Application Process
Thank you for your interest in the LL.M. for Foreign-Trained Lawyers.
Application Deadline: The application deadline is April 15 for fall semester admission and October 1 for spring semester admission (extensions for either semester available upon request).
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Prospective students must have earned their first degree in law (such as an LL.B.) outside of the United States. You can apply through LSAC or apply directly.
After beginning your online application, please submit the following documents:
- Proof of English proficiency
- Official law school transcript or proof of passage of home country lawyer license examination
- Two letters of recommendation
- Personal statement
- Resume
- $50 application fee (may be waived upon request)
You must submit English copies of all documents. Translations must be certified by a credentialed evaluation service. You should submit both the original and the translated versions.
An interview is not required. However, we welcome prospective applicants to visit us or schedule an informal video chat so that we can answer your questions about the program.
Application Requirements
English Proficiency
English proficiency is one of the most important predictors of your success in our program. For this reason, and to ensure students have the requisite language skills to succeed at Temple Law, we require proof of English proficiency from every applicant who is not a native English speaker
| English Proficiency Exam | Minimum Accepted Score | ||||
| TOEFL | 88 | ||||
| IELTS | 6.5 with no individual score below 6.0 | ||||
| Duolingo English Test (DET) | 115 |
If you do not meet these scores, you may be eligible for conditional admission if you attend an intensive English training course. Please learn more about our conditional admission program below.
Requests to waive the English proficiency requirement may be granted on a case-by-case basis by the admissions committee. Waiver requests will be considered if (i) your native language is English, (ii) if you have lived and worked in the U.S. for more than two years, or (iii) if you possess a university degree from an institution in which English is the primary language of instruction.
Your academic transcripts must verify that your degree was obtained from an English-speaking institution. If not, we may request you provide supplemental documentation from your law school to confirm that the coursework was taught in English.
If you take the TOEFL and submit your application through ETS, Temple’s Institution Code is 2906. The law school’s Department Code is 03.
Transcripts and Degree Verification
Please ask your law school to send an official transcript directly to Temple Law. For schools that do not provide official transcripts, you should do one of the following:
- Credential Evaluation Service. You can register with one of the credential assembly services, such as LSAC’s LL.M. Credential Assembly Service or World Education Services. These services verify non-U.S. or Canadian academic credentials.
- Certified Copy. Ask the academic officer at your law school to affix a new stamp or seal on a photocopy of your transcript to certify that the copy complies with the records on file at the university. The university academic officer should place that newly certified copy into a sealed envelope and send that certified copy to Temple without opening the envelope. An acceptable “official transcript” is one that has not been handled by the student afterit was sealed or stamped by the university academic officer.
- Student Reported Record of Study (Germany). Students submitting this record must have a notary or university official certify that the student-prepared record accurately reflects the coursework the student has completed. State Examination scores should be submitted in addition to the Record of Study documentation.
For applicants who do not have a first degree in law but have passed the lawyer license exam in their home country, please provide your university transcript (for the non-law degree) according to one of the rules above and also a certified copy of your lawyer license exam passage certificate.
Letters of Recommendation
Students must submit at least two recommendation letters from either law professors or legal employers or colleagues well acquainted with your academic abilities or professional skills. Applicants have the option to submit a third recommendation letter, but are not required to do so.
Recommendation forms are available during the online application process and may be submitted online or by hard copy. Recommendation writers are not required to use our recommendation form and may instead submit their recommendation letters on their own letterhead. If provided in an electronic copy, recommenders should email their letters of recommendation to intllaw@temple.edu.
Personal Statement
A carefully worded 1-2 page personal statement must be provided. This statement should include any additional information you think might be helpful to the Admissions Committee concerning your personal history, professional interests, and abilities. The committee wants to know you as a person and as a professional.
Resume or CV
In your resume, please present your work and internship experience, honors and awards, and other background and accomplishments that will help us to get to know you better.
Application Fee
Payment of the U.S. $50 application fee may be sent directly to Temple Law by check or money order payable to “Temple University” or paid online using a credit card on the online application system.
Conditional Admissions Program
Applicants who are academically qualified, but fall slightly below the desired language scores, may be required to complete a seven-week intensive English-language course at Temple’s Center for American Language and Culture (TCALC) as a condition of admission. To qualify for conditional admission, in general, an applicant’s score must fall within the following range of test scores:
| toefl | ielts | duolingo English Test |
|---|---|---|
| 80 – 87 | 6.0 (with no individual score below 5.5) | 105 – 114 |
If your English test score falls below our minimum required score for Conditional Admission, you will not be accepted into the LL.M. for Foreign-Trained Lawyers program. However, many applicants who fell short of conditional acceptance standards have enrolled in a rigorous and customized course of English study through TCALC’s Graduate Access Study program and improved their English to the level necessary to be considered for admission in the LL.M. program. We will work closely with TCALC to help you develop this plan. Of course, how quickly your English improves largely depends on your language ability and commitment to studying.
Based on the following test scores, you can expect to be enrolled in Graduate Access Temple between one to two semesters before being considered for admission.
| toefl | ielts | duolingo | Graduate access temple estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 74 – 79 | 5.5 | 100 – 104 | ONE semester |
| 64 – 73 | 5.0 | 90 – 99 | TWO semesters |
Studying for the length of time suggested above is not a guarantee you will receive admission to our LL.M. program. However, based on the analysis of past students’ performance by TCALC’s English as a Second Language instructors, the timelines above reflect our best estimate of how much intensive English language study is necessary to obtain admission.
For more information about the Conditional Admissions Program, please contact Karen McMichael at karen.mcmichael@temple.edu.
Deferring Admission
Upon request, Temple Law will permit admitted students to defer admission for one year. If you are admitted but cannot accept our offer at the time, please submit a request to the Office of Graduate and International Programs for permission to defer. Deferrals will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Visas
Admitted international students receive advice from Temple University’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services about applying for visas. LL.M. students in the United States generally have F-1 student visas. The application process from acceptance to receipt of visa may be from 30 to 90 days. Admitted students should begin the student visa application process without delay to ensure that their visas will be issued by the student report date. Studying law is a rigorous undertaking that demands a student’s full attention. Although F-1 visa holders may technically be permitted to find on-campus employment, LL.M. students are discouraged from searching for work. As J.D. students are not permitted to work during their first year of law school, one-year international LL.M. students should also focus on their studies.
U.S. immigration regulations currently permit F-1 visa students who have been continuously enrolled in Philadelphia for two semesters to apply for post-graduate optional practical training (OPT). The optional practical training permission allows F-1 students to remain in the U.S. for approximately one year to undertake law-related employment or an internship