Purdue Global Law School’s grads now eligible for Ohio’s bar exam

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue Global Law School graduates in Ohio now have a pathway to take the state’s bar exam following a recent rule change.

Ohio’s Rules for the Government of Bar Rule I, Section 1 were recently amended, allowing applicants to apply for bar admission in Ohio if they earn a Juris Doctor degree from an institution that meets U.S. Department of Education accreditation standards.

Because Purdue Global is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of several Department of Education-recognized institutional accreditors, Purdue Global Law School graduates qualify to sit for the Ohio bar exam beginning in February.

Martin Pritikin, dean and vice president of Purdue Global Law School, submitted a letter in June during a public comment period requesting that the Supreme Court of Ohio amend rules to provide graduates of non-American Bar Association-approved schools the opportunity to sit for the state’s bar exam.

The Supreme Court of Ohio amended the rule, effective Aug. 6, 2026.

“We are delighted that yet another state has opened up its bar to our graduates,” Pritikin said. “Ohio now becomes the fifth state to allow our graduates to pursue bar licensure immediately upon graduation, and the second state this year, after Washington state did so in May. This is another win for access to justice and for broadening the pipeline to the legal profession.”

In addition to Ohio, graduates of Purdue Global Law School — the nation’s first fully online law school — are now eligible to take the bar exam in Washington, Connecticut, Indiana and California. Graduates licensed in any of those states can then sit for the bar exam in or transfer their qualifying Uniform Bar Exam scores to North Carolina or Wisconsin.

“This is a big deal, both because Ohio is contiguous with Indiana, where our grads can already sit, and because it’s the most populous state besides California where our grads can sit upon graduation,” Pritikin said. “Also, like Indiana, Ohio has a substantial rural population — nearly 25% — and so opening an opportunity for rural residents to obtain an affordable and accessible legal education while remaining in their communities could help alleviate the justice gap in rural areas.”