Touro University is planning to add a law school to its Great Falls campus.

The American Bar Association approved Touro Law Center to establish the Great Falls location, the university said on June 1.

The proposed program will offer a hybrid learning model, combining in-person instruction with online coursework, making legal education accessible to working professionals, rural residents, and career changers throughout the state, according to the university.

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Touro will start recruiting and enrolling for the inaugural cohort to begin in August 2027.

Touro Law Center began its community outreach efforts by engaging with state elected officials, the Great Falls Development Alliance, the Cascade County Bar Association and practicing attorneys to understand local legal needs and gauge interest in the program.

“Those conversations underscored both the urgency of the attorney shortage and the community’s enthusiasm for a locally accessible law school,” according to Touro.

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In May 2025, GFDA sent an email seeking community feedback as they were “working with a reputable university on the potential expansion of their existing law school and opening one in Montana” with a concept that incorporated a non-traditional, part-time enrollment option.

The Great Falls law campus will have a hybrid curriculum modeled on Touro’s existing flextime juris doctor program offered at the main campus and a branch in New York.

This model is expected to broaden the pipeline of future attorneys choosing to practice in Montana and surrounding rural communities, according to Touro.

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Touro Law will join the College of Osteopathic Medicine, which opened in 2018 and will eventually share a campus with the medical school.

Touro is also launching a bachelor of science in nursing program with approval from the Montana State Board of Nursing.

The approval means the university can begin recruiting and enrolling an inaugural cohort.

Dr. Lauren Swant was appointed director of nursing.

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Swant is a neonatal intensive care nurse by clinical background and brings more than 15 years of combined clinical and academic healthcare leadership experience, having served in nursing faculty and executive leadership roles across both public and private higher education institutions in Montana.

Touro is partnering with Benefis Health System, which offers scholarships through the foundation to encourage local students to pursue nursing.

*Touro photo