Visiting Students - Juris Doctor (JD) | USC Gould School of Law

Spend your final year of legal studies as a visiting student at USC Gould and receive transfer credit to apply back to your home law school. As a visiting student, you will have the opportunity to avail yourself of all USC Gould resources and experience the Trojan network during your studies here.

To be considered for admission as a visiting student at USC Gould, you must:

be enrolled in a law school approved by the American Bar Association
have completed the equivalent of two years of full-time law school studies
be in good standing and eligible to continue your studies at your current law school

Visitors are not eligible to receive the JD from USC Gould.

You will be expected to coordinate administrative details regarding bar certification with the registrar at your degree-granting law school.

To apply as a visiting student, complete the Regular Transfer Application online through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and select the "visiting" option from the "application type" drop-down menu. The application will become available on May 1, 2025.

To be considered, you must complete the following application components:

include a personal statement explaining why you wish to spend your final year at USC Gould
arrange to have an official copy of your complete law school transcript sent directly to USC Gould
request a letter from your law school dean or registrar that certifies you are in good standing and that credits earned at USC Gould will be transferable to your law school (the certification letter must be sent directly to USC Gould)
re-subscribe to the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) so we may request a copy of your current CAS Report directly from LSAC
- Although letters of recommendation are not considered in the review process for visitor applicants, you must activate one of your letters so that LSAC can release your application to us.

Application Deadlines:

Priority Application Deadline – June 1, 2025
Regular Application Deadline – June 15, 2025
Additional Documents Deadline – July 1, 2025

Transcripts and certification letters should be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to:

USC Gould School of Law
Office of Admissions
699 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074

USC Gould requires a nonrefundable $80 application fee. Fee waivers are not available to visiting applicants.

Decisions regarding visiting students are made between late July and early August. You will be notified via email and postal mail. No admissions decisions will be released over the phone.

Visiting students are not eligible for scholarship support or USC-administered financial aid. Your home institution will process any federal financial aid for which you are eligible. For you to receive federal loans, a consortium agreement must be completed and signed by your home institution and USC Gould.