Students beginning the study of law are admitted to the School of Law at the
beginning of the fall semester. To be eligible for admission, an applicant must
have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university,
must have earned a grade point average of at least 2.20 on all undergraduate
work, and must have attained an acceptable score on the Law School Admission
Test. An applicant who meets these minimum requirements is not guaranteed
admission; each year, the law school receives applications from a greater
number of qualified candidates than the school can accommodate. In 1995, the
law school received over four thousand applications for the five hundred seats
in the entering class. An applicant's Law School Admission Test score and
undergraduate grade point average are two of the major factors normally used in
deciding whether to grant admission.
In the computation of the grade point average, an A counts as four
points a semester hour; a B, as three; a C, as two; a D,
as one; and an F, as zero. All work taken, whether passed or failed, is
included in the computation.
If an applicant lacks no more than six semester hours to be entitled to a
baccalaureate degree, the dean may declare the applicant eligible for admission
on condition that the applicant make arrangements to earn the baccalaureate
degree before beginning the third year of law study.
There are no specific course prerequisites for admission to the law school.
Students should consult their undergraduate prelaw advisers for information
about prelaw programs.
Application forms are available from the Law School Admissions Coordinator, PO Box 149105, Austin, Texas 78714-9105. Complete instructions are sent with the
application form. The steps to be taken may be summarized as follows:
- For an applicant to be considered for early-decision admission, his or
her complete credentials must be postmarked by November 1. Applicants who
fulfill the requirements for an early decision are notified of their admission
status by January 15.
Complete credentials must be postmarked by February 1 for the applicant to
be considered for regular admission.
A nonrefundable application processing fee of $65 is required of each
applicant and must be submitted with the requisite credentials. For applicants
who present academic credentials from any country other than the United States,
the nonrefundable application processing fee is $75.
- Candidates must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), administered
by Law School Admission Services. The test is given four times a year, usually
in October, December, February, and June, at designated colleges and
universities in the United States and at several test centers in other
countries. Applicants must take the test no later than December in order to
make timely application to the law school; to be considered for early-decision
admission, applicants must take the test no later than October. Additional
information about the LSAT, including an application form, is given in the
Law Services Information Book published by the Law School Admission
Council. This publication is available from Law School Admission Services, P O
Box 2000, Newtown, Pennsylvania 18940-0998. Applicants should request a copy at
least five weeks before the beginning of the month in which they plan to take
the LSAT.
- Candidates must also register with the Law School Data Assembly Service,
a division of Law School Admission Services, by October 10 for early-decision
admission or by January 10 for regular admission. Applicants are encouraged to
register in October. The data service receives applicants' transcripts,
computes their grade point averages, and transmits the information to the
School of Law.
Applicants should not submit transcripts to the School of Law as part of the application process. However, an applicant who is admitted must submit to the University a final transcript showing the awarding of the baccalaureate degree as soon as such a transcript is available.
An applicant who fails to meet all of these requirements by the dates indicated
is considered a late applicant.
The Supreme Court of Texas, which admits candidates to the practice of law in
the state, has provided by rule of court that all candidates must file a formal
Declaration of Intention to Study Law, on forms supplied for that purpose. The
declaration must be filed by December 1 in the student's first semester in law
school. These declarations of intention to study law provide for a
certification of good moral character. Forms are available in the law school
Main Office and from the Secretary of the Board of Law Examiners, P O Box
13486, Austin, Texas 78711-3486.
A person may apply to the dean for admission to the School of Law as a transfer
student from another law school. Approval of such applications is entirely at
the dean's discretion. Admission as a transfer student may be granted only if
the applicant (1) meets the requirements for undergraduate degree,
undergraduate grade point average, and Law School Admission Test score
established for admission to the School of Law as a first-year student; (2)
completed a first-year curriculum; (3) compiled a superior academic record at
the other law school; and (4) demonstrates good cause for the transfer. Because
of crowded conditions at the law school, only a few requests for transfer are
granted each year; the law school receives far more applications for transfer
from qualified candidates than can be granted.
A transfer student from another law school receives University credit on the
following terms: (1) the total amount of credit transferred may not exceed the
amount earned during the first year by University law students; (2) transfer
credit is not given for any course in which the student earned a grade of less
than C, or its equivalent as determined by the dean; (3) a grade of
CR is recorded for all transferred work; (4) the law school from which
the applicant seeks to transfer must be a member of the Association of American
Law Schools or approved by the American Bar Association. The transfer student
is subject to the same performance standards as students who complete the first
year of study at the University's School of Law.
Application forms and instructions are available from the School of Law
Admissions Office, P O Box 149105, Austin, Texas 78714-9105.
At any time before graduation, a law student in good standing may apply to the
dean to transfer to another law school. Approval of such a transfer is wholly
dependent on the actions of the other law school. If the application is
granted, the School of Law will cooperate with the other law school to
facilitate the transfer.
With the consent of the dean, a student attending another law school may enroll
in the School of Law as a visiting student for the summer session if he or she
presents a Statement of Good Standing from the school he or she is attending. A
law student who has not completed the first year of study may not enroll as a
visiting summer student.
A student may be allowed to register as a visiting student during the long
session if good cause is shown and if he or she meets all of the requirements
for admission as a transfer student and receives permission from his or her law
school to enroll in the School of Law in order to earn credit toward a degree
to be granted by his or her home school. A visiting student may earn no more
than thirty-two semester hours of credit in no more than three semesters
(roughly the equivalent of one year's work at maximum load); he or she must
maintain a grade point average of at least 1.90 on all law courses taken during
any semester. Because of crowded conditions at the law school, only a few
requests for visiting status during a long session are granted each year.
Application forms and instructions are available from the Law School Admissions
Office, P O Box 149105, Austin, Texas 78714-9105.
A student enrolled in the School of Law may apply to the dean to attend another
law school and to transfer credit earned at that school toward a Doctor of
Jurisprudence degree. Approval of such a request is entirely at the dean's
discretion. The dean will consider the request only (1) if the student seeks to
transfer credit from a school that is a member of the American Association of
Law Schools or is approved by the American Bar Association; (2) if the student
shows good cause for requesting the transfer of credit; and (3) if the dean
approves the courses for which the student seeks to receive transfer credit. A
grade of CR is recorded for all transferred work. The amount of credit
transferred may not exceed the maximum amount of credit that an upper-level law
student may earn during one year's study.
Regular students in the School of Law are classified as first-year,
second-year, and third-year students. Students are classified as first-year
students until they have earned thirty semester hours of credit in law; as
second-year students until they have earned fifty-four semester hours in law;
and as third-year students until they graduate. The terms "upper-level" and
"advanced" are also used to refer to second- and third-year students and
courses.
26 January 1996. Registrar's Web Team
Comments to rgcat@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu
