Visiting (Non-Matriculating) J.D. Students

Eligibility

Students seeking admissions as a Visiting (Non-Matriculating) student must:

• Possess your bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. (The accredited institution must be listed on the U.S. Department of Education’s database.)
• Have completed (or be in the process of completing) at least one-year of law study at an ABA-accredited law school
• Applicants for visiting status must obtain permission from their current law school to be a visiting student prior to committing to UCI Law. UCI Law Admissions must have this permission in hand prior to submission of the SIR Deposit

Dates & Deadlines

Application Checklist

An application will be considered complete and eligible for review by the Admissions Committee when the following items are received by the deadline dates specified in the Application Instructions:

• A complete application
• Undergraduate and graduate transcripts from all postsecondary institutions attended
• Credential Assembly Service Law School Report (CAS Report)
• 1 letter of recommendation but no more than 3 from faculty at your current law school
• Official score reports for all standardized test scores (LSAT and/or GRE)
• Current Resume
• Personal Statement (750-word limit)
• Why UC Irvine Law Essay (750-word limit)
• Character & Fitness/Conduct Statement if applicable
• Optional Essays such as Commitment to Inclusive Excellence or LSAT/GPA addendums (500-word limit)

Application Information

When submitting your application for admission, please strictly adhere to all application instructions. Please ensure the correct documents are submitted with your application; updates or revisions of documents are not accepted. Please follow formatting instructions and be sure to indicate your name, LSAC Account number, and the type of document (Personal Statement, Inclusive Excellence Statement, etc.) in the header of each document.

Fee Waiver: To promote access to a legal education at UCI, there is no application fee. A fee waiver is not necessary. Due to our limited resources, we are unable to grant CAS report fee waivers.

Credentials Assembly Service Report (CAS Report): All visiting applicants must register for and utilize the LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS). The CAS will house your transcripts, letters of recommendation, and, if applicable, your LSAT score and LSAT writing.

Transcripts: UC Irvine Law requires transcripts from every college or university attended (except study abroad transcripts from foreign universities) must be submitted for inclusion in your CAS Report. Failing to include a transcript will result in your file being marked as incomplete (and may also delay delivery of a CAS report) and delay review by the Admissions Committee. Law school transcripts may be included in the CAS Report or sent separately. Regardless of method, you remain responsible for your law school transcripts reaching UCI Law. We strongly encourage you to use the CAS Report for your law school transcripts, but we will also accept electronic copies directly from the Registrar’s office to admissions@law.uci.edu.

Letter of Standing: All visiting applicants are required to submit letters of standing as part of the application and must come from every law school you previously attended (even if no grades were issued). This letter may be included with your CAS Report or sent separately directly from the law school you attended to UCI Law Admissions. It is your responsibility to ensure the letter of standing is received by UCI Law Admissions. We strongly encourage you to utilize either the CAS Report or to have the letter e-mailed directly from the Registrar’s office to admissions@law.uci.edu.

Permission to Visit: In addition to a letter of standing, applicants seeking visiting status must obtain a permission from their current law school to be a visiting student prior to committing to UCI Law. The letter should grant permission to visit with the specific semester identified, indicate the number of credits the student is authorized to take, identify any course or grade restrictions, and that credit for specific courses will be transferable. UCI Law Admissions must have this permission letter in hand prior to the SIR deposit. We strongly encourage you to utilize either the CAS Report or to have the letter e-mailed directly from the Registrar’s office to admissions@law.uci.edu.

Letters of Recommendation: UCI Law requires a minimum of one (1) but no more than three (3) letters of recommendation. One (1) letter must be from faculty at your current law school. Letters of recommendation must be on file with LSAC and assigned to UCI Irvine School of Law. We will not receive your CAS Report until at least one (1) letter is assigned to UCI Law and on file with LSAC. The optional two (2) letters of recommendation may come from either academic or professional sources. We do not suggest solely personal references.

Financial Aid

UCI Law does not offer merit scholarships to visiting students. If you are expecting Federal Financial Aid to pay for tuition and fees at UCI School of Law, you must contact your home institution's financial aid office and request that a visiting agreement (Consortium Agreement) be sent to the UCI School of Law Student Financial Services. Once the agreement is received, UCI School of Law Student Financial Services Office will certify the amount of funding needed for cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses. Your home institution will determine exactly what type of aid and how much aid is available to you. If financial aid is available, it is your responsibility to ensure that the home institution submits the appropriate tuition billing payment by the tuition and fees deadline. 

JD Admission Decisions

Visiting applications are reviewed on a rolling basis as they are marked as Complete. All visiting applications must be complete by the deadline of December 1. Incomplete applications after December 1 will not be considered. All decisions will be made no later than December 3, 2024.  

Page Updated 10/01/2024