LL.M. Admissions


Gather information on how to apply to the LL.M. Program, admissions requirements (e.g. transcripts, English proficiency, recommendations), and more.

UCLA School of Law has a global reputation for excellence. The LL.M. Program offers students the combination of an outstanding educational program at a world-class university with the opportunity to live in one of the most dynamic, beautiful, and diverse cities in the United States.

The application for admission to the 2024-2025 LL.M. Program is now closed. The application for admission to the 2025-2026 LL.M. Program will open in early September 2024 and the deadline to apply will be February 1, 2025.

Creating Your Online Application

To apply for admission to the UCLA Law LL.M. Program, prospective applicants must submit an application and supporting documents through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) LL.M. Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Document Assembly Service. If you have not already done so, please create an LSAC LL.M. CAS account by visiting http://llm.lsac.org/login/signup.aspx. Creating an account requires a one-time fee of $85. As a courtesy and to help applicants offset this cost, we have waived UCLA's separate $85 application fee for all applicants to our LL.M. Program.

After establishing your LSAC account, you may begin your application to the UCLA Law LL.M. Program by visiting https://llm.lsac.org/login/access.aspx?appl=4837L1 during our application period of September through February. As you fill out your application and compile your supporting documents, please carefully follow LSAC's application checklist to ensure that your application and documents will be processed in a timely manner. (You may begin your application to the LL.M. Program even if you have not yet submitted all of your supporting documents to LSAC.)

LSAC requires an additional fee of $30 for each Document Assembly Service report it generates and transmits to a law school on your behalf. If you have created your LSAC account but not yet paid the $30 fee to have your report transmitted to UCLA, please pay the fee to ensure that we will receive your application and documents.

Please note that applicants are not required to register for the LSAC CAS LL.M. International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation service, which requires an additional fee of $135. (Only the $85 fee for creating your Document Assembly Service account and the $30 fee to send your report to UCLA are required.) Nonetheless, you are welcome to register for the evaluation service. Doing so may result in faster processing of your application and a faster announcement of our program's admission decision.

Domestic applicants: Please note that LSAC's LL.M. Credential Assembly Service is separate from the LSAC service through which you previously applied to J.D. programs. As a result, you must create a new LSAC LL.M. account by following the instructions above. As LSAC does not enable applicants to link their LL.M. account to their previous J.D. account, we ask that you please submit your undergraduate transcripts, law school transcripts and letters of recommendation to the LSAC LL.M. Credential Assembly Service so that the documents will be transmitted to UCLA.

Application Deadline: Please submit your application and supporting documents (items 1-5 in the section below) to LSAC no later than February 1.

Submitting Your Supporting Documents

After creating your LSAC account and beginning your online application, please submit the following supporting documents to LSAC:

  • 1. Current Résumé or Curriculum Vitae

    A standard résumé listing your academic qualifications and relevant work experience is required. You may submit a more detailed curriculum vitae if you wish. When completing your online application through LSAC, please follow the instructions to attach an electronic copy of your résumé to your application.

  • 2. Personal Statement

    An important aspect of the application is the personal statement, in which applicants describe their objectives in pursuing graduate legal studies at UCLA School of Law. Discuss any matters relevant to your ability to succeed in law school and the practice of law, and any attributes, experiences, or interests that would enable you to make a distinctive contribution to UCLA and the legal profession. The personal statement should be typed, double-spaced in 12-point font, and should not exceed three pages in length. When completing your online application through LSAC, please follow the instructions to attach an electronic copy of your personal statement to your application.

  • 3. Official Transcripts

    Applicants must arrange to have transcripts submitted to the LSAC LL.M. CAS Document Assembly Service from all graduate and undergraduate coursework evidencing their completion of a prior degree in law, such as an LL.B. or J.D. Please also submit transcripts for any other subjects in which you have earned an undergraduate or graduate degree. Transcripts should include all courses taken and grades received for university work, and must be translated into English. If your school is unable to provide an English translation of your transcripts, please obtain one from a translation service.

    Transcripts must be submitted directly to LSAC by the issuing institution and may not be mailed to UCLA School of Law. Click here for detailed instructions on submitting your transcripts to LSAC. Applicants need only arrange to have one copy of each transcript sent to LSAC, and LSAC will transmit copies to each law school to which you apply.

    If your transcript does not indicate your relative class standing or rank, and such information is available, please have a school official issue a letter or certificate indicating your class standing or rank, and include this notification with the transcripts that are submitted to LSAC.

  • 4. Two to Four Letters of Recommendation

    Applicants must arrange to have two (2) to four (4) letters of recommendation submitted to LSAC from knowledgeable persons who can tell the Graduate Studies Committee about the applicant’s academic qualifications and career interests. The letters are most helpful when the writer can provide the committee with specific firsthand information on your academic and (if applicable) professional capacity and performance. If possible, please include at least one academic reference. While employer references are acceptable, letters from academic sources are viewed more favorably.

    You may submit a minimum of two and a maximum of four recommendation letters. Letters must be submitted to LSAC and may not be mailed to UCLA School of Law. Click here for detailed instructions on submitting your recommendation letters to LSAC. UCLA does not require a separate recommendation letter form.

  • 5. Official TOEFL (or IELTS) Score

    International applicants who are not native English speakers, or do not hold a law degree from an institution at which the primary language of instruction is English, are required to submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores will also be accepted, but are less desirable.

    TOEFL: UCLA School of Law prefers a score of at least 96 on the Internet-based TOEFL, or 600 on the paper-based exam. (There are no score requirements for specific sections of the exam.) Applicants with lower scores are welcome to apply, but are strongly advised to re-take the exam in order to increase their likelihood of admission.

    For TOEFL information and registration instructions, visit https://www.ets.org/toefl. When registering for the exam, please enter institution code 8395 to ensure that your score report will be sent to LSAC. If prompted to enter UCLA's institution code, enter 4837 and department code 03.

    IELTS: Favorable consideration will be given to applicants who submit a TOEFL score. However, an overall IELTS score of at least 7.5 will also be viewed favorably. (There are no score requirements for specific sections of the exam.) Applicants with a lower score are strongly advised to take the TOEFL in order to increase their likelihood of admission.

    For IELTS information and registration instructions, visit https://www.ielts.org. When registering for (or at the start of) the exam, please indicate that you wish to have your score forwarded to LSAC for electronic download.

    Exemptions: International applicants whose native language is English, or who have earned a law degree from an institution at which the primary language of instruction is English, are not required to submit a TOEFL or IELTS score. Graduates of U.S. J.D. programs are also exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement.

Confirming Your Application Status

After you submit your online application through the LSAC website, and your complete LL.M. Credential Assembly Service report is available on the LSAC website, our staff will download these materials and assemble your application file. Due to the large volume of applications received, this process generally takes 1-2 weeks. After that time, our staff will email you to confirm that your application is complete.

 

Receiving Your Admission Result

The Graduate Studies Committee will begin reviewing an application after all of its corresponding supporting documentation has been received. Admission results will be announced on a rolling basis from February through April. (Due to the large volume of applications received, it is difficult to predict when a decision regarding a specific application will be reached.) Applicants will receive an email from Vic Telesino, Senior Director of Graduate Admissions, informing them of the Committee's decision as soon as it is made.

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