Blue Sky Laws: Penn Law

Penn Law

APPLICATION PROCESS

Deadlines

Applications for admission to graduate programs at Penn Law are reviewed by the International Programs Committee on a rolling basis. Candidates who submit completed applications online prior to the December 1 "Early Notification" deadline, and who ensure that the Law School receives all supporting documents by the same date, will receive a response by February 8. We strongly advise all candidates to submit their completed applications at the earliest possible date.

The deadlines are:

December 1 for LL.M. and LL.C.M. applications submitted for “Early Notification” (response by February 1).

February 1 for all other LL.M. and LL.C.M. applications (absent special authorization).

Required Materials

As detailed in the application materials, a completed application to any of Penn Law's graduate programs must include the items listed below. (Please note: (1) candidates applying solely to the Summer Program need only provide the Summer Program application form and TOEFL or IELTS scores; (2) candidates applying to the LL.M. Program are automatically enrolled in the Summer Program upon acceptance and need not apply to the Summer Program separately).

An application data form.
A personal statement.
Two letters of recommendation.
A transcript from each degree granting post-secondary school attended.*
TOEFL or IELTS test scores.*
An application fee of $75 ($150 for the S.J.D. program)**
(S.J.D. candidates must also submit a scholarly project proposal and copies of prior publications)

Please send the required documents directly to the Office of Graduate Programs, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 3400 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. We will not review your application until all of your materials have been received; therefore we highly recommend that you mail the above documents in one complete package in order to expedite the review by the Admissions Committee

* Please see the option below applicants to use the LSAC LL.M. Credential Processing Service described atwww.lsac.org. By "transcript" we mean an official record from the academic institution that clearly indicates what courses were taken and what grades were received.

Online and Paper Forms

The International Programs Committee strongly encourages candidates to submit their application data form, personal statement, and application fee online via Penn Law's website,www.law.upenn.edu/cf/adms/gradapply_online/login/index.cfm. Materials sent online are often received in a more complete and efficient manner that better facilitates the Committee's own prompt action. Furthermore, those applying online may pay their application and acceptance fees by credit card and track the status of their application via our website. The Law School is unable to accept credit card payment from applicants submitting their applications via paper forms.

Again, only applicants applying online are eligible for Early Notification (see above).

Similarly, we recommend that applicants who plan to apply to several law schools in addition to Penn Law submit their transcripts and test scores online via the LLM Credential Processing Service. This service, described on the Law School Admission Council website at www.lsac.org, greatly simplifies the process by requiring original transcripts to be submitted only once. The LSAC then translates the transcripts, confirms their validity, and distributes electronic copies and verified TOEFL scores to select law schools as instructed by the applicant.

The International Programs Committee also accepts applications submitted via traditional paper forms. These, along with Recommender Forms and other materials, are available for downloading at the Penn Law website,www.law.upenn.edu/cf/adms/gradapply_online/login/index.cfm. Forms may also be requested by sending us a message to gradadms@law.upenn.edu.

Letters of Recommendation

A completed graduate application to Penn Law must include two letters of recommendation, ideally from law professors or others who have personal experience instructing and evaluating the candidate. We appreciate the burden this requirement places on recommenders. Such subjective evaluations from knowledgeable references, however, are important factors in weighing the relative merits of international candidates whose objective credentials necessarily reflect many distinct grading systems and national standards for legal education.

An applicant may, alternatively, submit letters from academic instructors outside of the field of law, from employers, or from others with a personal knowledge of the candidate's intellectual and other strengths. The International Programs Committee strongly advises that all letters be submitted in conjunction with the Recommender Form, but it will review letters submitted without the form attached. Please note, however, that the online "Status Page" cannot track the receipt of letters that lack an accompanying Recommender Form or come from individuals other than those recommenders listed on an applicant's online data form.

Please note that the deadline for submission of a completed application has recently been changed to December 1 for Early Notification, February 1 for all other LL.M. and LL.C.M. applicants (absent special authorization, and April 15 for S.J.D. applicants). Application forms and further information for the TOEFL and IELTS tests may be obtained online at www.toefl.org and www.ielts.org. For TOEFL registration purposes, please note that: