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Registrar's Web Team
30 January 1998
IN THIS CHAPTER
Admission as a Beginning Student
Requirements
Procedures
Declaration of Intention to Study Law
Admission as a Transfer Student
Transfer to Another Law School
Admission as a Visiting Student from Another Law School
Visiting Status at Another Law School
Classification of Students
Admission as a Beginning Student
Requirements
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 1997, the law school received over 3,500 applications for the 475 seats in the entering class. An applicant's Law School Admission Test score and undergraduate grade point average are two of the major factors considered, along with the résumé, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and other supporting documents.
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.
Procedures
Application forms are available from the Law School Admissions Coordinator, P O 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 mid-January.
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.
- 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. Candidates with undergraduate credentials from outside the United States must register with World Education Services by the same deadlines. All 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.
Declaration of Intention to Study Law
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 October 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 Student Affairs Office and from the Secretary of the Board of Law Examiners, P O Box 13486, Austin, Texas 78711-3486.
Admission as a Transfer Student
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) would have been competitive if he or she had applied as a first-year entering 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.
Transfer to Another Law School
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.
Admission as a Visiting Student from Another Law School
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 presents a competitive record 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.
Visiting Status at Another Law School
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.
Classication of Students
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.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - General Information
Chapter 3 - Academic Policies and Procedures
Chapter 4 - Degrees
Chapter 5 - Courses
Chapter 6 - The Faculty
Appendix - Endowments