GREAT FALLS – Touro University is expanding its presence in Great Falls by adding a law school and a nursing program. Touro opened its College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls in August 2023.
Justin Robicheau reports - watch the video here:
Touro said this week that the American Bar Association has given approval for Touro Law Center to establish a law school campus in Great Falls. The 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.
Recruiting and enrolling is expected to begin soon for the inaugural cohort, which is scheduled to start in August 2027.
Touro says that Great Falls and the broader Montana region are facing a significant shortage of practicing attorneys. Many of the region’s current lawyers are nearing retirement age, while fewer young legal professionals are choosing to establish careers in rural communities. The result is a growing gap in access to legal services in critical areas including family law, estate planning, probate litigation, and land use law.
Elena Langan, Dean and law professor at Touro Law Center, said, “We've had such a wonderful, warm welcome from the Great Falls community. We are anxious to expand further and really bring what we consider to be a very innovative and exciting program to Great Falls and really to central and eastern Montana and start educating a bunch of new lawyers.”
She continued, "“What we heard over and over again was that there are individuals who need lawyers and just can't hire one because the lawyers are overworked, they can't hire additional new lawyers to join their firms. And there are some areas that simply had no lawyer for hundreds of miles.”
For more information about the law program, click here.
In addition, the Montana State Board of Nursing has granted approval for Touro University to launch a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in Great Falls.
Dr. Lauren Swant has been appointed Director of Nursing for the Great Falls campus.
Swant said, “I've been in higher education and nursing education for a little over a decade here in Montana now. Getting to see a new initiative coming that's kind of coming forward with a bold new model, really working to meet our workforce needs in the state - it's exciting.”
The nursing program will use a hybrid model, allowing students to complete coursework online while attending hands-on labs and clinical experiences in person.
Swant explained, "It’s a hybrid model so it's actually going to have online for all of the lecture in an asynchronous capacity. Students can log in, get the work done around the schedule that works for them, and then we'll have immersive experiences where they'll come to campus to coordinate and take care of things like labs and clinicals.”
For more information about the nursing program, send an email to lswant@touro.edu.
There is no word yet on whether the two new programs will be located on or near the existing Touro campus.
