Current first-year law students who have done outstanding work in other approved law schools and are interested in transferring to Columbia may be admitted with advanced standing under conditions specified by the Columbia Law School Faculty. Applicants for transfer admission must have attended law schools that are either members of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) or approved by the section on Legal Education of the American Bar Association.
Students transferring to Columbia that have not completed sufficient coursework in Columbia's Foundation Curriculum (Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Property) will be automatically enrolled in the necessary subjects in their 2L year. The amount of credit given for completed course work depends on the standards of the law school from which the student is transferring and the quality of the candidate's performance in those courses. No credit is given for work completed in an American law school that is not a member of the Association of American Law Schools. No more than two residence terms of advanced standing will be credited toward completion of a J.D. degree, and no credit will be given for work completed toward admission for a J.D. program or for summer school courses.
Transfer students may begin their studies in either the fall or spring term. Transfer applications should be completed by July 15 and December 1 for the fall and spring terms, respectively. Approximately 45-60 students are accepted as transfers each year
