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University of South Dakota Law School Tuition & Cost of Attendance

Vermillion, SD · 2025-26 academic year, in-state basis · ABA 509 disclosure

$33,565
Per academic year
$100,695
3-year total
$2,797
Per month, spread out
#1
of 164 by total cost

Where the money goes each year

Annual tuition (in-state)$12,076
Mandatory fees (full-time)$5,037
Living costs$16,452off-campus is $18,034 per year
Per academic year$33,565
3-year total$100,695

If you are not an in-state resident

Annual non-resident tuition is $32,184. Annual mandatory fees are $5,037. The estimated 3-year total, including the same living-cost figure, is $161,019.

After grants: what the sticker price does not show

The figures below are this school's reported averages across all students. What you would actually pay depends on where your scores land against its admitted class — the University of South Dakota Law School scholarship calculator shows your position and the grant range that applies to it.

3-year sticker total$100,695
Median grant for full-time students$5,000 per year
Same median applied for 3 years$85,695
Students receiving grant aid55.0%
Grant range (25th–75th percentile)$590 – $10,000

The median is not an offer. Aid depends on your circumstances, whether the school is need-aware or merit-aware, and its aid budget in the year you attend. It is also reported for a single cohort, so it is not a guarantee across three years. This school does award condition-based scholarships — the retention rate matters more than the headline figure.

Cost against bar passage

South Dakota reports a first-time bar passage rate of 69.23% across 78 takers in the most recent cohort and an ultimate passage rate of 91.57% for the class of 2024. Dividing the 3-year total by the first-time rate gives $1,454 per passage point.

This ratio compares price and outcome positioning only. Bar passage is measured across all takers at the school, is shaped substantially by how selective the school is, and predicts nothing about any individual student. See the full cost-versus-passage ranking for what this number does and does not mean.

What else this school publishes

Acceptance rate62.62%
Median LSAT / GPA (enrolled)152 / 3.47
First-year class size88
Conditional scholarship retention100.0% — 1 entered with one, 0 had it reduced or eliminated

Related pages

Source: University of South Dakota Law School ABA Standard 509 Required Disclosure, 2025 reporting cycle. Tuition, fee and living figures are for the 2025-26 academic year on an in-state basis. The 3-year total multiplies one year of disclosed costs by 3; the 509 does not disclose program length, so extended or joint programs are not distinguished. Costs rise annually. Not financial advice.