How to Apply - Part-Time/Hybrid Program

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 part-time/hybrid program will be accepted through June 15, 2023. Completed applicant files submitted by May 1, 2023, will be given priority consideration. 

Late applications may be accepted at the discretion of the Dean.

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 law[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.

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.

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.

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 transcripts 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:

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.

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.

LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION TEST (LSAT)

The 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. It includes the LSAT Writing Exercise, which is completed on a separate day and time.

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.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE)

"The GRE General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills—skills that have been developed over a long period of time and are not related to a specific field of study but are important for all. The test closely aligns with the types of skills that are required for success in today’s demanding graduate programs, including business and law.

The test is administered throughout the year on computer at Prometric® test centers. The General Test may also be offered on specific dates at additional testing locations outside of the Prometric test center network. Refer to available test locations and dates for all testing locations.

GRE® General Test at Home
The GRE General Test at-home option is offered everywhere that the GRE General Test is normally available. The GRE General Test at Home is taken on your own computer at home or in a secure location and is monitored by a human proctor through ProctorU®. If you take the at-home test, you are required to have your computer scanned for a system check and for any software that may be used for an unfair advantage.

The at-home test is identical in content, format and on-screen experience to the test taken at a test center and is offered around the clock, seven days a week. To view available test dates and times for the at-home test, create or sign in to your ETS account and begin the registration process.

Test Structure
The GRE General Test is composed of Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections. Testing times are listed below.

Analytical Writing: one section with two separately timed writing tasks—30 minutes per task
Verbal Reasoning: two 30-minute sections—20 questions per section
Quantitative Reasoning: two 35-minute sections—20 questions per section

Registering for the GRE General Test

• You can register to take the General Test at a test center either online or by phone. 
• To register for the General Test at Home, you must register online through your ETS Account.
• If you are testing in Mainland China and planning to test in a test center, you must register online through an NEEA account. If you plan to test at home, you must visit takethegre.cn/gre-at-home for further information.
• If you are testing in Hong Kong, China; Taiwan, China or Korea or at additional testing locations outside of the Prometric test center network, you must register online at www.ets.org/mygre.
• If you are paying with a paper check or money order, you will need to request an Authorization Voucher by mail (refer to page 5).
• Register early to get your preferred test location and date selection.
• Plan for the test session to be up to four and one-half hours in length."

Copyright © 2022 ETS

The current cost to take the GRE is $220.

Because GRE takers have a writing component as part of the GRE that is scored, GRE applicants to LMU Law will not have to complete the LSAT Writing Sample. Once a GRE test taker has applied, he/she should email the Office of Admissions at [email protected] to request a waiver of the LSAT Writing Sample. When emailing your request please include your name and your LSAC "L" number. 

More information about the GRE is available from https://www.ets.org/gre/test-takers/general-test/about.html.

LMU Law will not accept GRE 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.

The LSAT Writing Sample is a required component of LMU Law's admission process unless you are applying with a GRE score.

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), have 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.

Because GRE takers have a writing component as part of the GRE that is scored, GRE applicants to LMU Law will not have to complete the LSAT Writing Sample. Once a GRE test taker has applied, he/she should email the Office of Admissions at [email protected] to request a waiver of the LSAT Writing Sample. When emailing your request please include your name and your LSAC "L" number. 

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.