Pursue law school on your own path.
Welcome TO MITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW
KEY FACTS
We offer full-time and part-time, day and evening, on-campus and blended-learning enrollment options. Our part-time program is the largest in the country, giving you the flexibility to pursue law school on your own path.
Started in 1900 as a night school to train working people in the law, Mitchell Hamline is celebrating 125 years of making legal education accessible to talented students from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences.
Our part-time blended-learning program was established in 2015 and is the first and longest-running online/on-campus J.D. program at an ABA-approved law school.
Academic centers and institutes focusing on dispute resolution, health law, law and business, intellectual property, and Native American law and sovereignty.
Sixteen clinics, allowing students to gain skills and learn to practice the law with clients in areas such as child protection, immigration, wrongful conviction, economic inclusion, employment discrimination, and more.
Certificate programs tailoring studies to interest areas such as patent law, global arbitration, conflict resolution, health care compliance, Native American law and sovereignty, and more.
A nationwide alumni network of over 23,000 using their J.D. to transform their lives and make a difference in their communities
National leader in blended learning
first generation
34% of Mitchell Hamline’s incoming class of 2025 are the first in their family to attend college
Learn more about our clinics and centers and institutes.
Learn more about our certificate programs. mitchellhamline.edu/certificate
mitchellhamline.edu/clinics
mitchellhamline.edu/academics/ centers-and-institutes
STUDENT EXPERIENCE
PRACTICAL TRAINING
Mitchell Hamline students get extensive opportunities to do what real lawyers do while still in law school, giving them an advantage to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world.
We prepare students to be practice-ready through a robust skills curriculum, including classes like advocacy, mediation, and negotiation, and options for real-world experiences.
FALL 2024–SUMMER 2025:
They served more than 3,275 clients through the Minnesota Justice Foundation.
As part of the clinical program, under the supervision of fulltime professors, students take the lead on representing real clients who might not otherwise have access to an attorney.
students participated in clinics 144 students volunteered 8,968 hours 248 externships and residencies were completed 375
Students earn law school credit working off campus in legal settings under faculty and attorney supervision. Residencies consist of full-time, semester-long experiences.
CARE AND SUPPORT
Because we are an independent law school, all departments here are dedicated solely to serving law students. Many of our staff are Mitchell Hamline graduates and can relate personally to the journey you’re on, whether you come from a family of lawyers or you’re the first to go to law school.
Academic affairs
Academic advisers help you navigate your academic journey with personalized attention.
Accessibility
Dedicated disability services staff ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities, programs, and services while fostering a community of inclusion.
Alumni network
Learn from a network of over 23,000 alumni, including a strong presence in the judiciary, who are leading and influencing in all 50 states and D.C., four U.S. territories, and 86 countries. Alumni are embedded in the Mitchell Hamline experience through panels, mentoring, and networking, and career opportunities.
Bar preparation and academic support
We ensure each student has a smooth transition to law school and equip them with the skills they need to perform well in their courses and on the bar exam. Students are supported through tutoring services, a writing center, and other academic resources.
87%
bar passage July 2024
Faculty
Our Minnesota first-time bar passage rate in July 2024 was 87.35%. It was even higher for first-time bar exam takers who worked extensively with Academic Excellence: 90.48%.
58 full-time faculty, 21% of whom are Indigenous or people of color (of faculty reporting), and 53% of whom are women, are experts in their fields of study. Adjunct faculty often include alumni who share realworld experience as practicing lawyers in the classroom and clinics..
Career and professional development
Every student is paired with a career adviser to help them explore career options, make connections, and gain experience.
For the class of 2024 (graduates from Sept. 1, 2023 – Aug. 31, 2024), 92.8% of all known job seekers had secured employment in bar-passage-required, J.D.-advantage, or other professional positions, or were enrolled in graduate studies programs, within 10 months of graduation. We include this wide array of positions in our employment rate because it recognizes the diversity of interests, backgrounds, and long-term career goals held by Mitchell Hamline graduates.
rate THE CLASS OF 2024 for
Personal wellness and identity
We are committed to having a community of mutual care that prioritizes your health and sense of belonging. Offerings include a wellness center, food pantry, prayer/reflection room, free mental health counseling, and wellness activities, as well as a range of affinity groups, student organizations, journals, and competitions.
Technology
In-house instructional design and technology support are tailored to your law school courses and centered on the student experience.
Learn more about our faculty. mitchellhamline.edu/biographies
BLENDED-LEARNING
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Blended learning is a part-time program that is offered partly online and partly on-campus. This in-person time is critical for students to develop essential skills and deep relationships with classmates and professors, as well as participate in Law-inPractice Integrated Experiences, which expose students to real-life lawyering activities in a simulated setting.
In the first two years, you will come to campus once or twice a semester for up to a week.The rest of the time you are studying online, with no set schedule but with weekly deadlines.
After the first two years, you have more flexibility to choose courses that are fully online—synchronous or asynchronous— as well as fully on-campus options, tailoring your J.D. to fit your life. The degree is typically completed in four years but can be finished earlier.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT WHILE I AM ON CAMPUS?
Your time on campus will be filled with a mix of traditional law school classes and hands-on exercises that simulate what lawyers do in practice. It also fosters strong bonds between classmates that will often last beyond graduation.
Your first semester begins with an orientation that combines sessions about strategies for law school success with introductory classes in each of your courses.
You’ll return to campus at the end of the semester for Capstone Week, which, in addition to in-person classes, includes a Law-in-Practice simulation that integrates material you learn throughout the semester and applies it to a foundational lawyering skill, such as client interviewing and counseling, negotiation, and courtroom advocacy.
WHAT STANDS OUT ABOUT BLENDED LEARNING AT MITCHELL HAMLINE?
The first and a proven success
We were the first to launch a program like this, in 2015. More than 1,000 students have graduated from our blended-learning program, and for the blended-learning class of 2024 (graduates from Sept. 1, 2023 – Aug. 31, 2024), 95.1% of all known job seekers had secured employment in bar-passage-required, J.D.-advantage, or other professional positions, or were enrolled in graduate studies programs, within 10 months of graduation. This is a proven program that’s widely regarded as the industry leader, offering an exceptional breadth of classes, extracurricular opportunities, and connections with alumni and fellow students.
No required ‘live’ online classes
The online portions are asynchronous. There are weekly, optional, synchronous legal reasoning labs, to allow you to connect with your professors and colleagues and apply the legal concepts you are learning. These are recorded and posted to view if you can’t attend synchronously. You get flexibility to work around job and family commitments.
Bar eligibility
You can meet the requirements in every state, including New York.
Flexible and customizable
After your first two years, you’ll have fully online options including synchronous or asynchronous courses, as well as in-person options. Students also have the option to take classes over January-term and in the summer.
Real-world experience
No matter your location, you are able to develop practical skills through externships, residencies, and clinics. Ten of Mitchell Hamline’s clinics are available to blended-learning students, including two specially designed for blended-learning students.
Learn more about blended learning. mitchellhamline.edu/blended_learning
It’s the same law school
Blended-learning students are taught by the same full-time, tenured professors who teach in the on-campus program, and they have access to a range of clinics, externships, specialized academic certificates, seminars, law journals, competitions, student groups, and activities just as on-campus students do.
Minnesota’s Law
School of Choice
42
Native American law students FALL 2025 for
Mitchell Hamline School of Law has the largest number of Tribal Nation members and Indigenous law students.
For fall 2025, Mitchell Hamline School of Law has 42 Native American law students, and 37 of those students are enrolled members of Tribal Nations.
OUR COMMUNITY
CAMPUS
We’re on six acres of traditional Dakota land in the capital city of St. Paul, Minnesota. To our south is Summit Avenue, St. Paul’s stateliest boulevard. It has the longest stretch of preserved Victorian architecture in the country. One street beyond Summit is Grand Avenue, a destination for dining, shopping, and a popular gathering spot for law students. To the north is the heart of St. Paul’s Black community in the Rondo neighborhood, which is being revitalized after it was broken up by interstate construction in the 1950s and ‘60s.
mitchellhamline.edu/life
TWIN CITIES
The Twin Cities are home to opportunities in areas of intellectual property, including large corporations like 3M and law firms like Merchant & Gould, and health care, as part of a robust corridor of health care delivery and medical technology innovation. Our Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute maintains a strong connection to the Indigenous peoples of this region and the sovereign Tribal Nations in Minnesota, fostering community for Mitchell Hamline’s Tribal Nation members and Indigenous law students, the largest number of any law school in the nation. In addition, clinics partner with real-world clients in the area, allowing students to make tangible contributions to immigration services, small businesses, and more.
Mitchell Hamline is minutes by car or light rail from the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The metro area is home to state and federal government offices, top law firms, and 15 Fortune 500 companies. Roughly 3.5 million people call the Twin Cities home, drawn to worldclass attractions including professional sports teams, thriving nightlife, an extensive craft beer community, plentiful theater offerings, and nationally ranked park systems.
TWIN CITIES
mitchellhamline.edu/life/living
St. Paul
AMONG OUR RECENT ACCOLADES
Graduate or professional education
PLEASE REACH OUT
ABOUT SCHOLARSHIPS
Every application is automatically considered for scholarship, and you do not need to do anything extra to be considered. Scholarships are merit based, renewable, and awarded as a percentage of tuition.You retain your scholarship as long as you are enrolled at Mitchell Hamline, and it applies to all terms, including summer and January-term.
PERSONALLY CONNECT WITH US
Meet students, professors, alumni, and staff. Talk with an Admissions counselor, current student, or faculty member to learn more about the application process and all that Mitchell Hamline has to offer. Sit in on a class or tour the campus. Envision yourself as a law student here.
JOIN US AT AN INFORMATION SESSION OR ON THE ROAD
We host monthly information sessions throughout the year with students, professors, and staff. We also attend law fairs and recruitment events throughout North America. Join us to learn more about how Mitchell Hamline can help you reach your goals.
Ready to learn more?
Connect with us in person or online. mitchellhamline.edu/admission/visiting
APPLICATION CHECKLIST
All applicants
Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
Register with the Credential Assembly Ser vice (CAS)
Send official copies of all your post-secondary transcripts to CAS
Send letters of recommendation to CAS
NOTE: We prefer letters be less than two years old.
Complete an application for admission
Attach a personal statement
Attach a résumé
Provide additional statements or addenda (as needed)
For additional information about transferring, visiting, and international applications visit mitchellhamline.edu/admission/applying
New to the law school
Watch our how-to-apply video. mitchellhamline.edu/application-video
Phone : 651-290-6476
Email : admissions@mitchellhamline.edu
875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105 mitchellhamline.edu
ADMISSIONS TEAM
From left to right: Jack Her, Soua Xiong, Bekah Sommerfeld, Ann Gemmell ’12, Ann Buesgens, and Julie Olmsted ’08.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MITCHELL HAMLINE
