Q: How many international students typically enroll at Columbia Law School?
A: Columbia Law School has a truly international student body. In the entering Class of 2009, approximately 10% of the J.D. program was comprised of international students and, across the entire J.D. program, Columbia law students currently hail from 32 countries around the world.
Columbia is among a small handful of law schools that integrates its J.D. and LL.M. student populations in both first-year and upper-year courses. The approximately 200 foreign-trained lawyers enrolled in our one-year LL.M. (Master of Laws) program each year serve further to enrich the student community, academically and otherwise, at Columbia Law School.
Q: As an international student, or an American student who has matriculated in a non-English-speaking program abroad, how should I send my academic transcripts to the Office of Admissions?
A: All transcripts from post-secondary institutions outside the U.S. and Canada in which the applicant matriculated towards a degree must be submitted through the LSDAS JD Credential Assembly Service (JD CAS). Foreign transcripts may no longer be sent directly to the Law School.
Q: Are international students required to provide Dean's Certifications?
A: If you have been subject to disciplinary censure by any educational institution you attended, or if there are any disciplinary charges pending against you, then at the time of your initial application you will need to submit a Dean's Certification or statement of good standing from your academic institution. If you have ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation, or if there are any criminal charges pending or expected to be brought against you, then you must provide a detailed, complete and truthful written explanation with your initial application irrespective of advice you may have received to the contrary.
