP identity reaches beyond Concord, but the overall employment pattern remains regional. The BigLaw percentage is a secondary feature of the school, not its central value proposition. A New England practice plan or a specific IP career connection is more useful than assuming the name alone will produce national mobility.
10. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Intellectual Property: The Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property connects the IP concentration, specialized coursework, and the Intellectual Property Summer Institute. Students can combine patent, trademark, and copyright study with transactional client work and an additional graduate degree in the field.
Health Law and Policy: The Health Law and Policy concentration includes industry regulation and interdisciplinary projects. Its bioInnovation course works with BioFabUSA and the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, connecting legal analysis to the development and commercialization of biomedical products.
Sports and Entertainment: The Sports & Entertainment Law Institute supports study of athlete representation, sports business, and entertainment disputes. Michael McCann's work on college athletics and name, image, and likeness provides a concrete faculty connection to a rapidly changing practice area.
Public Service: The Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership & Public Service combines public programming with fellowships for government and nonprofit legal work. It makes Concord's state-government setting an academic and professional opportunity, not simply a location on the map.
11. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Clinics
- Intellectual Property and Transaction Clinic: Students advise entrepreneurs, artists, inventors, nonprofits, and small businesses on entity formation, trademarks, copyright, licensing, and related transactions.
- Criminal Practice Clinic: Students represent low-income defendants in New Hampshire misdemeanor and lower-level felony matters, handling interviews, investigations, motions, negotiations, and courtroom advocacy under supervision.
- International Technology Transfer Institute Clinic: Students research patent landscapes and prepare IP-management analyses and capacity-building work involving technology transfer in developing countries.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Legal residencies place students in supervised practice for credit. Past hosts include the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Sony Music Entertainment, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
The selective Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program integrates simulations, clinics, residencies, and portfolios assessed by bar examiners. Successful participants satisfy New Hampshire's alternative bar-examination process during their final two years. The work includes counseling, depositions, negotiation, drafting, and appearances before judges. It is a substantial training commitment, not simply an exemption from an exam.
12. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Michael McCann: Professor of Law and associate dean; founding director of the Sports & Entertainment Law Institute. His sports-law work includes U.S. Senate testimony on athlete name, image, and likeness.
- Zvi Rosen: Associate Professor of Law and faculty director of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property. A copyright and trademark scholar, he previously served as the U.S. Copyright Office's Kaminstein Scholar.
- Mailyn Fidler: Associate Professor of Law. Her work addresses cybersecurity, cybercrime, and surveillance; she previously held a technology and First Amendment fellowship at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
- Lucy Hodder: Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and director of health and life sciences law and policy. She previously served as legal counsel and senior health-policy adviser to New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan.
Journals
- University of New Hampshire Law Review: Articles on general legal questions and unsettled issues.
- IDEA: The Law Review of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property: Practical articles on intellectual property, law and technology.
- UNH Sports Law Review: Scholarship on pressing sports law issues.
13. UNH Franklin Pierce Law Culture and Student Life
The residential program is small enough for faculty relationships and student organizations to shape daily life. The Patent Law Forum, Student Bar Association, and specialized journals give students different ways to participate. Hybrid students bring a separate community of working professionals into the school through online classes and immersions.
Concord places the residential campus near New Hampshire's government and legal institutions. That setting supports public-service and state-practice interests, while residencies can take students farther afield. The choice is between a concentrated capital-city legal community and a larger metropolitan law-school experience, not between serious opportunities and none.
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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 UNH Franklin Pierce 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.
