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Transfer Applicants

Transfer Applicant Instructions

Students interested in applying as a transfer student must be in good standing and have completed at
least one full year at an ABA-accredited law school, a non-ABA approved law school that has been
granted the power to confer the JD degree by the appropriate governmental authority in the law
school’s jurisdiction, or a non-ABA approved law school whose graduates are permitted to sit for the bar
examination in the jurisdiction in which the school is located.

Except in usual circumstances, an applicant may transfer no more than 30 semester credits from
another law school. Transfer students must satisfy all graduation requirements of the SIU School of Law
(90 semester hours), which may require taking a first-year course not taken at their original law school
or that the Associate Dean determines is not the equivalent to courses taken at the original school. SIU
School of Law will grant credit for a course from another law school only if the grade earned is equal to
or better than the grade point average required by the other law school for graduation.
Applicants are required to complete the Application Material Checklist (below). 

Admitted transfer students will be required to provide course descriptions or syllabi for all first year law
courses completed for a transcript evaluation of transfer credit. See Transfer Credit Policy.

Application Material Checklist

Below is a checklist for first-year JD applicants. An application will not be reviewed until all application materials have been received. Once a file is complete, please allow approximately three weeks for a committee decision to be reached. All admission decisions are posted to the applicant’s online status checker.

  • Application for admission available at LSAC.org
  • Personal Statement
  • Current Resume
  • Character and Fitness personal explanation for each incident, if applicable
  • LSAC Credential Assembly Service Report (CAS)
    • LSAT taken within the past five years
    • Transcripts sent directly to LSAC from all institutions attended including any graduate work
    • Two letters of recommendation sent directly to LSAC
      • Preferably one academic reference
      • Applicants who graduated from an undergraduate institution several years ago
        may substitute letters from employers or supervisors who can address the
        applicant's abilities and intellectual promise for the study of law.

In addition to the above, applicants seeking to transfer to the School of Law must also submit the following:

  • an official law school transcript from their current law school showing grades earned in all courses sent to the Law School Admission Council,
  • a letter of good standing from the law school dean or registrar certifying their good standing,
  • class rank, and
  • the cumulative GPA needed to graduate from the original law school.

 Admitted transfer students will be required to provide course descriptions or syllabi for all first-year law courses completed for a transcript evaluation of transfer credit. See Transfer Credit Policy.

Current Resume

All applicants are required to submit a current resume that includes all post-high school education, employment history, honors and awards, and extracurricular activities including community service.

NOTE: Gaps in an applicant's education or employment history of more than six months should be included in the resume; however, a separate addendum should be included to explain the gap in education or employment. The resume (and addendum, if applicable) should be uploaded with your online application.

Personal Statement

The Admissions Committee conducts a holistic review of every file including non-numeric factors. Therefore, all applicants are required to submit a personal statement. Personal statements should be 2-3 pages in length, double-spaced, and uploaded as an attachment to the online application.

Residency

Non-residents pay in-state tuition rates at the SIU School of Law!

Character and Fitness Disclosure

Southern Illinois University School of Law requires all applicants to make a complete and full disclosure to the Character and Fitness questions at time of application. If the answer is "Yes" to one or more of the Character and Fitness questions outlined in the application, applicants will need to upload a written explanation of each incident that includes dates, locations, charges, associated fees, and final disposition.

NOTE: Full disclosure is required for any charges against you, including those that have been dismissed, and those for which you were acquitted, adjudication was withheld or deferred, a conviction was reversed, set aside, or vacated, any records were sealed or expunged, you received court supervision, or you pled guilty or nolo contendere to the charge, and regardless of whether you have been previously told that you do not need to disclose any such instance.

In addition, applicants are under continuing obligation to update disclosures and add new occurrences. Failure to make complete disclosure on this application may result in revocation of an offer of admission to the School of Law and/or denial of your application for admission to practice law in a particular state. Discrepancies between disclosure on this application and an applicant’s character and fitness application for admission to the bar may result in serious consequences while in law school and when applying to take the bar examination. Therefore, prior to matriculation, applicants are encouraged to seek the specific bar requirements for the state the applicant plans to practice law. Character and fitness requirements for each state are available on the National Conference of Bar Examiners website (www.ncbex.org/).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The SIU School of Law follows all applicable laws and regulations relating to students with physical or learning disabilities including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Applicants are not required to identify known disabilities in the application. Admitted students with a physical or learning disability who seek an accommodation from the School of Law should immediately contact the associate dean for academic affairs at the School of Law. Requests for accommodations must be accompanied by appropriate documentation obtained within the last two years preceding the beginning of law school classes. Such documentation should include assessments, diagnoses and specific recommendations for modifications. Requests for accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis. For more information, visit the Current Student - Disability Services and Policies page on the this website, or the Southern Illinois University Disability Support Services website, disabilityservices.siu.edu.

Equal Opportunity Policy

In accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois and the United States, the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and is committed to taking affirmative steps aimed at overcoming historical patterns of discrimination in our society. The Board of Trustees directs that all elements of Southern Illinois University adhere to procedures, which promote this policy in all phases of university activities including employment,
educational programs, choice of contractors, and relationships with employee organizations. Article VII.

Policy on Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Statutes of the Board of Trustees of SIU. For more information, visit the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustee Statute.