Like most law schools, LMU Law makes offers where applicants appear to have the necessary qualities required for success in law school and in the practice of law. While the cumulative undergraduate GPA and either LSAT or GRE score are the most traditional factors determining admission, we will also consider letters of recommendation; academic performance; community service; extra-curricular or co-curricular activities; evidence of a strong work ethic and maturity; military service; employment history; and an ability to contribute to the diversity of the LMU Law community.
In compliance with ABA Standard 504(a), we must inform applicants of the following:
In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Our complete admissions policies and procedures can be found in the Admission Policies and Procedures Manual.
For August 2023 admission, LMU Law will accept either the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) as part of the admission process.
The application for fall 2024 will appear on the LSAC website around October 1, 2023.
Although the entering class for the full-time program generally fills in early April, the deadline to apply for admission is July 15th annually. We continue to accept applications and make limited offers, including transfer admissions, after early April.
With the ABA's approval of our application for acquiescence to the ABA Standards to offer a part-time/hybrid program, LMU Law no longer offers a flex-time program.
For the part-time/hybrid program, the priority consideration application deadline is May 1, 2023. The actual deadline is June 15, 2023. While we hope to fill the available seats with applicants who apply by May 1st, we will continue to accept applications until the June 15th deadline.
Follow the steps below to apply to LMU Law. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Office of Admissions at [email protected] or 865.545.5303.
Steps to Applying for Admission
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Complete the Application
To complete an application to LMU Law, you must first register for a free account on the Law School Admission Council's website - https://www.lsac.org.
Once you possess an LSAC account, you can locate our application ("Lincoln Memorial University - John J. Duncan, Jr. School of Law") under the "Applications" tab and then "Member Schools."
There is no fee to apply.
You will have two program options: full-time and part-time/hybrid. The part-time/hybrid program is a reduced-load program designed for people who have outside commitments, such as work, and cannot attend school in Knoxville on a full-time basis. Due to LSAC's policies, applicants can only apply to one program per admission cycle.
Applications for our full-time program will be accepted through July 15, 2023. Keep in mind the entering class fills by mid-to-late April, so please do not delay in applying. That is not to say we do not admit students later than that, but your chances of admission and scholarship decrease as the admission cycle progresses.
Late applications may be accepted at the discretion of the Dean.
Applications for our part-time/hybrid program will be accepted through June 15, 2023. Completed applicant files submitted by May 1, 2023, will be given priority consideration.
Character and Fitness: If you answered "yes" to any question in the Character and Fitness section of your application, you must provide detailed information for each answer. If your answer does not fit in the space provided, then you can attach explanations to your application at the time it is submitted. If you need to update an answer or add supplemental information, you can send an addendum to [email protected].
Because of stringent character and fitness qualifications for admission to the bar, we require full disclosure in response to all questions. Failure to disclose information often yields a more serious outcome than the matter itself would have produced had it been revealed by the applicant initially.
Answering "yes" to any question does not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for admission. The Admission and Scholarship Committee would like the opportunity to review all relevant facts including (but not limited to) the issue(s); offense(s); date(s) of the offense(s); the law enforcement agency involved; and disposition, including fine(s), court costs, or other penalties, etc.
The American Bar Association (ABA) precludes the admission of applicants who do not appear capable of satisfactorily completing a legal program of study and being admitted to the bar. Similar questions will be asked of you at the time you apply for admission to the bar, so candor and full disclosure is essential.
Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Contact information for all relevant agencies is available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
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Attach Your Personal Statement
Attach your personal statement to your application through the "Attachments" tab in your LSAC account.
Your personal statement should range in length between one-to-four pages. It should address why you want to attend law school or describe future goals with respect to obtaining a legal education. It is also helpful to address why you want to attend LMU Law.
You can also attach your resume' and other documents if you wish; however, they are not required.
If you need to explain a response to a question in the Character and Fitness section of your application more fully, you should attach it in the Attachments section. We would recommend you not include the information in your personal statement unless the incident was foundational to your decision to attend law school. Please include the number and question to which you are responding should you need to explain further.
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Register for the LSAC's Credential Assembly Service and Pay the Fee
The Credential Assembly Service is a central repository where applicants submit their academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other pertinent items for submission to law schools.
The current fee to register for Credential Assembly Service for the fall 2023 admission cycle is $195. The fee for the fall 2024 admission cycle will be $200.
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Request Official Transcripts for the LSAC's Credential Assembly Service
An official transcript from each educational institution attended since high school must be sent from each institution directly to the Credential Assembly Service either through the mail or via one of the approved, secure electronic transcript providers, such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, Scrip-Safe, or Credential Solutions.
If requesting they be sent by mail, the address to which each transcript must be sent is:
LSAC Credential Assembly Service
662 Penn Street
Newtown, Pennsylvania 18940
If you received Advanced Placement (AP) credit(s) for courses taken in high school, then you must submit your high school transcript(s) to the Credential Assembly Service as well.
In addition to the Credential Assembly Service fee, the applicant must pay for a Law School Report for each law school to which he/she applies. The current cost of the fall 2023 admission cycle is $45, and again, it must be paid for each law school to which the applicant wants her/his Law School Report sent.
The Law School Report is commonly called the CAS Report.
If you are an undergraduate student when you submit your transcripts to the Credential Assembly Service, then you must update (resubmit) transcripts from any schools in which you have taken classes since they were submitted initially.
After you graduate, you will need to submit a final official transcript from the institution from which you received your bachelor's degree. The degree received and the date it was conferred must appear on the final transcript.
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Submit and Assign Two Letters of Recommendation to LMU Law
LMU Law requires two letters of recommendation. Your letters of recommendation should be submitted directly to the Credential Assembly Service through a link it sends to each individual making a recommendation.
There are no specific requirements as to who should write them, such as a professor, employer, acquaintance, etc.; however, they should explain in detail how they know you and the traits they have observed that lead them to recommend you for law school.
Once the letters are received by the Credential Assembly Service, YOU MUST ASSIGN each letter to each school you want to receive them. They will not be assigned automatically. If you fail to assign both of them to each school, then your file will remain INCOMPLETE until they are assigned by you.
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Register and Pay to Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is offered multiple times each year. It must be taken remotely on a computer that has both a camera and audio access.
The announced 2022-2023 LSAT testing dates and registration deadlines are:
PRIMARY TESTING DATES LSAT REGISTRATION DEADLINE SCORE RELEASE DATE TO TEST TAKERS June 10-11, 2022 Thursday, April 28, 2022 Wednesday, June 29, 2022 August 12-13, 2022 Thursday, June 30, 2022 Wednesday, August 31, 2022 September 9-10, 2022 Tuesday, July 26, 2022 Wednesday, September 28, 2022 October 14-15, 2022 Thursday, September 1, 2022 Wednesday, November 2, 2022 November 11-12, 2022 Thursday, September 29, 2022 Wednesday, November 30, 2022 January 13-14, 2023 Thursday, December 1, 2022 Wednesday, February 1, 2023 February 10-11, 2023 Tuesday, December 27, 2022 Wednesday, March 1, 2023 April 14-15, 2023 Thursday, March 2, 2023 Wednesday, May 3, 2023 June 9-10, 2023 Tuesday, April 25, 2023 Wednesday, June 28, 2023 The LSAT test dates and application deadlines have been listed as a courtesy and are subject to change without notice.
While the above-listed information is provided for convenience, always refer to the LSAC website to ensure the correct test date and registration deadline for any LSAT. Registration deadlines and test date information can be obtained on the LSAC website: https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-dates-deadlines-score-release-dates
The current cost to take the LSAT is $215. The cost to take the LSAT in the 2023-2024 admission cycle for fall 2024 will be $222. It includes the LSAT Writing Exercise, which is completed on a separate day and time from the LSAT.
LMU Law will not accept LSAT scores more than five years old. In keeping with LSAC reporting, scores earned prior to June 2017 will not be considered for admission to fall 2023 programs.
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Complete the LSAT Writing Sample
The LSAT Writing Sample is a required component of LMU Law's admission process for LSAT takers. Because GRE takers must take a writing component as part of the GRE, you can request a waiver of the LSAT Writing Sample by emailing the Office of Admissions. Please include your LSAC "L" number and registered name with your request.
To complete the LSAT Writing Sample, you must go to your LSAC account, download the required software, and complete the 35-minute LSAT Writing Exercise.
You can take the LSAT Writing Sample no sooner than eight days before your scheduled LSAT and no later than one year after you have taken the test.
The computer on which you type the LSAT Writing Sample must have an active camera and microphone while you are writing your response. No outside assistance is permitted.
Do not delay in taking the LSAT Writing Exercise. Even though everything else (e.g. application, personal statement, two letters of recommendation, Credential Assembly Service Report with your LSAT score), has been received, your Law School/CAS Report with your LSAT score will not be released to ANY law school until you have completed the LSAT Writing Sample.
If you have already completed an LSAT Writing Sample for a prior administration of the LSAT, then you do not have to complete a new writing sample unless you want to complete a new one.
Generally, it takes between one-to-three weeks for your LSAT Writing Exercise to post to your account after you have completed it.
For more information, visit https://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/about-lsat-writing.
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Information for Academically Disqualified Students
LMU Law considers the admission of applicants who were disqualified academically. An applicant who has been disqualified academically must demonstrate that he or she possesses the requisite ability to succeed in our program of legal education. The applicant must also demonstrate that the previous disqualification does not indicate a lack of capacity to complete the course of study at our law school, extraordinary circumstances contributed to his or her inability to meet the academic requirements, and the circumstances resulting in the student's academic disqualification have been remedied or no longer exist.
An applicant who was disqualified academically cannot apply for admission until one (1) calendar year has expired since the student's disqualification. Example: If you were disqualified academically from another law school after your first semester, e.g. December 15, 2021, you cannot apply for admission to LMU Law until one year after the date you were disqualified officially (December 16, 2022).
In addition to the application, personal statement, two letters of recommendation, Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Report, and LSAT Writing Exercise, in order to be considered for admission an applicant who has been disqualified academically either at LMU Law or another law school must attach two (2) separate written statements to their application through the "Attachments" tab:1. a statement detailing the nature of the interim work, activity, or studies that occurred since the disqualification; and
2. a statement describing why the applicant believes he/she now has a stronger potential for the study of law and is likely to successfully complete the course of study at the Duncan School of Law.Finally, the applicant must send an official transcript from the law school from which he or she was dismissed to the LSAC's Credential Assembly Service.
Joint- and Dual-Degree Programs
LMU Law offers a number of joint- and dual-degree program offerings. In most cases program participants can take their masters classes in the summers and online, while attending law school in the fall and spring semesters. For more information on any of there dual-degree programs, simply click on the offering to open a PDF.
JD-MBA (Juris Doctor - Master of Business Administration) Dual-Degree Program
JD-MPA (Juris Doctor - Master in Public Administration) Joint-Degree Program
JD-MSCJ (Juris Doctor - Master of Science in Criminal Justice) Joint-Degree Program
You must apply for the master's program through the University's main website. Also, any scholarship awarded for law school does not apply to masters-level program courses. The rate of tuition is less for master-level courses compared to tuition for law school classes.