Transfer Admission

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.

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 required to participate in On-Campus Interviews (OCI) for summer clerkships or postgraduate positions. Moot court, a law journal write-on competition exclusively for transfers, and judicial clerkship opportunities are also available. Some of these activities begin during the summer, so we encourage students to apply as early as possible to maximize access.

Admission Policies

To be considered for admissions at Texas Law as a transfer student, an applicant must be attending a law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The applicant must register with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), and demonstrate that they have completed the first-year curriculum in good academic standing.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

  • May 1: Application opens
  • June 15: Application deadline

The deadline above is non-negotiable. We admit transfer students on a rolling basis once applications are complete; therefore, we strongly encourage applicants to apply early.

ACADEMIC CREDITS

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 may not qualify for Order of the Coif upon graduation because of the organization’s limitations on grades recorded as credit.

STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY

The University of Texas at Austin and the Law School are committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. In accordance with federal and state law, the University prohibits unlawful discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, citizenship, veteran status, active-duty military status and genetic information. The University also prohibits discrimination on the basis of, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Procedures for filing discrimination complaints on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment, are addressed by HOP 3-3031. In this policy, the terms sex and gender are interchangeable. For more information, please visit https://policies.utexas.edu/policies/nondiscrimination-policy.

TITLE IX REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

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 http://www.titleix.utexas.edu or contact the Title IX Office at titleix@austin.utexas.edu or 512-471-0419.

APPLICANT RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCURACY OF INFORMATION

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.

CHARACTER AND MORAL FITNESS

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

To apply for admission as a transfer student, please submit the following required materials:

  • Application Fee: A $70 nonrefundable application fee will be collected through LSAC at the time the application is submitted.
  • Statement on Transferring: 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.
  • Résumé: 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; job descriptions and major areas of responsibility, along with location (city and state) and dates of employment; publications, or other information that you believe the Admissions Committee should consider in evaluating your application. Your résumé may not exceed three (3) pages.
  • Letters of Recommendation: Two (2) letters of recommendation (LORs) are required. These letters should be submitted directly to LSAC using their Letters of Recommendation Service.
  • Statement of Good Academic Standing and 1L Class Rank: 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.
  • Law School Transcript: Please arrange for your official law school transcript that reflects all grades for the complete first-year curriculum to be sent directly to LSAC.

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.

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.

  • Statement of Economic, Social, and/or Personal Background: Texas Law is interested in specifically learning about an applicant’s economic, social, and/or personal background that may not be apparent in the rest of the application or shared in the applicant’s personal statement. The committee recognizes that ordinary predictive measures for academic success might be of less value if prior performance has been partly the result of other contributing factors. An applicant may choose to describe the challenges as a first-generation college graduate; an applicant’s struggle with a serious physical or mental disability; an applicant’s encounter with discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or national origin; or an applicant’s limited educational opportunities due to geographical or other restrictions; or whatever the applicant believes is appropriate and relevant. The committee believes factors such as these may contribute to an applicant’s academic potential and how they will enhance the richness and diversity of the learning environment.
  • Undergraduate Performance: 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.
  • Standardized Test Performance: 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.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY

During the application process, the Admissions Committee may invite you to complete an in-person or virtual interview as part of your evaluation. These interviews are conducted by invitation only. If you are invited to participate, we will contact you directly to schedule the interview.