Home » Law Schools » 3rd and 4th Tier Profiles »

Gonzaga University School of Law

From TLS wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Last updated: October 26, 2026

Gonzaga University School of Law

Gonzaga University School of Law is a private Jesuit law school in Spokane, Washington, that enrolled a first-year class of 203 students in Fall 2025 from 1,273 completed applications, with a median LSAT of 155 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.55. It is ranked #144 (tie) of 194 in the 2026 U.S. News rankings, and it is best known for its generous, non-conditional scholarship program (98% of students receive grants, median $32,000), its public-service placement record, and an 87.7% first-time pass rate on the 2025 Washington State Bar Exam. The central decision issue for admitted applicants is that Gonzaga pairs exceptional merit aid and a warm regional reputation in the Inland Northwest with a thin BigLaw pipeline (9 graduates at firms of 101+ attorneys in 2025), average debt of $99,363, and a deanship in transition, at a computed 2026–27 cost of attendance of roughly $80,300.

Forum Links

Gonzaga Law at a Glance

Category Latest information
Founded 1912 (opened October 1, 1912)
Type Private (Jesuit / Catholic)
ABA approval or accreditation Fully ABA accredited since 1951 ("Council Approved Since 1951," 2025 509 report)
Location 721 North Cincinnati Street, Spokane, Washington (current riverfront building since May 2000)
Latest U.S. News rank #144 (tie) of 194 (2026 edition)
Latest completed applications 1,273 (Fall 2025, 2025 509 report)
Latest acceptance rate 51.14% (Fall 2025)
Latest LSAT median 155 (Fall 2025)
Latest GPA median 3.55 (Fall 2025)
Latest entering class 203 (all full-time) (Fall 2025)
Current tuition $57,962 (2025–26 509 report, single rate for residents and non-residents); school's 2026–27 rate $60,858 ($30,429/semester)
Current estimated cost of attendance ≈$80,272 (2026–27, computed from school and 509 components); 509 living allowance $17,105
Latest first-time bar passage 87.7% (2025 Washington State Bar Exam, school-reported); 87.4% overall first-time across all states (school); 85.9% (LawHub, 2025); 79.7% (U.S. News, cohort basis)
Latest bar-required employment 78.3% of graduates in full-time, long-term bar-required positions (Class of 2025, ABA data)
Current dean Linda D. Jellum (Interim, since July 20, 2026)

The admissions figures are drawn from Gonzaga's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (1,273 completed applications, 651 offers, 51.14% acceptance rate, 203 in the first-year class as of October 2025), and this profile uses the standardized 509 figures throughout. Tuition data are from the 509 report and the university's 2026–27 tuition page — note the U.S. News profile's $57,962 corresponds to the 2025–26 rate. Linda D. Jellum, previously Professor of Law and Director of the Tax Program at the University of Idaho College of Law and holder of the Ellison Capers Palmer Sr. Endowed Chair in Tax Law at Mercer University, became interim dean on July 20, 2026, following Agnieszka McPeak's brief acting deanship (July 1–19, 2026) and the departure of Jacob H. Rooksby; the circumstances of Rooksby's departure were not detailed in the sources reviewed, and a national search for a permanent dean is underway.

Introduction

Gonzaga.jpg



Gonzaga University School of Law opened on October 1, 1912, under the motto "A First Class Law School, or None at All," beginning with two classrooms in the university's Administration Building. The Jesuit-affiliated school earned full ABA accreditation in 1951, outgrew its facilities by the 1960s, and moved in July 1962 into the former Webster School, its home for the next thirty-eight years. In late May 2000, the school opened its current 104,000-square-foot building on the banks of the Spokane River, completed at a cost of $18.5 million.

The school's identity rests on three pillars: its Catholic, Jesuit commitment to forming "lawyers who use their skills to serve others," a first-year class that all studies full-time in Spokane's riverfront law building, and a scholarship model that spreads merit aid across essentially the entire class. Its alumni practice in all 50 states and include four sitting state supreme court justices, a former governor of Washington, state attorneys general in several states, U.S. senators and congressmen, current and former U.S. attorneys, CEOs, and a NASCAR champion. The school also runs a long-standing Summer Program in Florence, Italy.

Rankings and Reputation

Gonzaga is ranked #144 (tie) of 194 in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings (a figure confirmed by both U.S. News and 7Sage's consolidated table), with an academic peer-reputation score of 2.2 in the 2026–27 AALS peer-assessment data. Its reputation is strongly regional: in the Inland Northwest it is the dominant Catholic law school, and its public-service placement record (government, public interest, and clerkships together account for 69 of the Class of 2025's 162 full-time, long-term positions) anchors its identity.

Overall ranking

U.S. News edition Gonzaga rank
2026 144 (tie) of 194
2025 Not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed

Applicants should treat single-digit movement in this band as immaterial to Gonzaga's practical outcomes, which are driven by price, regional reputation, and bar results rather than rank position. LSD.law's applicant-behavior ranking places Gonzaga at a median LSAT of 155 and GPA of 3.55 among its applicant pool — consistent with the 509 data.

Specialty rankings

No current-edition U.S. News specialty rankings for Gonzaga were confirmed in the sources reviewed this cycle. U.S. News's academics listing notes programs and courses offered in clinical training, dispute resolution, environmental law, health care law, intellectual property, international law, business/corporate law, constitutional law, contracts/commercial law, and criminal law.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

Admissions metric Fall 2025
Completed applications 1,273
Offers of admission 651
Acceptance rate 51.14%
Enrollees from applicant pool 201 (plus 2 who deferred admission)
Total in first-year class 203 (all full-time)
Yield (enrollees / offers) 30.88%

Total J.D. enrollment stood at 551 as of October 5, 2025, with 1 transfer student in and 5 out. The 509 report lists zero part-time students — Gonzaga has no part-time or evening J.D. division; its alternative track is the accelerated Executive Two-Year J.D.

LSAT and GPA

Statistic 25th percentile Median 75th percentile
LSAT 153 155 158
Undergraduate GPA 3.24 3.55 3.76

Gonzaga accepts the LSAT, the GRE, and the JD-Next assessment, but strongly encourages the LSAT, which is required for guaranteed consideration for merit scholarships.

Interpreting the numbers

A 51.14% acceptance rate and a 155/3.55 median place Gonzaga in the moderately selective regional tier — roughly one in two applicants receives an offer, but the entering class is stronger than the acceptance rate suggests: the median GPA of 3.55 and a 75th-percentile GPA of 3.76 indicate a class skewed toward solid academic records. The 30.88% yield reflects the reality that many Gonzaga offers go to applicants also considering Seattle-area and Portland schools. Applicants at or above the medians are strong candidates; the 25th-percentile LSAT of 153 keeps the door open to below-median applicants, particularly those with strong public-service narratives. No LSAT or GPA guarantees admission.

Application timing

The application fee is $0 (waived). Applications open September 1. The 2025 509 report lists an annual application completion deadline of April 15, 2026, and a financial aid deadline of February 1, 2026; the school's own cycle guidance lists March 31 for the Executive Two-Year J.D. and February 1 for the Carl Maxey Social Justice Scholarship, while the U.S. News profile lists July 15 — treat the earlier April 15 date as the safe target, with July 15 functioning as the final rolling deadline. Admission is rolling.

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

Tuition for the 2025–26 academic year is $57,962 (the same for residents and non-residents, as Gonzaga is private), with 509-reported fees of $825 — $58,787 all-in, the figure Law School Transparency also lists. For 2026–27, the university's tuition page sets full-time J.D. tuition at $30,429 per semester ($60,858 for the year) plus mandatory fees (a $400-per-semester Academic Support & Bar Preparation fee, $100 accident insurance and wellness fee per semester, $65-per-semester Student Bar Association fee, and small journal fees — about $1,155 in mandatory fees for the year by third-party tabulation). A distinctive feature: the mandatory bar-prep fee funds a BarBri partnership that embeds commercial bar-prep materials throughout the J.D., reducing later course costs for students who choose them.

Cost of attendance

Expense Amount (2026–27 basis unless noted)
Tuition (full-time J.D.) $60,858
Mandatory fees ≈$1,155
Books $1,154 (U.S. News figure)
Living allowance (509) $17,105
Total estimated cost of attendance ≈$80,272 (computed)

The total is computed from the school's tuition, fee, and 509 living components and is labeled as computed; the school's law-specific cost-of-attendance page was not machine-readable in the sources reviewed. The 509 report's living allowance is $17,105 (off campus or at home); U.S. News's cost table shows food and housing of $12,266 plus books of $1,154 — a materially lower living figure, so applicants should budget conservatively. Payment-arrangement deadlines are August 10 (fall) and January 4 (spring).

Financial aid

Per the 2025 Standard 509 report, 98% of students (561 of 573) received grants, with a median grant of $32,000, a 25th percentile of $27,000, and a 75th percentile of $34,140 — against tuition of $57,962, a median discount of more than half. The distribution runs 32% receiving less than half tuition, 64% half-to-full tuition, and 2% full tuition. Critically, Gonzaga's awards are non-conditional in the law-school sense: the school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance, other than the requirement to maintain good academic standing — a structural advantage over the conditional-award regimes common at peer schools. Admission itself constitutes merit-scholarship consideration (the LSAT is required for guaranteed scholarship consideration), and the separate Carl Maxey Social Justice Scholarship covers full tuition for traditional three-year J.D. students (February 1 application deadline). The financial aid director is Sarah Everitt, (509) 313-6555, aid deadline February 1.

Debt perspective

  • Average law-school debt, Class of 2025: $99,363
  • Proportion who borrowed: 80.7%
  • LRAP: Yes (U.S. News reports a loan repayment assistance program for 2025 J.D. graduates; program terms were not machine-readable in the sources reviewed and are therefore not detailed here)

Average debt of $99,363 is moderate for a private school and sits well below the three-year sticker cost — a direct dividend of the $32,000 median grant. Gonzaga is one of the minority of schools reporting an LRAP to U.S. News, which matters for graduates entering the public-service jobs (government, public interest, prosecutor and public defender offices) that absorb roughly 29% of each class; applicants targeting those roles should confirm LRAP terms with the financial aid office before borrowing.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

Per ABA data as tabulated by OpenLawPrep (status roughly ten months after graduation), the class of 198 graduates broke down as follows:

Employment metric Class of 2025
Total graduates 198
Employed (any position) 168 of 197 with known status (85.3%)
Full-time, long-term positions 162
Jobs requiring bar admission (full-time, long-term) 155 (78.3% of all graduates)
J.D.-advantage jobs 5 (3 full-time, long-term)
Enrolled in further graduate study 12
Unemployed — seeking 15
School-funded positions 0

The school separately reports that 91% of 2025 graduates were employed or pursuing advanced legal education. The U.S. News careers table (employed-at-graduation and full-credit-outcome rates) was not retrievable in the sources reviewed. Detailed ABA category counts: law firms 89 (54.9% of full-time, long-term positions — solo 0; 1–10 attorneys 40; 11–25: 23; 26–50: 10; 51–100: 7; 101–250: 4; 251–500: 0; 501+ (BigLaw): 5), government 33, public interest 24, federal clerkships 1, state and local clerkships 11, education 2, business and industry 2. No salary statistics for the Class of 2025 were published in the sources reviewed and are therefore not listed here.

What these numbers mean

An 85.3% employment rate ranks #175 of 195 schools — middling nationally — but the composition is the story: 95.7% of the class's full-time, long-term jobs are bar-required, meaning graduates who land jobs almost always land legal jobs. Public-service orientation is heavy: government (33), public interest (24), and judicial clerkships (12) together account for 69 of 162 full-time, long-term positions — about 29% of the class in public service, with firm hiring concentrated overwhelmingly in small practices (40 graduates in 1–10-attorney firms). BigLaw is marginal (9 graduates at 101+ firms, 4.5%), and federal clerkships are rare (1). The trade is placement prestige for placement substance: few graduates land large-firm jobs, but few land in non-legal ones either.

Bar passage

Bar statistic Rate
First-time pass rate, 2025 Washington State Bar Exam (school-reported) 87.7%
Overall first-time passage across all states, 2025 (school-reported) 87.4%
2025 first-time takers, all jurisdictions (LawHub) 85.9%
First-time passage (U.S. News, cohort basis) 79.7% (vs. 81.3% state average)
Ultimate bar passage, 2-year (U.S. News) 92%
July 2025 announcement, first-time passers across Alaska, California, Idaho, and Oregon (school social media) 100% (not independently confirmed)

The different figures reflect differing methodologies: the school's 87.7% is the 2025 Washington State Bar Exam first-time rate, its 87.4% is the overall first-time rate across the 20-plus state bar exams its graduates took in 2025, LawHub's 85.9% is its own all-jurisdiction calculation, and U.S. News's 79.7% uses its earlier cohort basis against an 81.3% state average. Graduates took 20+ different state bar exams in 2025 — a footprint stretching from Alaska to New York — and the school credits its Academic Success Program and the embedded BarBri partnership (funded by the mandatory bar-prep fee) for the results. The 100% multi-state announcement circulated on the school's social media was not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Where graduates go

The Class of 2025's geography is Inland-Northwest-centered with a Pacific rim: of employed graduates with known locations, 103 work in Washington (61.3%), 10 in California (6.0%), and 7 in Alaska (4.2%). Employers split across small firms (the 1–10-attorney tier is the single largest group at 40), Washington state and local government (33), public-interest organizations (24), and the state courts (11 state and local clerkships). Federal placements are rare — one clerkship and five BigLaw associates — and no graduates took school-funded positions.

Academics and Programs

The J.D. is offered as a traditional three-year program (all full-time; there is no part-time or evening division) and an accelerated Executive Two-Year J.D., both requiring 90 credit hours.

Curriculum and special strengths

Gonzaga's curriculum emphasizes practice readiness and public service, with eight joint-degree options: J.D./M.S.W. (in conjunction with Eastern Washington University), Juris Doctor/Master of Accountancy, Juris Doctor/M.B.A., and Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Taxation, among others. U.S. News lists programs in clinical training, dispute resolution, environmental law, health care law, intellectual property, international law, business/corporate law, constitutional law, contracts/commercial law, and criminal law. The school maintains a student-managed Gonzaga Law Review and Gonzaga Journal of International Law, and its Summer Program in Florence, Italy, has run for decades — interim Dean Linda Jellum herself taught in it before joining the faculty. The school has long been associated with First Amendment education and a culture of public-service lawyering rooted in its Jesuit mission.

Clinics and experiential learning

Gonzaga operates nine live-client clinics: the Business Law Clinic, Catholic Charities Immigration Clinic, Elder Law Clinic, Environmental Law & Land Use Clinic, Federal Indian Law Clinic, Federal Tax Clinic, General Practice Clinic, Mortgage Foreclosure Clinic, and Lincoln LGBTQ+ Rights Clinic — a roster weighted toward the access-to-justice needs of the Inland Northwest. The Academic Success Program supports students academically and professionally from 1L year through bar preparation, and the mandatory BarBri partnership integrates commercial bar-prep analytics into the curriculum so faculty can identify at-risk students early.

Student Life and Location

Living in Spokane

The law school has occupied its 104,000-square-foot building on the banks of the Spokane River since 2000, on Gonzaga's riverfront campus east of downtown Spokane. The 509 living allowance of $17,105 reflects Spokane's low cost of living by Western standards — well below the budgets quoted by Seattle, Portland, and California schools. The Inland Northwest legal market (Spokane County courts, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, and regional firms) is the school's home turf, with Seattle and Portland a few hours away for summer positions. The university also operates the Summer Program in Florence for students who want an international semester.

Student body

Total J.D. enrollment is 551 (October 5, 2025), all full-time; U.S. News reports a 10.7:1 student-faculty ratio. The faculty comprises 35 full-time members, 56 non-full-time members, and 4 librarians. Faculty gender and minority percentages, and detailed student demographics, were not retrievable from the sources reviewed this cycle and are therefore not listed. The student body is culturally shaped by the school's Catholic identity and its public-service ethos: roughly 29% of each graduating class enters government, public-interest, or clerkship work, and the all-full-time format produces a residential, cohesive cohort culture centered on the riverfront law building.

How Gonzaga Compares

Choose Gonzaga if

  • You want a private-school education at effective in-state prices — 98% of students receive grants with a $32,000 median, and the awards are non-conditional (no class-rank clawbacks).
  • You are targeting Pacific Northwest and Inland Northwest practice, especially government, public-interest, prosecutor, or public-defender work — about 29% of each class goes into public service.
  • You value a Catholic/Jesuit mission identity, small full-time cohorts, live-client clinics from Federal Indian Law to LGBTQ+ rights, and the option of an accelerated Executive Two-Year J.D.
  • You want bar-exam insurance built into the curriculum — the mandatory BarBri partnership and Academic Success Program supported an 87.7% first-time pass rate on the 2025 Washington bar.

Consider alternatives if

  • You are chasing BigLaw or national placement — only 9 graduates (4.5%) joined 101+ firms and one took a federal clerkship in 2025; the University of Washington or a national school fits that goal better.
  • You need a part-time or evening program — Gonzaga's J.D. is full-time only (the Executive Two-Year track is accelerated, not part-time).
  • You want a stronger entering-class profile or a higher-ranked peer group in the Seattle market — UW and Seattle University both draw stronger medians.
  • LRAP-dependent public-interest plans worry you — an LRAP is reported, but its terms were not machine-readable in the sources reviewed, so confirm before borrowing.

The TLS Verdict

Gonzaga Law is a mission-driven regional school that executes the value formula unusually well. The template is simple: spread serious merit aid (98% coverage, $32,000 median, zero conditional clawbacks) across a full-time class in a cheap riverfront market, wire bar-prep into the curriculum, and feed graduates into the small firms, prosecutors' offices, and courthouses of the Inland Northwest and the wider Pacific Northwest. The results: an 87.7% first-time pass rate on the 2025 Washington bar, 95.7% of full-time long-term jobs requiring bar admission, and $99,363 of average debt — moderate for a private school, with an LRAP reported. The constraints are equally structural: a #144 rank, a 4.5% BigLaw rate, one federal clerkship, an 85.3% employment rate that ranks in the national bottom quarter, and a leadership transition (interim Dean Linda Jellum as of July 20, 2026, with a national search underway). For an applicant bound for Northwest public service or small-firm practice — particularly one who values the Jesuit mission and non-conditional aid — Gonzaga is among the region's best per-dollar choices. For everyone else, its value decays quickly outside the Inland Northwest.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into Gonzaga Law?

Moderately accessible: for Fall 2025, Gonzaga accepted 51.14% of applicants (651 offers from 1,273 completed applications), with 201 students enrolling from the applicant pool into a class of 203. Review is rolling, so early, complete applications fare best.

What LSAT score is competitive for Gonzaga?

The median LSAT for the Fall 2025 entering class was 155, with a middle-50% range of 153 to 158. Gonzaga also accepts the GRE and JD-Next, but the LSAT is required for guaranteed merit-scholarship consideration.

What GPA do Gonzaga applicants typically have?

The median undergraduate GPA for the Fall 2025 entering class was 3.55, with a middle-50% range of 3.24 to 3.76 — a class skewed toward solid academic records relative to the school's acceptance rate.

Does Gonzaga give scholarships?

Yes, exceptionally broadly: 98% of students received grants per the 2025 ABA 509 report, with a median grant of $32,000 (25th–75th percentiles $27,000–$34,140). Awards are non-conditional — they cannot be reduced or eliminated based on academic performance, only on failure to maintain good academic standing. The Carl Maxey Social Justice Scholarship offers full tuition via separate application (February 1 deadline).

What is Gonzaga's bar passage rate?

The school reported an 87.7% first-time pass rate on the 2025 Washington State Bar Exam and an 87.4% overall first-time rate across the 20-plus states where its graduates tested; LawHub lists 85.9% for 2025, while U.S. News's cohort-basis figure is 79.7% against an 81.3% state average. Ultimate (2-year) passage is 92%.

Is Gonzaga good for BigLaw?

No. Only 9 graduates (4.5% of the Class of 2025) joined firms of 101+ attorneys, and one took a federal clerkship. The school's strength is the other end of the market: small firms (40 graduates in 1–10-attorney practices), government (33), public interest (24), and state and local clerkships (11).

Does Gonzaga offer a part-time J.D.?

No. The 509 report lists zero part-time students; the J.D. is full-time and residential. The school's flexible track is the accelerated Executive Two-Year J.D., which compresses the traditional three-year program.

What is Gonzaga Law best known for?

It is best known for its Jesuit identity and public-service mission, its near-universal non-conditional scholarship program, its nine live-client clinics (including the Federal Indian Law and Lincoln LGBTQ+ Rights clinics), its Academic Success Program and embedded BarBri bar-prep partnership, its riverfront Spokane campus, its Summer Program in Florence, and alumni ranging from four sitting state supreme court justices to former U.S. Senator and House Speaker Thomas S. Foley.

Contact and Key Links

Gonzaga University School of Law
721 North Cincinnati Street
Spokane, WA 99220-3528

Admissions Phone: (509) 313-3711

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

Retrieved from "https://www.top-law-schools.com/w/index.php?title=Gonzaga_University_School_of_Law&oldid=7485"