Class of 2025 Sets Records in Diversity, Academic Strength

The 229 first-year J.D. students entering the Law School this year bring exceptional educational and professional backgrounds. The record-setting class boasts the highest academic credentials and represent the most diverse class in Law School history.

The Class of 2025 has a median 3.83 undergraduate GPA and a median LSAT score of 168, both of which set new records. Six percent of incoming 1Ls have already earned a graduate degree in another field.

Members of the class of 2025 hail from 124 undergraduate institutions in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and four different countries. A quarter of the class (25%) are domestic students of color, matching last year’s record high. A record 28% self-identify as LGBTQ+ and 14% as first-generation college graduates. In addition, as a combined statistic, 50% of the class of 2025 identify as students of color, LGBTQ+, and/or first-generation college graduates, making the class the most diverse in Law School history.

The students bring a wide array of past life experiences, skills, and perspectives. Included in the class are students who have won Fulbright scholarships; are parents and veterans; founded startups; reported for a small-town newspaper; invented an eco-friendly cook stove, supported communities as AmeriCorps volunteers and as organizers; applied for patents, and sung in the opera professionally, just to name a few.

“We are so proud to welcome such a talented and diverse class of future lawyer-leaders to the Minnesota Law community,” said Garry W. Jenkins, dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law. “This impressive and inspiring cohort of students has much to contribute to Minnesota Law and the profession and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish at the Law School and beyond!”

The new class brings with it another record: With the addition of the class of 2025 combined with the prior two classes, Minnesota Law’s overall J.D. student body is now the most diverse it has ever been in the Law School’s nearly 135-year history.

To learn more about some of the incoming students about to start their legal education, look for our Meet the Class of ’25 series on Minnesota Law’s social media over the next several weeks.

In addition to the J.D. degree-seeking students, Minnesota Law also welcomed nearly 50 lawyers in the one-year LL.M. program and as international exchange students from several countries, including Armenia, China, Eswatini, France, The Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, St. Martin, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, among others.