Transfer Applicants

Each year, Texas Law admits a handful of exceptional candidates who have demonstrated superior academic excellence and leadership potential during their first-year of law school to join the Texas Law community in the fall semester.

Admissions Policies
Admissions Procedures

Applicants admitted as a transfer student will have many of the opportunities that are available to students who begin their law studies at Texas Law. Transfer students attend a special orientation session and are included in our Society Program. All transfer students are strongly encouraged to participate in our Summer Interview Program (SIP, also referred to as OCI) for summer associate, clerkship, or postgraduate positions. Moot court, a law journal write-on competition exclusively for transfers, and judicial clerkship opportunities are also available.

Application Timeline

May 1: Application opens

June 15: Application deadline

Admission Policies

Before submitting an application, please carefully read the following admission policies to fully understand the eligibility requirements.

: Transfer applicants must demonstrate that they have completed the first-year curriculum in good academic standing at a law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Transfer applicants must apply prior to beginning their second year of law school and may transfer no more than 32 semester hours (48 quarter hours).

A transfer student receives academic credit on the following terms:

total number of credit hours transferred may not exceed the number of credit hours earned during the first year by Texas Law students;
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 Assistant Dean of Student Affairs; and
a CR grade is recorded for all transferred work.

Please note that transfer students will not qualify for Order of the Coif upon graduation because of the organization’s limitations on grades recorded as credit.

The University of Texas at Austin is committed to providing an educational and working environment for students, faculty, and staff that is free from discrimination based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, age, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability, genetic information, military status, or any other legally protected basis. This Policy prohibits such conduct.

This Policy also prohibits retaliation against someone because the individual reported under this Policy, opposed an unlawful practice, participated in an investigation, or requested supportive measures. Finally, this Policy prohibits failing to cooperate in good faith, filing false complaints or providing materially false information, interfering with this Policy’s processes, abusing the investigation process, or failing to report incidents reasonably believed to constitute discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.

This Policy does not cover prohibited conduct of a sexual nature. Procedures for reporting sexual assault, interpersonal violence, stalking, and sexual harassment, are addressed by Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP) 3-3031. While these are forms of sex discrimination, their sexual nature removes them from the purview of this Policy. For more information, please visit Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP) 3-3020.

: Texas Senate Bill 212 requires all employees of Texas universities to report any information to the Title IX Office regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking that is disclosed to them. Texas law requires that all employees who witness or receive any information of this type (including, but not limited to, written forms, applications, one-on-one conversations, and class assignments) must be reported. If you would like to speak with someone who can provide support or remedies without making an official report to the University, please email advocate@austin.utexas.edu. For more information about reporting options and resources, please visit titleix.utexas.edu or contact the Title IX Office at titleix@austin.utexas.edu or 512-471-0419.

: Applicants are under a continued obligation to notify the law school immediately of any and all circumstances and events that may occur from the date an application is submitted to the first day of enrollment that may change any of the responses to their application. Texas Law reserves the right to rescind an offer of admission if the candidate fails to maintain satisfactory scholastic standing for work in progress, if final records fail to show completion of courses and/or degrees required for admission or if the admission decision was based on incomplete, inaccurate, omitted or misleading information furnished by the applicant. In addition, the law school may also report its findings to LSAC’s Misconduct and Irregularities Committee.

Applicants who have been convicted of a felony or other serious crime are eligible for admission into the law school; however, because state bar associations often prohibit persons with criminal records from being admitted to the bar regardless of their degrees or training, it may be impossible for such individuals to practice in some states.

In addition to the bar examination, there are character, fitness and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Application Procedures

An application will be considered complete and ready for review only when all the required items have been received. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure all application materials have been submitted and received at the law school.

Required Materials

To apply for admission as a transfer student, please register with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), and submit the following required materials:

: A $70 nonrefundable application fee will be collected through LSAC at the time the application is submitted.

: Please provide a statement that describes your first-year law school experience and the reasons why you wish to transfer to Texas Law. Your statement may not exceed two (2) double-spaced pages with a minimum 11-point font size and 1-inch margins.

Please provide a résumé detailing any significant vocational, avocational, extracurricular, or community activities; graduate work or degree; honors and awards; any service in the Armed Forces; publications, or other information that you believe the Admissions Committee should consider in evaluating your application.

Please specify dates of employment, location (city and state), job descriptions, and major areas of responsibility. Your résumé may not exceed three (3) pages.

: Two (2) letters of recommendation (LORs) are required. These letters should be submitted directly to LSAC using their Letters of Recommendation Service.

: Please arrange for your law school’s registrar or academic dean to provide a statement indicating (1) your academic standing at your law school and (2) your class ranking after the first year. This statement can be sent directly to admissions@law.utexas.edu.

: Please arrange for your official law school transcript that reflects all grades for the complete first-year curriculum to be sent directly to LSAC.

Optional Materials

Applicants may submit one or more of the following optional statements to provide to the Admissions Committee additional insight when reviewing their application. Each optional statement may not exceed one (1) double-spaced page with a minimum 11-point font size and 1-inch margins.

Please address any information that you believe your application would be incomplete without and that sheds more light on your unique potential to succeed in the J.D. program and contribute to the University community and the field or profession.
Civil dialogue and reasoned debate over contested ideas are core values both for the practice of law and in legal education. In light of this, Texas Law is interested in learning about experiences you may have had engaging with ideas with which you disagreed, and how such experiences have impacted you.

: If your academic performance for one or more academic terms was markedly different from that of others, please explain. Please make any other comments about your college transcript(s) or your preparation for college that you believe will help the Admissions Committee in evaluating your application.

: Candidates sometimes seek to establish that their academic potential is inaccurately reflected by standardized tests or that one LSAT or GRE score is more representative than another. If you believe this to be true in your case, please explain.

: If there are any gaps in your résumé or education, please provide further explanation.

Interview Opportunity

During the application process, the Admissions Committee will invite you to complete a virtual interview as part of your evaluation. Further instructions are provided through e-mail after the initial processing of an application.