To qualify for LLM admission, you must have earned your first law degree (LLB or the equivalent) outside of the United States. However, you may be considered for admission if you provide evidence of recent legal work experience and hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in another field (from outside of the U.S.).
If you are currently earning your law degree and will complete it prior to the start of your LLM studies, you may be admitted but will be required to complete certain continuing registration requirements. You must submit final transcripts showing your degree was awarded before you begin the LLM.
If your degree was issued by an institution located outside the United States, you must have your transcripts authenticated and evaluated by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).
We do not require work experience or an LSAT/GRE score to be considered for admission to any of our graduate degrees. Should you elect to submit an LSAT or GRE score report to supplement your application, such score will not play a key role in our admission decision-making process to ensure an equitable process for all applicants.
USC Gould School of Law offers two starts in fall and spring. Applications become available in September for Fall semester and in June for Spring semester. To receive priority consideration and a $75 application fee waiver, apply by our Priority Deadline (see date below for each semester). After our Priority Deadline, applications will only be accepted on a rolling basis as space is available until the final application deadline.
Below are the start dates and application deadlines:
| Program Start Date | Priority Deadline | Final Application Deadline |
| Spring 2025: January 13, 2025 | September 1, 2024 | November 1, 2024* |
| Fall 2025: August 25, 2025 | February 1, 2025 | June 1, 2025* |
*Final Application Deadline for international students who require initial I-20 documentation for their student visas is October 1, 2024 for Spring semester and May 1, 2025 for Fall semester. We highly encourage you to apply by our Priority Deadline in order to provide sufficient time to process any required documents, including I-20 documentation for student visas, and to apply for USC campus housing.
If you are planning to take the TOEFL or IELTS exam after our Priority Deadline, we highly recommend that you go ahead and submit your application (and any other completed materials) prior to taking the exam and we will accept your test scores after you receive your official results. The Admissions Committee will make a final admissions decision upon receipt of your complete application file.
All applicants will be automatically considered for a scholarship award and do not need to submit any further documents to request an award. In addition, applicants who apply by our Priority Deadline will be automatically considered for a housing stipend.
USC Gould requires a $75 application fee, which will be waived if you apply by the priority deadline.
Fees charged by LSAC for utilizing its services are payable to LSAC. Please visit LSAC's website for more information about fees charged by LSAC, including its refund policy.
To apply for admission, complete an online application through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). After you create your LSAC account, follow the instructions for applying to USC Gould using our LLM Application.
Please refer to the LSAC Checklist for instructions on the LLM application process. If you experience technical issues with your application, contact LSAC for assistance at 215-968-1315 or [email protected].
We highly recommend that you only submit one application to the degree of most interest to you. We would be happy to consider you for one of our other degrees. Once you have submitted your application to your first-choice program, please email [email protected] to let us know you have applied and to indicate any additional degree for which you would like to be considered.
Among the required information and documents you will submit through LSAC are:
Letters of recommendation are not required, but we will accept up to two letters of recommendation at [email protected].
For your convenience and to streamline the application process, USC Gould requires prospective students to use LSAC's Document Assembly Service and International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation Service, which allows you to apply to multiple law schools while submitting only one set of materials. Credential evaluation takes 2-3 weeks to complete once LSAC has received all of your documents; there may be further delay during LSAC's peak processing periods or if LSAC determines that additional information is required to complete its review. We therefore suggest that you apply as early as possible so that there is no consequential delay in LSAC transmitting its evaluation report to us.
After you submit your application through LSAC, we will send you a confirmation email that provides you with a username and password for the LSAC Online Status Check system. Then you may log in and create a new, personalized password and periodically check your application status.
Admissions decisions are made upon receipt of complete application files. Incomplete applications are not reviewed. We encourage you to apply by our Priority Deadline to provide sufficient time for you to complete your application file. Our Admissions Committee will provide admissions decisions generally within 2-3 weeks upon our receipt of completed applications, beginning in January for Fall semester start and beginning in July for Spring semester start. You will be notified via email and postal mail. No admissions decisions will be released over the phone. We will contact you if the Admissions Committee recommends an interview or additional submissions.
If you are admitted, you will be required to provide a financial statement that certifies that you have sufficient funds available to meet your living (housing, meals, etc.) and tuition expenses while at USC (unless you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or have been granted political asylum). At that time, you also must submit a copy of the photo page of your passport (and passport copies of any dependent(s) traveling with you).
