The University of St. Thomas School of Law in downtown Minneapolis offers a full-time JD shaped by its Catholic mission. Its programs include professional mentoring, nine legal clinics, and concentrations in immigration, compliance, and emerging technologies.
This guide walks you through how to get into St. Thomas Law.
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1. St. Thomas Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
St. Thomas Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 164 | Median: 160 | 25th: 156
- GPA: 75th: 3.86 | Median: 3.70 | 25th: 3.52
St. Thomas Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 162 | Median: 159 | 25th: 155
- GPA: 75th: 3.88 | Median: 3.72 | 25th: 3.46
The fall 2026 profile is preliminary as of August 17, 2026; the older block describes fall 2025 entrants. The LSAT median rose one point, while the GPA median slipped slightly. The LSAT increase extends across both quartiles. The newer class has a higher GPA floor at the 25th percentile but a slightly lower upper quartile.
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. St. Thomas Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
A personal statement is required. In reviewing applications, St. Thomas evaluates writing, leadership, motivation for law, and the applicant's potential contribution to its mission alongside academic credentials.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Access to Justice Scholarship Essay (required for consideration)
The school's instructions:
“All academically qualified applicants are invited to submit an essay explaining their interest in, and commitment to, pursuing legal practice in a small-town or rural setting. The essay should be submitted with the application for admission. Applicants will be invited to an interview with the faculty admissions committee.”
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. St. Thomas Law Resume Requirements
St. Thomas requires a resume or CV. Include education, employment, service, leadership, and relevant accomplishments. Make responsibilities and dates easy to follow, and quantify results where the numbers add meaning. Give sustained work and caregiving responsibilities their proper weight.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. St. Thomas Law Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation are required. Choose recommenders who know your work well enough to discuss your analytical ability, writing, reliability, and growth. Specific evidence from a professor or supervisor is more useful than prestige without substance.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. St. Thomas Law Interview Process
Scholarship candidates may receive an optional interview invitation before an award decision. Access to Justice Scholarship applicants are invited to interview with the faculty admissions committee. Prepare to discuss your application, motivation for law, and the experiences behind your stated interests, including rural practice for that program.
6. St. Thomas Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
St. Thomas prefers an LSAT score from the preceding three years and accepts scores no more than five years old. When an applicant has multiple scores, it uses the highest. Build your testing schedule around submitting a complete application, not simply opening one. Early submission is useful only when the writing and supporting materials are ready.
Application Dates and Fees
St. Thomas's regular application calendar runs from early September through August 1 for fall entry. Applications may be submitted as early as September 1, and review begins in November. Decisions are made on a rolling basis; the stated review period is generally six to eight weeks after a file becomes complete.
Apply through LSAC. There is no school application fee. A complete application includes the personal statement, resume or CV, two recommendations, transcripts from all postsecondary institutions, and a completed Credential Assembly Service file with a reportable LSAT score.
7. St. Thomas Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
General merit scholarship consideration accompanies the admission application. Academic strength and mission fit both enter the review.
President's and Dean's Scholarships
The President's Scholarship covers full tuition but not mandatory fees. Dean's Scholarships provide partial tuition awards of up to 90%.
Access to Justice Scholarship
Awards can reach 90% of tuition and include mentoring focused on small-town or rural practice.
Scholarships continue at the awarded tuition percentage with continuous enrollment or an approved leave. The school's 2025 ABA disclosure reports no academic scholarship conditions beyond maintaining good academic standing. Separate degree requirements still apply.
Cost of Attendance
For 2026-27, tuition is $52,910 for fall and spring combined, with $658 in listed mandatory fees. Budget separately for living expenses, books, and other costs. Applicants seeking federal aid submit the FAFSA using school code 002345. Compare the actual scholarship-adjusted cost with other schools serving your intended market.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. St. Thomas Law Joint Degrees
St. Thomas offers three JD combinations:
- JD/MBA: With the Opus College of Business, a four-year route that begins MBA coursework in the third law-school year.
- JD/MSW: Combines law and social work. The sample plans distinguish a four-year regular-standing route from a three-year advanced-standing route for students with a social-work bachelor's degree.
- JD/MA in Catholic Studies: With the Department of Catholic Studies, generally three to four years. Applicants apply separately to each program and meet each program's admission requirements.
The MBA adds business methods, the MSW supports combined legal and social-service work, and Catholic Studies offers an interdisciplinary academic route.
9. St. Thomas Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
St. Thomas Law Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 82.6%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 8.1%
- Federal clerkships: 1.3%
- Public service (including government): 16.1%
Minnesota dominates graduate employment, with Wisconsin and Illinois the next reported destinations. Smaller firms and state or local judicial clerkships are important parts of the placement picture. St. Thomas makes the most sense for applicants who want to build a Minnesota practice and use its mentoring and client-facing opportunities deliberately. Compare scholarship-adjusted debt with the work you expect to pursue, rather than budgeting around a large-firm salary.
10. St. Thomas Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Immigration law: The 12-credit concentration combines Immigration Law with an experiential course and electives. The Immigration Law Practice Group and approved public-interest placements connect doctrinal study to client work, with the clinic currently emphasizing naturalization matters.
Organizational ethics and compliance: This concentration requires at least 12 credits, including compliance program design, organizational ethics, and executive perspectives. Business externships add experience with the transactional and compliance questions that arise inside companies and other organizations.
Law, artificial intelligence, and evolving technologies: The 12-credit concentration includes offerings such as Coding for Lawyers, Disruptive Innovation in Law, and AI and the Law. Related electives address privacy, intellectual property, and technology's effects on legal practice.
Criminal practice and clemency: Criminal and Juvenile Defense and Federal Commutations provide different forms of supervised representation. Students can connect criminal-law study to courtroom advocacy or the detailed factual and narrative work required for a clemency petition.
Appellate advocacy and religious liberty: The Appellate and Religious Liberty Appellate clinics emphasize record review, legal analysis, and persuasive briefs. They offer distinct settings for developing appellate writing, from an incarcerated person's civil appeal to an amicus submission.
11. St. Thomas Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
St. Thomas lists nine clinics:
- Appellate Clinic: Research a civil appeal, prepare briefs, and potentially present oral argument.
- Criminal and Juvenile Defense Clinic: Interview clients, investigate facts, negotiate, and litigate criminal or delinquency matters.
- Federal Commutations Clinic: Develop petitions for federal pardons and sentence commutations.
- Immigration Law Practice Group: Interview naturalization applicants and prepare applications, affidavits, and supporting evidence.
- Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic: Address legal problems affecting low-income patients' health with healthcare providers.
- Religious Liberty Appellate Clinic: Draft appellate briefs, particularly amicus briefs, for organizational clients.
- Small Business and Transactional Law Clinic: Counsel entrepreneurs and prepare or review transactional documents.
- Special Education Clinic: Analyze education plans and support students and parents through institutional partners.
- Trademark Clinic: Prepare trademark applications and responses to agency office actions.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Every JD student completes 50 public-service hours, which may include approved legal or nonlegal service. The Mentor Externship Program pairs students with a legal professional each year; upper-level participation includes seminars. Six experiential credits are required, with additional credits available through clinics, externships, and approved practical courses. Business externships have included companies such as Target and Medtronic.
12. St. Thomas Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Gregory Sisk: Pio Cardinal Laghi Distinguished Chair in Law and associate dean for research; author of Litigation With the Federal Government and an appellate practice scholar.
- Mark Osler: Robert and Marion Short Distinguished Chair in Law; a clemency scholar who supervises the Federal Commutations Clinic.
- Rachel Moran: Professor and Robins Kaplan Director of Clinical Education; studies police accountability and leads Criminal and Juvenile Defense.
- Thomas C. Berg: James L. Oberstar Professor of Law and Public Policy; author of Religious Liberty in a Polarized Age and a religious-liberty appellate advocate.
Journals
- University of St. Thomas Law Journal: The flagship publishes scholarship on ethics, faith, and justice through a symposium-centered model.
- University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy: Publishes analysis of public-policy issues.
Both recruit through the post-1L write-on competition.
13. St. Thomas Law Culture and Student Life
St. Thomas's Catholic identity is part of the curriculum, including Moral Reasoning for Lawyers during orientation. The school welcomes students of all faiths and no faith. Service, professional ethics, and reflection on the lawyer's role are recurring parts of the experience, rather than subjects reserved for one elective.
The Minneapolis location and annual mentor relationships connect students with the Twin Cities legal community. Student organizations include the Jewish Law Student Association and St. Thomas More Society, while the Public Service Board helps organize and track service. Those are concrete settings for building relationships beyond class.
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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 St. Thomas 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.
