LL.M. Application Instructions

Virginia's LL.M. program is a full-time master of laws program that students complete in residence in one year (two semesters). The Law School does not predetermine the curriculum; rather, LL.M. students can pursue their own interests in legal study. Students are required to take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester and successfully complete at least 24 hours to be awarded the degree. Almost all classes offered at Virginia are open to LL.M. students.

Applicants must have received the academic degree regarded as their countries' first professional degree in law (equivalent to the U.S. juris doctor degree). LSAC maintains a chart of theminimum degree requirements by countrythat lists criteria for eligibility for admission to our LL.M. program. If either your degree or your country of study is not listed in the chart, please contact theGraduate Studies Officeregarding your eligibility to apply to our LL.M. program based on your legal education. Note that the chart includes only minimum requirements, and that applicants are expected to include information on all postsecondary education, including any academic work completed prior to or after the minimum degree listed.

How Applications Are Reviewed

Each year, the Graduate Program receives hundreds of applications for the 40-50 spaces in the LL.M. class. The admissions process is highly competitive and the Graduate Committee must, unfortunately, disappoint many qualified applicants. Although demonstrated excellence in prior law study is essential, the committee also considers other evidence of applicants' personality, accomplishments and potential for professional achievement as revealed through letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, personal interests and prior legal or law-related experience. The committee also considers the closeness of the fit between the applicants' professional interests and the Law School's resources. Accordingly, the committee places special weight on applicants' stated reasons for wanting to pursue graduate legal studies, and their principal intellectual interests and career plans.

Applicants must submit the following materials in support of their application:

1. Application Form

Applicants are required to complete and submit an electronic application with required attachments through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) website. Most scholarship assistance provided by the Graduate Studies Program is awarded on a combined basis of academic merit and need. Admissions decisions are made independently from any request for financial assistance. If you are unable to access the LSAC link, please contact LSAC at@email.

Applicants should carefully outline and discuss their reasons for pursuing graduate work, including a statement of future professional plans. Applicants should also describe their principal areas of academic interest, with as much specificity as possible.

Applicants should submit an application form, including a personal statement, resume, and information on career plans and academic areas of interest; English language test score(s); application fee; letters of recommendation; and transcripts usingLSAC. In addition to the LL.M. Document Assembly Service, international applicants must register for the LSAC International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation service.

2. Official Transcripts

Applicants must submit transcripts and proof of degree documents from all prior colleges, law schools, exchange programs or graduate schools attended, even if the applicant did not graduate from that institution.

3. LSAC LL.M. Document Assembly Service

Applicants must register with the LSAC Document Assembly Service. In addition to the LL.M. Document Assembly Service, internationally educated applicants must register for the LSAC International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation service. Do not send your academic transcripts directly to the Office of Graduate Studies. For more information about the Document Assembly Service or the International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation Service, please review theLSAC website.

4. Letters of Recommendation

The Law School requires applicants to submit letters through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation service. This service is included with your LL.M. CAS subscription. Letters submitted through LSAC are sent to us along with your CAS law school report and can be read online immediately. Updated reports are sent immediately if letters are received after your initial CAS law school report has been sent. To use this service, follow the instructions on theLSAC website.

The Law School requires at least two, but no more than four, letters from people who know the applicant well and are in a position to evaluate his or her capacity for advanced legal study. Current students or recent graduates should submit letters from two law school professors. Applicants who have completed their law degree more than five years ago should solicit a letter from a current or former employer in addition to one from a former teacher. The committee recognizes that a letter from a former teacher may not be practical in the case of an applicant who has been out of school for some time, in which case the second letter may be from an employer or colleague who is in a position to comment upon the candidate's qualifications. Letters from family members, friends or people who are not well acquainted with the applicant's legal capacity are not helpful and should not be submitted.

Please note: letters of recommendation need to be printed in letterhead paper and signed with a pen. The graduate committee will not accept letters of recommendation missing the author’s signature or printed in plain paper.

If a recommender is unable to write the letter of recommendation on letterhead, please ask him/her to explain why. Unless otherwise specified by LSAC, we do not accept emailed recommendations, except from Virginia alumni.

5. Application Fee

All applicants are required to pay their application fee using a credit card through the LSAC secure server. Follow the instructions on the LSAC website.

6. TOEFL Score

Competency in English is critical to success in the graduate law programs at the University of Virginia, and demonstrated fluency in English is an important consideration in evaluating applications.

International applicants who do not meet the very limited exceptions listed below are required to demonstrate proficiency in English by completing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTSwithin two yearsprior to submitting the application. This is true regardless of the number of years of instruction in English the applicant may have had or if English is the “official” language of the applicant’s home country. Students who have studied in English (in Pakistan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, African countries, etc.) arenotexempt from the TOEFL requirement. The only exceptions are applicants for whom English is the native language (those from Australia, the English-speaking provinces of Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or applicants from South Africa who attended English-medium universities). If applicants do not fall under one of these limited exceptions, they are required to submit a satisfactory TOEFL or IELTS score as listed below. Domestic applicants whose native language is not English and who have not attended schools where instruction is in English, may also be required to submit TOEFL scores.

For all those required to take the TOEFL exam, the minimum scores we look for are:

Paper Based TOEFL (PBT):
Writing: 60
Listening: 60
Reading: 60
TWE: 4

Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT):

Candidates must obtain a minimum overall score of 100 in the TOEFL iBT test, with minimum scores in each individual section as follows:
Writing: 24
Speaking: 22
Reading: 26
Listening: 26

For information and questions about the TOEFL, please contactETS. The University of Virginia School of Law will continue to accept PBT test scores as long as they are available from ETS and are less than two years old.

Applicants should arrange to take the TOEFL at the earliest possible date in order to ensure that their applications are completed by theFeb. 1deadline (or April 1 for S.J.D.s).

Scores must be submitted in accordance with the procedures listed above. To arrange an examination date or for further information, please visitwww.TOEFL.org.

Applicants should have an official score report sent to LSAC using the LSAC Institutional Code 0058.

The Graduate Committee will accept a score from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in lieu of a TOEFL score. The minimum score we look for on each section of the IELTS exam is 7.5. As with the TOEFL exam, we will not accept scores that are more than two years old. The details found above in the discussion about the TOEFL exam apply to IELTS scores as well. If you have questions concerning submission of an IELTS score, please contact theGraduate Studies Office.

7. Deadlines and Deposits

Applications, including all supporting materials, must be received byFebruary 1(April 1for S.J.D. applicants). Applications that are not complete on this date will be reviewed on a space-available basis at the discretion of the Graduate Committee. Applicants are notified by email when their applications are complete.If you have not received an email from us telling you that your application is complete, you should not assume it is complete.Candidates are strongly advised to apply early in the fall semester of the year prior to the one for which they seek admission. Although completed LL.M. applications are not due until Feb. 1, the Graduate Committee follows a "rolling admissions" policy and offers of admission may be made before the Feb. 1 deadline. Therefore, it is advantageous to apply early.

After we have extended an offer of admission, we require applicants topay a $1,000 deposit by April 1to reserve their seat in our LL.M. class. Admitted students may choose to split this seat deposit payment in two installments of $500 each, but both $500 payments (total $1,000) must be received by the April 1 deadline in order to secure your seat in the LL.M. entering class. Applicants receiving notification of acceptance after April 1 must pay this deposit by the date indicated in their admission offer email. This deposit is not refundable. The deposit will be credited towards the applicant’s tuition and fees upon matriculation.

Additional Information

Importance of Full Disclosure

Falsification of information in an application for graduate studies or failure to provide complete responses to requests for information, including information concerning financial aid status, will be a basis for exclusion from the Law School. In addition, either could result in disciplinary action by bar authorities or loss of legal resident status for noncitizen students. Applicants have a continued duty to disclose even after they have submitted their applications. Students planning to take a bar exam should familiarize themselves with the rules for admission to the bar of the state in which they intend to seek admission, especially those rules relating to character, fitness and other qualifications for practice.

Law School Tours

We also sponsor student-led tours every weekday while classes are in session, and encourage applicants to reach out to the Graduate Studies Office with any questions they may have about UVA Law or the admissions process. For more information, seeVisiting the School. We also welcome prospective students to visit the Law School and sit in on classes. Such visits must always be arranged in advance bycontactingthe Graduate Studies Office.

Virginia Residency

If you are applying for admission as an in-state student, complete theApplication for In-State Educational Privilegesand submit it directly to the Committee on Virginia Status. The form should be sent either via fax to 434-982-2663, or via email to@emailor@email. If you email the form, please be sure that it is a scanned copy with your actual signature on it.This form is not transmitted electronically by LSAC and must be sent separately.We cannot classify you as a resident candidate without this form. If you have any questions about the form or your residency status, please contact the Virginia Status Office at 434-982-3391 or 434-982-3397.

Application Checklist

GRADUATE STUDIES OFFICE
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-1738
Telephone: +1 (434) 924-3154
Fax: +1 (434) 982-6682
e-mail:[email protected]

The University of Virginia School of Law does not discriminate with regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, or national origin in its admission and financial aid policies.