Information for International Applicants

International applicants must follow the admissions instructions enclosed with this information. International applicants must take the LSAT.

Applicants with foreign transcripts listed during LSDAS registration and sent to LSAC are processed through the JD Credential Assembly Service (JD CAS), an extension of the LSDAS for foreign-educated applicants.  Foreign transcripts received through JD CAS will be sent to the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers where the transcripts will be authenticated and evaluated.  The data is assembled into a foreign credential evaluation document that contains AACRAO’s summary, copies of the transcripts (and translations, as necessary), and a TOEFL score, if applicable.  This foreign credential evaluation and its associated documents will be incorporated into the regular LSDAS Law School Report.  Once schools where an applicant has applied has requested such report from us, one will be sent directly to each school.  Note that there is no additional fee for the JD CAS; it is included in the standard LSDAS fee.

You must register for the LSDAS online if you are applying to a law school that requires the JD Credential Assembly Service and you received your undergraduate degree from a foreign institution, or if you were directly enrolled at a foreign institution(s) and the total amount of work you completed at all foreign institutions combined is the equivalent of more than one year of undergraduate study in the US, its territories, or Canada.

The international applicants' application files are not considered complete until we have received the LSAT score and the evaluation of academic credentials. Because this evaluation process takes extra time, international applicants are especially urged to submit their applications early in the admission cycle.

Because command of the English language is essential for successful legal study, international applicants whose native language is not English, or who have not obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree in North America, must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum score for admission is 600. Matriculated students whose native language is not English will have their written and oral skills evaluated by a panel of faculty from the School of Law and the Center for English As A Second Language. This evaluation is not mandatory, but a student will not receive any accommodation for his/her written or oral English skills unless he/she has completed the evaluation. After the evaluation, the panel will make their recommendations to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who will make the final decision as to what remedies are available to the student.

International applicants are generally ineligible for the educational expense loans available to United States citizens. They must therefore be prepared to provide the financial resources for all educational and personal expenses for the duration of the program.

Admitted international applicants who need an I-20 Form to enter the United States should contact the Assistant Dean for Admissions at johnlynn@siu.edu.