FAQ

USF's part-time day program offers students the opportunity to study alongside full-time students while taking 3-4 classes each semester, instead of the 4-5 classes required of full-time students. Visit our JD Part-Time page for more details.

LSAT scores within five years of the year of application are considered valid for review purposes.

USF uses the highest score when multiple LSAT scores are presented for application review.

USF does not offer admission deferments. Admissions decisions are based on the quality and competitiveness of the applicant pool at the time of application.

Prospective students are encouraged to visit the USF School of Law. The law school holds periodic informational open houses and student-conducted tours (beginning in mid-September for the fall semester and mid-January for the spring semester). To sign up for a tour or receive information about our tour schedule, please call (415) 422-6586 or plan a visit.

Limited classroom visits are available for the Fall 2024 semester beginning in early September.

Class visit schedules

Due to the large number of applicants to the USF School of Law, we are unable to interview applicants or accommodate requests for interviews. If you have specific information you would like to provide, it should be included in your personal statement or in an addendum to your personal statement. Prospective applicants are encouraged to attend one of our information sessions scheduled in the fall. Admissions professionals will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the law school.

The USF School of Law does not prescribe any pre-law curriculum or major. However, an undergraduate liberal program that provides exposure to a wide-range of subjects is considered more useful than a narrow emphasis on vocationally-oriented courses. The faculty recommend courses that provide training in written and oral expression, and that are intellectually and analytically demanding. Applicants are required to have attended an accredited four year college or university and must obtain their baccalaureate degree prior to beginning the JD Program.

The USF School of Law utilizes a rolling admissions process. Prospective applicants are encouraged to apply early. We begin reviewing completed applications in early October. Once an application file is complete, it may take 6 to 8 weeks to complete the review process. Applicants may be notified of a decision as early as mid to late October.

The USF School of Law accepts applications for transfer students who have completed at least one academic year at an ABA-accredited law school or an ABA provisionally approved law school. Transfer applicants must be in good academic standing. The maximum number of transferable units is 30.

The USF School of Law accepts applications for visiting students. Visiting applicants must have completed at least one academic year and be in good academic standing at an ABA-accredited law school or an ABA provisionally approved law school. Visiting students must also receive permission from their home school to attend USF.

The majority of our law students live off-campus within the city of San Francisco. There are some students who live on the "peninsula" (south of the city), across the bay in Berkeley or Oakland, and in Marin County. The San Francisco Bay Area has excellent public transportation systems (bus, train, and subway), which make USF quite accessible. In fall 2017, the University of San Francisco opened a residential facility specifically for law students. Visit our Housing page for more information.

The application fee is $60. For more information about tuition and fees, please view the tuition & aid pages of the site.

If accepted by the admissions committee, applicants will be notified and required to pay an acceptance deposit. The deposit is neither waived nor deferred under any circumstances. If the applicant registers for classes, the non-refundable deposit is credited in full toward tuition charges for the fall semester of the year of admission.

For information on financial aid, including scholarships, please see the financial aid section.

To practice law in California or any other state, a law school graduate must apply for and be admitted to the bar. The criteria for eligibility to sit for the bar examination and/or to qualify for bar admission are set by each state. Students should consult the requirements of the licensing authority in any state in which they contemplate practicing law to ascertain the qualifications for bar admission. Information concerning bar admission in California may be found at California's Bar Admission Website. For other states visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners website.

The law school considers multiple factors as it goes about admitting students, including an applicant’s undergraduate grade point average (GPA) and the relative strength of the applicant’s Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score(s). We also consider the quality of the applicant’s undergraduate school, the applicant’s course selection and performance in various courses while an undergraduate, and any graduate degrees. In addition, we consider past work experience, community service, and an applicant’s overall potential to render significant contributions to the legal profession.

In addition, diversity, equity and inclusion are core values of the law school and, consistent with our mission, we aim to admit a class from diverse backgrounds, including persons of differing races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and ages as well as individuals with disabilities. For this reason, applicants may submit an optional essay on diversity. For more information see the optional Diversity Statement or Essay section in the list of standard admission requirements for details.

At USF, we honor and celebrate diverse perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds that contribute to our vibrant campus

community. In addition to the required personal statement, applicants may submit an optional diversity statement or essay that is separate from the required personal statement. Please be sure to title this statement with the header Optional Diversity Statement on each page. An applicant may describe any factors that illustrate how he or she may contribute to our diverse, inclusive community and enrich the educational environment for all students as well as the legal profession.

For example, an applicant may want to address issues or experiences related to race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious affiliation, ideology, or socio-economic disadvantage.

In addition, an applicant may want to discuss divergent career aspirations, employment background, educational history, special talents or skills, or primary or secondary languages other than English.

Diversity statements tend to average 2 to 4 pages in length; however, there is no page limitation to the diversity statement. Use a separate electronic attachment and submit with your online application.