Admission as a Transfer Student

Transfer students enrich the quality and diversity of the academic program at the School of Law, and we encourage them to apply. Each year the Law School welcomes into our community a number of students who transfer to Texas after completing their first year of law school elsewhere. The School of Law evaluates transfer applications primarily upon the student’s performance during their first year, but also considers factors such as LSAT, undergraduate record, and an essay explaining the reasons for transfer.  Applicants who are either in a full-time or part-time JD program must complete (or be in the process of completing) their entire first-year curriculum to be eligible to apply for transfer. 

Typically, transfer students apply during late spring or early summer based upon a full year’s performance at another law school. Transfer students who exhibit superior academic performance during their first semester may be offered admission pending receipt of a final transcript complete with first-year grades. A firm offer of admission will be conditioned upon maintenance of strong academic performance in the second semester. All remaining transfer applicants will be evaluated on their first-year performance in its entirety.

The completed application, together with the nonrefundable application fee of $70, must be submitted electronically through the LSAC website at www.lsac.org by the following deadlines: June 18 (fall transfer) and November 15 (spring transfer).  A completed paper application (available through the Admissions Office), together with the nonrefundable application fee of $70, must be submitted to the Admissions Office by May 1 (summer transfer).

Transfer Admission Process

To be eligible for transfer, an applicant must:

1. have attained undergraduate performance and LSAT scores that generally meet the standard currently applicable for admission to the Law School as a first-year student;
2. have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.20 as calculated by the LSAC (unless the applicant enrolled as an undergraduate under the Academic Fresh Start option pursuant to Section 51.931 of the Texas Education Code);
3. be in good standing at current law school;
4. have completed the first-year curriculum at an ABA-accredited and Association of American Law Schools (AALS) member school; and
5. have compiled a superior academic record at the current law school.

Transfer Credit

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

A transfer student receives University credit on the following terms:

1. total number of credit hours transferred may not exceed the number of credit hours 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 assistant dean of student affairs; and
3. a CR grade is recorded for all transferred work.