Additional J.S.D. Application Steps For Those Who Have Not Attended Chicago

The following procedure describes how candidates for the J.S.D. Program, who have not participated in our LL.M. Program, may apply. Since we are asking for material which our own current and former students have already submitted, some of the following steps and material will be "LL.M." related. If there are questions about the Law School or these materials please feel free to e-mail Assistant Dean Richard Badger at rbadger@uchicago.edu.

Although J.S.D. candidates can download and complete our application materials, they may not submit them electronically to our office. Applicants may, however, use Law School Admission Council's LL.M. Credential Assembly Service to make their transcripts and recommendation letters available to the Graduate Studies Committee.We do ask that you submit some information to us electronically via our Basic Information Form. You may also pay the application fee electronically with a credit card.

1) Download the J.S.D. PDF Application (containing the Application for Admission, the Application Materials Form, the English Language Proficiency Statement, and the Recommendation Form.)  Either fill out the PDF documents on your computer and then print them, or print the blank PDF documents first and fill them out manually. You may refer to the two lists of countries and educational institutions used in the electronic Basic Information Form for LL.M. Students (see the link under section 4 below). If your answers to any of the questions require further explanation, or if there is other information not called for on the forms that you think may assist the Graduate Studies Committee considering your application, you are encouraged to attach an additional statement.

2) You will need to provide transcripts (or the nearest equivalent documents) of your postsecondary school training. You may do this in either of the following methods: 

• International applicants may register with the Law School Admission Council's LL.M. Credential Assembly Service and have their transcripts from law schools sent there. That service will collect, authenticate and distribute your university records (and TOEFL scores if required) to each of the participating law schools to which you apply. For information about this service, please go to LLM.LSAC.org.

OR

• Request officers at each of the universities you attended to provide you, in sealed envelopes, an official transcript. If the documents are not in English, they must be accompanied by a certified English translation. Include these unopened envelopes with your application. Officials may send those items directly to the Admissions Office if they prefer.

3) Give copies of the J.S.D. Recommendation Letter Form to at least two and no more than four people at the United States law school you attended for confidential letters of recommendation to be sent to the Law School and indicate the names of those people on the Application Materials Form. Recommendation letters, in sealed envelopes, may be enclosed with the application. Candidates may also use the Law School Admission Council's LL.M. Credential Assembly Service to submit some or all of their letters of recommendation.

4) Please supply the information requested in the Basic Information Form for LL.M. Students and submit it electronically before you send your application materials to the Law School via regular mail or FedEx/UPS/DHL or similar courier service. We use the same database for LL.M. and J.S.D. candidates. Although all of the information requested is also supplied by you on the hard copy Application for Admission, submitting this information to us electronically before you apply will enable the J.S.D. Admissions Office to expedite the processing of your application materials once they are received.

When you submit the Basic Information Form for LL.M. Students you will receive an acknowledgement statement which will contain a BIF code. This BIF code must be entered in question 11 of the hard copy of your application.

5) Please enclose with the J.S.D. Application for Admission:

• A description-in the form of a resume, curriculum vitae, or similar document-of your academic and professional background. This should include the following items: name, address, e-mail address, phone number, fax number, any academic honors you have received (describe as fully as necessary the significance of any honors or distinctions so that the Graduate Studies Committee may compare your academic performance with others), scholarly publications, employment in law or related fields including employer, title, dates of employment, and description of duties, membership of honorary, professional, or other societies. It may be helpful to look at the sample resume PDF posted on our Web page before preparing this document.
• A description of the topic the candidate would like to develop in the J.S.D. dissertation and the names of the Chicago faculty  members the candidate would like to supervise the dissertation. Please do not contact Chicago faculty members until your application has been approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.
• A statement describing why the candidate wishes to pursue the J.S.D. degree and how that degree will be useful in the candidate's future career.
• The English Language Proficiency Form and a photocopy of the TOEFL or IELTS reports if required and available.
• The Application Materials Form.
• The $75 application fee, paid either as an online credit card payment at or in the form of a check or money order drawn against U.S. currency payable to the University of Chicago. Travelers checks are also acceptable. The fee may also be submitted through the Law School Admission Council. The application fee will not be waived under any circumstances.

Send all of these documents to the LL.M.. Admissions Office, University of Chicago Law School, 1111 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

6) J.S.D. applications should not be submitted before or after the application window of March 1 to April 1.