Admissions Information

Eligibility

To qualify for admission to the M.C.L. program, applicants must have earned their first law degree (LL.B. or the equivalent) outside of the United States and must have earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree or the equivalent. Admission is highly selective and those admitted will have excellent law school records, strong letters of recommendation, proficiency in English and leadership potential. Although not required, some work or research experience following the completion of the first law degree and the LL.M. degree is preferred. Our program does not require the LSAT exam; however, we do require the TOEFL exam. Those who are applying from USC Law's LL.M. Program will have earned a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the fall semester of their LL.M. studies.

Admissions Decisions

The G&IP Admissions Committee carefully examines all parts of the application and strongly considers the applicant's academic performance, professional background (if any), English proficiency, and goals for obtaining an M.C.L. degree. Interviews will be conducted at our discretion. We will contact the applicant if the Admissions Committee feels that a telephone or an in-person interview is necessary.  All committee decisions are final.

Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis; however we recommend that you submit your materials as soon as possible since your application will be considered upon a space available basis. Admissions decisions will be made between February and April. Enrollment is limited to the fall semester, which begins in August.

Even though our priority application deadline has passed, we recommend that applicants continue to apply via USC’s Electronic Application Form, which is available through LSAC, along with their LSAC Report issued by LSAC’s Document Assembly Service and International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation Service. The Admissions Committee will continue to consider and review all applications upon receipt of the Electronic Application Form and LSAC report.

Please contact the Graduate & International Programs Office by email at: gipadmissions@law.usc.edu if you have any questions about submitting your application.

For More Information

To request more information about USC Law Graduate & International Programs, please complete our Contact Form.

For information on visiting USC Law or meeting us abroad, please visit our Admissions Visits & Events page.