J.S.D. Application Process

In addition to the instructions below, please review the J.S.D. Admissions section of our website, where you can find common questions about our application process and the online application. We also urge you to familiarize yourself with LSAC's requirements for the submission of official documents through the Credential Assembly Service, including the length of time they estimate for processing those documents. We cannot accept application materials by mail should you miss a deadline with LSAC.

• Changes Post-Submission: Once submitted, all components except changes to personal information (address, phone number, etc.) are considered final.

Third-Party Submissions
Educational Consultants: With the exception of Fulbright and its related partnership organizations, the Office of Graduate Degree Programs does not accept applications submitted by third-party educational consultants. Such applications will be withdrawn. If discovered after admission, a formal process to determine the authenticity of your application materials may be initiated, and may result in disciplinary action.

Academic Integrity
Failure to submit complete, accurate, and authentic application documents consistent with these instructions may result in denial or revocation of admission, cancellation of academic credit, suspension, expulsion, or eventual revocation of degree. Applicants may be required to assist admissions staff and faculty involved in admission reviews in the verification of all documents and statements.

The following components must be submitted electronically through LSAC’s online application.

Application Components 

1. Personal Statement: Your personal statement should describe your background, academic and research interests, and professional goals. This document should be prepared without the assistance of others and should not exceed three pages. The format should follow general formatting guidelines: standard 12-point font, 1-inch margins, and double spacing. 

2. Résumé or Curriculum Vitae: Submit your most current résumé or curriculum vitae. 

3. Advisory Committee. You must identify, communicate with, and obtain the agreement of Columbia Law professors to serve as chair and members of your J.S.D. committee as part of the application process. You should include the names of the faculty chair and the two other faculty members in your dissertation proposal and all three committee members should submit letters of recommendation (see Letters of Recommendation below) in support of your candidacy clearly indicating they agree to serve as part of your J.S.D. committee.

You may obtain approval to have one non-full-time faculty as a member of your committee upon the request of the chair. You should include that request by the proposed chair with your application. 

When contacting a Columbia Law faculty member who you would like to consider supervising your work, please include the following: 

• Cover letter introducing yourself and your interest in pursuing a J.S.D. at Columbia Law School. 
• An abstract of your dissertation proposal that describes the thesis of your project, including the core question you seek to address, a description of why this is an important question, how you plan to address that question, and the kinds of literature from which you expect to draw. This abstract need only be 1-2 double spaced pages. 
• Explanation of why you think they would be a suitable chair or advisory committee member for your dissertation. 

4. Dissertation Proposal and Bibliography: Your dissertation proposal must be written in English and be in the range of 2,500 words (10 double-spaced pages) using a 12-point font with standard margins, and with a meaningful working title (citations are not included in the total word count). In addition to the 10-page proposal, you must include a two-page bibliography at the end of your proposal (for a total of 12 pages) that lists relevant works that proved significant in the formulation of your thinking about your project. 

Your proposal should: 

• List the names of the three Columbia Law faculty members who have agreed to be members of your advisory committee. Please indicate which member has agreed to be the chairperson.
• Demonstrate the originality of the research project, taking into account existing work and scholarly directions. 
• Indicate the importance of the project within your larger field of study. 
• Indicate the proposed use of sophisticated methodologies in the project and show that you are well-versed in those methodologies. 
• Acknowledge whatever problems or difficulties you foresee in formulating and completing the project. 

The application should convey your current level of mastery and control for an effort that will demand a great deal of time, independent research, and further study. 

The size of the document you upload can be up to 1MB. Please reformat your proposal if it exceeds this limit. 

5. Scholarly Writing Sample: Your writing sample must be originally written in English; translations of works originally written in another language do not qualify. 

The size of the document you upload can be up to 1MB. Please reformat your writing sample if it exceeds this limit.

6. Application Fee: Columbia Law requires a nonrefundable $85 application fee, payable by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover). Should you be admitted, this fee will not be credited toward your tuition.

The following components must be submitted through LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS): LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service is required for all Columbia graduate degree program applicants. We also require LSAC’s International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation Service (ITAES) in addition to the basic CAS service.

Transcripts and diplomas. Follow LSAC's instructions for submission of transcripts and diplomas as stated on their website. Submit an official transcript and, where applicable, a diploma or proof of degree from all postsecondary (university-level) institutions you have attended, whether or not you earned a degree. This includes foreign exchange programs, non-law programs, and programs or courses in which you are currently enrolled. If you are in school at the time you submit your application, submit your most recent transcript, and send an updated transcript to LSAC once your current semester grades are available.

Contact LSAC for further instructions if you are unable to send original documents to them. If the originals are not in English, you must submit an official, certified translation of each document in addition to the original document (although LSAC accepts translations completed by the applicant, Columbia Law School does not).

Statement of rank. While not required, if your university routinely issues a class rank statement, we strongly encourage you to include it in the documents you submit to LSAC.

Letters of recommendation. We require three original letters of recommendation from Columbia Law faculty who clearly indicate they have agreed to serve on your J.S.D. Advisory Committee. One letter should be a letter of recommendation and consent from a Columbia Law faculty member to serve as the chair of your Advisory Committee.

Your recommenders should submit their letters of recommendation directly to LSAC on official Columbia Law School letterhead, addressed to the Office of Graduate Degree Programs. If your recommenders are unable to print the letter on official letterhead, ask them to include an explanation as to why they are unable to do so.

TOEFL Scores. Applicants who did not earn their first law degree entirely in English in a country where English is the primary language are required to submit an official TOEFL score no later than February 1, 2023. Minimum score requirements are posted on our website.

For the current application cycle, Columbia Law School will accept the following TOEFL exams:

• TOEFL iBT (ETS code 8395)
• Paper-based TOEFL (ETS code 8395)
• TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition (ETS code 8395)
• TOEFL ITP Plus for China (submitted through Vericant)

We strongly encourage all applicants to take the TOEFL iBT if available in your home country, but we recognize the availability of the TOEFL iBT continues to vary widely depending on public health guidance.

TOEFL Waivers: To request a waiver, complete the TOEFL Waiver Request Form by February 1, 2023. All waivers are granted at the sole discretion of the Admissions Committee, and are generally only granted for applicants who completed their first law degree entirely in English in a country where English is an official language.

Throughout the application process, the Admissions Committee reserves the right to request additional information for any applicant, including requiring a TOEFL score for an applicant who may be eligible for an automatic waiver. 

Due to the large volume of applications we receive, the Office of Graduate Degree Programs cannot report on the progress of applications. 

We will send each applicant the following information regarding their application by email:

• An automatic confirmation that we have received your online application once you click “Submit Application.”
• Notification that your application is complete.

Completion notification emails are typically sent to all J.S.D. applicants by late February. We cannot provide information regarding the receipt of specific documents.

Feel free to email g[email protected] with any questions. We strive to respond to all inquiries within two business days.

Should the Admissions Committee require any additional information about your application, they will contact you directly. In most cases, interviews are not a regular part of the application process.

For more information, visit the Office of Graduate Degree Programs.

If you applied for admission to the J.S.D. Program in a prior application year, whether you were admitted or not, you must submit an entirely new online application. The reapplication deadline is February 1, 2023. To reapply:

1. Complete the online application form using the same LSAC number with which you originally applied.
2. Submit an entirely new Personal Statement, Dissertation Proposal, and Writing Sample. 
3. Submit an updated Resume/Curriculum Vitae. 
4. Submit three new Letters of Recommendation per the instructions above. 
5. If you have completed any additional schooling since you originally applied, submit your updated or additional transcripts. 
6. Pay the $85 application fee and CAS report fee for Columbia Law School.

Applicants should apply for admission in the year in which they intend to matriculate. Deferrals of admission to the J.S.D. Program are rarely granted and only in unforeseen circumstances. Each request for a deferral must be made in writing and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.