UCI LL.M. graduates may apply to the J.D. program as transfer students within one year of the conferral of their LL.M. degree during the transfer application period. The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is not required. The admissions process is extremely selective (more selective than the LL.M. program). Applicants’ grades and the relative difficulty of coursework pursued in the UCI LL.M. program are weighed heavily. Students who performed extremely well are the most competitive, and letters of recommendation from UCI School of Law faculty carry significant weight.
Applicants accepted into the J.D. program must transfer a minimum of 26 credits and may not transfer more than 29 credits awarded from law classes toward the completion of the LL.M. degree. Credits earned from an LL.M.-only course that is equivalent to a first-year course may transfer at the discretion of the Assistant Dean for Student Services.
Under no circumstances will credit earned from Introduction to American Law, or LL.M. Legal Writing and Research be transferred into the J.D. program.
Within their first year in the J.D. program, LL.M. transfer students must complete all UCI Law first-year requirements they have not completed or for which they did not complete an equivalent course. Students must complete enough advanced courses to satisfy the J.D. graduation requirement.
Only those who graduated from UCI’s LL.M. program within one year of the transfer application period are eligible to apply in this manner. All other LL.M. applicants, whether they were awarded an LL.M. degree from UCI Law or awarded an LL.M. from another ABA-approved law school, must apply as traditional J.D. applicants to the three-year program. These applicants must submit valid LSAT scores.
