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Law School Admissions Process for International Students

J.D. Program

The following information is for applicants with an undergraduate degree earned outside of the United States. UHLC requires foreign educated applicants to the JD program to submit their foreign transcripts through the Law School Admission Council Credential Assembly Service (“CAS”).  If you completed any post-secondary work outside the U.S. (including its territories) or Canada, you must use this service for the evaluation of your foreign transcripts.  A Foreign Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (“AACRAO”), which will be incorporated into your LSDAS report.

Language Proficiency Exams

UHLC accepts both the TOEFL and IELTS exams. The TOEFL or IELTS exam is only required of applicants who obtained their undergraduate degree from a country where English is not the official language. TOEFL and IELTS scores should be submitted to the CAS by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).  Your score will be included in your CAS law school report. Questions regarding the CAS should be directed to LSAC.

  • TOEFL – LSAC’s code the CAS is 8395. UHLC requires a score of 600 on the paper-based exam, or 100 on the Internet-based test. 
  • IELTS – LSAC only accepts scores submitted electronically by the IELTS test center. No paper Test Report Forms will be accepted. An institutional code is not required. Please contact the test center directly where you took the IELTS test and request that your test scores be sent electronically using the IELTS system.  The Law Center requires a score of 7.0 or higher on the IELTS exam.

Citizenship

Any student who is not a U.S. citizen and holds a temporary visa (F-1 or J-1) is classified as an international student by the UH Law Center.  In addition to meeting standard admissions requirements, these applicants must submit the following:

Petition for Credit

Applicants with a foreign law degree may petition for credit toward their J.D. after they have completed the first-year curriculum. The Assistant Dean for Student Affairs has the sole discretion to credit up to 30 credit hours.

Office of International Admissions

Applicants who are neither U.S. citizens, nor permanent residents are designated as international applicants, as are applicants (including U.S. citizens) who have been educated outside the United States. Upon accepting an offer of admission, international applicants must pay a $75 fee to the Office of International Admissions (“OIA”) for student visa processing and foreign degree posting.