Admissions FAQs

• September 1, 2021 – J.D. and Transfer applications become available for fall 2022
• December 31, 2021 – Deadline for early decision applicants
• June 1, 2022 – J.D. application deadline
• August 1, 2022 – Transfer application deadline

Full details on the how-to-apply page.

The U.S. Department of Education offers an accreditation search form.

Deferrals are not routinely granted and are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Admitted students may contact the Director of Admissions to request a deferral of up to one year.

The information is available on the most recent profile.

No. No minimum score requirements or cut-off scores are used for the LSAT scores or GPA scores.

No. Applicants must register with LSAC and have LSAT test scores sent (along with other admission requirements) to be considered for admission. This requirement is NOT waived for international applicants or international lawyers.

All students in Law School classes must be graduate level, degree-seeking students at either the Law School or another graduate school at the University of Minnesota. Enrollment for other students will be subject to availability and the approval of both the professor and Student Affairs.

See the complete list of current tuition and fees.

Scholarships are based on the entirety of the application for admission.

All admitted students are reviewed for scholarship award at the time of admission. No separate application for scholarship is required. Scholarships range from $5,000 to full-tuition and are good for each of a student's three years. Applicants are encouraged to pursue scholarships outside of the Law School. More information about scholarship opportunities is found at OneStop.

Scholarship Policy

For complete information, visit Tuition & Financial Information. For further financial aid information and assistance, please contact Jim Parker in the Office of Student Finance at 612-626-0750 or j-park1@umn.edu.

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) may be submitted after January 1. Admitted students will receive an estimate of their financial aid package around the time of admission. Final tuition rates for the academic year will be determined in July and admitted students can expect to receive their final financial aid package by early-August.

See finances information at One Stop.

International applicants, whose English is a second language, need to submit a current TOEFL or IELTS score to LSAC. (Please see LSAC instructions regarding reporting of these scores.) This requirement is waived if you have received an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited U.S. institution. This requirement may also be waived if you received an undergraduate degree from an international institution for which English is the official language and submit documentation to that effect. This could be, for example, a letter from the Registrar of the institution. The Law School requires no minimum TOEFL score for admission. However, a score of 630 or higher on the pencil-and-paper test, a score of 267 or higher on the computer-based test, or a score of 109 or higher on the internet-based test is looked upon by the admissions committee positively. Earning these scores does not guarantee admission.

All applicants, regardless of international status, are considered for merit scholarships. Scholarships are based on admission applications and are awarded at the time of admission. Visit Tuition & Financial Information for more details. For further financial aid assistance and information, please contact Jim Parker in the Office of Student Finance at 612-626-0750 or j-park1@umn.edu.

Possibly; please contact the admissions office to discuss your specific situation and timing.

If you're admitted, the process to receive your I-20 begins when you make your seat deposit. After you make your seat deposit, you will receive an email from the Office of Admissions, along with the necessary forms. The email will explain what you need to do to start the process; please read this email carefully. When the Admissions Office has received all of your necessary documents, they will process everything and send an I-20 request to International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to have an I-20 generated and sent to you. This process can take 2-4 weeks after your documents are received by the Admissions Office.

For more information or for answers to specific questions related to individual circumstances, please refer to the ISSS website.

Follow the steps in the transfer student application procedure.

Only those students with an LL.M. degree from the University of Minnesota are eligible to apply as J.D. transfers. In order to apply to transfer into our J.D. program, an LL.M. student must complete the same procedure as other transfer students.

Visit Transfer & Visiting J.D. Students for more information. Visiting students attend classes at Minnesota for up to one year and are not eligible for a J.D. degree from Minnesota.

There are no GPA, rank requirements, or cut-off scores used in the admissions process; however, we encourage transfer applicants to be in the top half of their 1L class.

The Admissions Committee is composed of Law School faculty and is dedicated to an objective, sensitive and efficient application review process. The Committee will carefully analyze the entirety of every applicant's file. This includes a completed application, a personal statement and resume. A letter of good standing, official law school transcript and letter of recommendation from a law school professor should be sent directly to us (or LSAC) from the school/recommender. A completed LSDAS file of undergraduate work and test scores will also be evaluated. While decisions are made based on an overall assessment of all materials, the Admissions Committee is primarily concerned with an applicant's performance during the first year of law school. The Committee will consider a variety of factors, such as work experience, career goals, extracurricular activities, ability in languages other than English, positions of leadership, community or public service, interest in interdisciplinary study, graduate school experience, racial and ethnic background, unusual life experiences, disability and economic disadvantage. The Committee also may consider factors that contribute to greater diversity in the student body, including but not limited to those set out in the University Equal Opportunity Policy.

The number of transfer students admitted each year varies.

Yes, visit Transfer & Visiting J.D. Students for more information. The difficulty or ease of petitioning tends to depend on the time one dedicates to the process and his or her comfort with the Bluebook. Applicants applying by the journal consideration deadline will be given two weeks for the petition process. All petitioners are evaluated blindly.

Transfer applicants have completed the equivalent of one year of full-time student at another law school.

A formal evaluation of credits is completed by Student Affairs after admission is offered. Typically, students transfer the equivalent of one year of full-time study. In order to receive a diploma from the University of Minnesota Law School, a transfer student must complete at least two thirds of his/her credits here.

The GPA from your current law school will not be factored into your GPA at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer scholarships to transfer students.

The OCI process is the same for transfer students. Admitted and deposited transfer students will work with our Career Center to participate in OCI and must apply by mid-June. 

No. An interview is not part of our admissions process and a visit with our admissions staff will have no bearing on your application. 

Yes. Current students are often present for information sessions. If you would like to talk further with a current student, please email your request to the Office of Admissions at jdadmissions@umn.edu and we will ask a student to contact you.

Visit our recruiting calendar to see where you may speak with our representatives.

All residency decisions are made by the University of Minnesota Residency Office, not the Law School. Although all residency requests are reviewed by the Residency Office on a case-by-case basis, factors that have been known to help establish residency include:

• Employment and paying taxes in Minnesota
• Owning a home in Minnesota
• A Minnesota driver's license
• Having a spouse or partner also living and working in Minnesota

For questions regarding residency and to view the official policy and application for resident classification, please review the Residency, Reciprocity, and Tuition Exemption Handbook.

Resident tuition is offered to qualifying residents of South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Manitoba. For questions about reciprocity, the student's home state makes the reciprocity determination.

• Wisconsin residents should contact the Wisconsin Reciprocity Office at 608-267-2209, or the State of Wisconsin Higher Education Aids Board, PO Box 7885, Madison, WI 53707.
• South Dakota residents should contact the Reciprocity Program at 605-688-4497 or Box 2201, Brookings, SD 57007.
• Manitoba residents should contact the UMN Resident Classification and Reciprocity Office at 612-625-6330 or k-ande1@umn.edu

• Juris Doctor (J.D.)
• Masters in Patent Law (M.S.P.L.) for scientists and engineers
• LL.M. in Patent Law for U.S. lawyers

For lawyers outside the U.S.:

• Masters of American Law (LL.M.)
• Masters of Business Law (LL.M.)
• Juridical Studies (S.J.D.)

Below is a sampling of dual and joint degrees:

• J.D./M.B.A.
• J.D./M.P.A.
• J.D./M.A.
• J.D./M.P.P.
• J.D./M.B.S.
• J.D./M.B.T.
• J.D./M.U.R.P.
• J.D./M.S.
• J.D./Ph.D.
• J.D./M.D.
• J.D./M.P.H.
• J.D./M.H.A.

More information is available on the Graduate School website.

See J.D. Curriculum & Requirements.

• Journals
• Research institutes
• Moot courts

Yes. Up to six credits, offered in an academic unit other than the Law School at the graduate level (5000 and above) in a course that is substantially law-related. For more information, download the academic rules.

The University of Minnesota Law School offers a wide selection of semester exchange programs, and maintains study-exchange relationships with at least nine foreign universities. Students can also study abroad through other ABA-accredited law school programs if approved by the Dean of Students. Study Abroad has more information.

The University of Minnesota Law Library is one of the largest law libraries in the United States. Students have access to the Law Library 24 hours per day. Visit the Law Library site.

The University of Minnesota Law School boasts one of the largest and most admired clinical programs of any law school in the country. After completing first-year courses, students at the Law School are permitted to represent clients under the State of Minnesota's Student Practice Rule. Supervision is provided by our experienced clinical faculty. See a full list of our clinics and their features.

Business Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal Justice, Environmental & Energy Law, Family Law, Health Law & Bioethics, Human Rights Law, Immigration Law, Intellectual Property & Technology Law, International Law, and Labor & Employment Law. Full information is available at Concentrations.

Yes. The University of Minnesota Law School offers a limited selection of summer classes each year. The maximum course load for the summer is 8 credits. A course schedule and more information can be found on the Summer Session page.

No. We have only a traditional full-time day program. 

Admitted students will receive a housing guide with detailed housing information and contact information for many local apartments and other housing options.

The average age of entering students at the Law School is 25.

For an overview of life in the Twin Cities, student organizations, and other student opportunities, see Student Orgs. & Leadership.

See Our Faculty for faculty news, scholarship, and contact information.

The University of Minnesota Law School Career Center is available to admitted students, current students and alumni. It is a full-service center, providing all the tools necessary for career development.

The Law School was established in 1888 as a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools and is accredited by the American Bar Association. For additional information visit http://www.abanet.org/legaled/.
You may also contact the Council at:
Office of the Consultant on Legal Education /
Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
American Bar Association
321 N. Clark Street, 21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: (312) 988-6738
Fax: (312) 988-5681