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Completing Your LL.M. or E-LL.M. Application
Completing Your J.S.D. Application
Completing Your J.S.D. Application
We suggest you print a copy of your online application for your records and keep copies of all documents you submit with your application. We cannot return or give you copies of any part of your application, transcripts, translations, letters of recommendation, or supporting material.
Any submissions for which the original is not in English must be accompanied by original, certified translations.
Applicants are required to submit the personal statement, resume and proposal of study via electronic attachment to the online application. Additionally, applicants have the option of using the online recommendation service. Please do not mail paper copies of electronically submitted materials to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Such duplicate submission of materials only slows down the admissions process for all applicants.
Applicants to the J.S.D. should indicate if they wish to be considered for admission to the LL.M. program in New York City in the event they are not admitted to the J.S.D. However, admission to the LL.M. program does not assure admission to J.S.D. candidacy.
Transcripts
Official transcripts from all law degrees conferred or in progress are required. Additionally, foreign applicants must provide original, certified translations of official transcripts if the original is not in English.
The transcript form should be given to the registrar at your law school(s) who should return the form and transcript to you in a sealed envelope with a signature across the seal. If a translation is required, the certified translator may break the registrar's seal for translation purposes, and then should seal all documents, including the translation, in a second envelope and sign across the seal.
Transcripts from undergraduate colleges and graduate programs other than law may be submitted but are not required.
Many applicants with foreign education credentials applying to U.S. law schools use the Law School Admission Council's (LSAC) Credential Assembly Service as it assists with the processing of applications by collecting, authenticating, and distributing credentials in an electronic report to all the schools to which an applicant applies. If you choose to use this service, your law school(s) must submit your transcripts and documentation of your class rank directly to LSAC. This service is not available for applicants whose first degree in law is from a U.S. law school.
The registration fee for the LSAC Credential Assembly Service is $185; this fee permits you to request that your report be sent to five schools, with the option to purchase additional reports, and your credentials will be kept on file for five years. Please note that NYU School of Law is unable to provide a reduction of this fee. For registration information, please visit www.llm.lsac.org. If you elect to use the LSAC Credential Assembly Service, the NYU School of Law transcript form is not needed.
Rank in Class
If you attended a law school that releases information about class rankings, please ensure that your law school registrar includes that information with your transcript. Where class rank is not available, your law school should submit an explanation of its grading system and the guidelines or regulations that govern it and attest that the school does not rank its students.
Self-Reported Transcript
In addition to the official transcript(s) described above, all applicants must complete the Self-Reported Transcript section of the online application. Applicants are required to record all grades received as reported by their law school for courses that are counted toward completion of their first law degree and calculate the grade point average and provide a class rank for each law degree in order to electronically submit the online application. Please do not convert non-U.S. grading scales to the U.S. scale.
If there is additional information that you believe will be helpful to the Committee on J.S.D. Admissions to evaluate your academic credentials which is difficult to include in the online application format, please feel free to electronically attach an addendum to your application. Please note that you must complete the Self-Reported Transcript to the best of your ability.
In order to make the process more efficient and to facilitate timely decisions, the Committee on J.S.D. Admissions will use this data to begin the review of applications. No decision will be made final until the self-reported transcripts have been determined accurate by comparison to the official transcripts. Intentional misrepresentation or omission on the self-reported transcript may result in the revocation of an admission offer or dismissal from the Law School.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
Applicants whose first law degree program was not taught in English must take the TOEFL. Applicants whose law degree program was taught in English but the school is located in a country where English is not the primary language, must take the TOEFL.
You should request that the Educational Testing Service (ETS) send your TOEFL score report directly to NYU School of Law (institution code 2599). If you elect to use the LSAC Credential Assembly Service, you may arrange for ETS to send your TOEFL score report to LSAC (institution code 8395), and it will be reported in your credential evaluation. Under no circumstances may an applicant submit a score report directly to the Law School; only official reports issued by ETS are acceptable. Photocopies or student copies are not permitted.
A total score of at least 600 with minimum scores of 60 in each of the three sections (listening comprehension, structure and written expression, vocabulary and reading comprehension) is required for consideration. Applicants who take the computer-based TOEFL must achieve a minimum total score of at least 250 and minimum scores of 25 on each of the subsections. Applicants taking the Internet-based TOEFL (iBT) are required to achieve a minimum total score of at least 100, a minimum score of 26 on the reading and listening subsections, and a minimum score of 22 on the writing subsection. Because the speaking subsection is unique to the iBT, we do not set a minimum score for this subsection. However, the Committee on J.S.D. Admissions will look for scores of at least 22. The Test of Written English (TWE) portion of the TOEFL is also recommended.
J.S.D. applicants must present TOEFL scores substantially higher than the minimum. Simply meeting the minimum standards on the TOEFL and TWE exams is not sufficient and will not ensure academic success. In addition to the TOEFL, interviews for English proficiency may be required; any such interviews would be conducted in the applicant's home country. There is no conditional admission status for applicants who do not achieve the minimum standard.
Applicants are advised to take the TOEFL as early as possible and no later than November.
Applicants whose first law degree was not taught in English, but who have completed an advanced degree taught in English in a country where English is the primary language are not required to take the TOEFL. These applicants must submit an official transcript of the advanced graded academic coursework with the application. Applicants who are currently enrolled in an advanced degree program that is taught in English must submit a TOEFL score.
For information about the TOEFL and TWE, contact:
Test of English as a Foreign Language
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151
www.toefl.org
Recommendations
J.S.D. applicants are required to submit two letters of recommendation from law school faculty members who are familiar with the candidate's academic work and can attest to the candidate's ability to complete a doctoral dissertation that will make a significant scholarly contribution.
We strongly prefer that your recommender submit his or her recommendation using the NYU School of Law online recommendation form because this allows faster processing of your application. Please read the online application instructions carefully so that you may instruct your recommender appropriately. Recommenders using the online recommendation service must submit their letters in English. If the recommendation is submitted electronically, kindly instruct your recommender not to mail a duplicate copy to our office.
Alternatively, the recommender may attach his or her letter to the recommendation form and return the form to you in a sealed envelope. Ask your recommender to sign across the seal of the envelope to ensure confidentiality. If a translation is required, the certified translator may break the recommender’s seal for translation purposes, and then should seal all documents, including the translation, in a second envelope and sign across the seal. If your recommender prefers to send the letter directly to the Law School, he or she may do so.
Applicants will be able to confirm the receipt of a letter of recommendation that is submitted through the NYU School of Law online recommendation service. Given the large volume of mail received, we unfortunately are unable to confirm the receipt of a letter of recommendation sent through the mail.
Proposal of Study
Applicants are required to electronically attach to their online application a completed proposal of study for the J.S.D. of no more than 10,000 words in length, including the relevant bibliography. The Committee on J.S.D. Admissions understands that it is difficult to make an argument for a problem one has not yet researched at length, but applicants should give thought to the following when preparing the proposal:
The proposal should have sufficient specificity to make possible an evaluation by a member of our faculty familiar with the proposed field. While applicants should identify in their proposal of study possible dissertation advisors after reviewing the faculty biographies online, it is not necessary to seek approval from faculty members in advance of application. Students admitted into the program will be notified of their designated advisor. The advisor will provide consultation on courses and research, and supervise the student's progress in writing the dissertation.
Although a proposal of study does not need to be presented in a particular format, you may find reviewing a sample Proposal of Study helpful.
Personal Statement and Resume
Please electronically attach to your application a brief statement of no more than 500 words. You may describe your professional interests and goals or, since the Committee on J.S.D. Admissions does not grant interviews, you may use the statement to describe aspects of yourself and/or your work that are not apparent from your other application materials. You should include your reasons and qualifications for applying to the J.S.D. program. You must also electronically attach to your application a résumé; it may be one to two pages in length.