Transfer Students

Transfer Applicants

First-year law students at other institutions may apply to transfer to the University of Tennessee College of Law to complete their legal training.  

All application files should be completed no later than June 15 to be considered for enrollment in the fall semester, which begins in mid-August.

Application Materials:

The following items are required to complete your application file:

  • Completed transfer application for admission. Select the transfer application for the University of Tennessee at lsac.org.
  • A CAS report showing LSAT score(s), undergraduate course work, and first-year law school grades
  • A letter stating the reason(s) for seeking to transfer
  • A personal statement describing your reasons for requesting to transfer to UT Law. 
  • A letter of good standing with an indication of class rank from your law school dean or the dean’s designee
  • An official law school transcript included in the CAS report or sent directly to UT Law
  • A copy of (1) your law school’s official catalog or descriptions of first-year classes and (2) your law school’s grading scale
  • Optional: 
    • An additional statement reflecting on your experiences and potential contribution to the law school community. 
    • A letter of recommendation (preferably from a faculty member at your current law school)

Required Personal Statement:

A personal statement that describes your reasons for transferring to the University of Tennessee College of Law. In this statement, you should share any pertinent information you feel would assist the Admissions Committee in making their decision, such as your life experiences that have shaped and formed your view of the world around you, your goals for engaging in the UT Law community, and your motivation to join the legal profession. This statement should be approximately two, double-spaced pages in length and composed by you.

Optional Statement:

We invite applicants to complete one optional statement from the list of prompts below.  This optional statement should be approximately two, double-spaced pages in length, and composed by you:

  1. Please describe any experience you have had in your own life in which you have overcome disadvantage or performed well in the face of challenges or adversity (for example, heavy work responsibilities, family responsibilities, health issues, economic hardship, experiences as a first-generation college student, etc.).
  2. Civil dialogue and reasoned debate over contested ideas are core values both for the practice of law and in legal education.  Please describe any experiences you may have had engaging with ideas with which you disagreed, and how such experiences have impacted you.
  3. The College of Law is committed to achieving an expansive, inclusive, and collaborative law school community that brings a diverse range of ideas, experiences, and perspectives to our classrooms. Please describe how your lived experience informs who you are today and how it will contribute to our community.

Articulation Agreement:

We have an articulation agreement with the following:

Transfer Applicants-Early Action

Transfer Through Early Action: Apply by April 15

Transfer applicants may seek an Early Action decision by submitting an application as soon as fall grades earned at their law school are released. Applying through Early Action allows students an expedited process to obtain an application decision sooner. Admission through Early Action provides more time to plan for the year ahead. 

Early Action applications are considered on a rolling basis, and every effort is made to provide applicants a decision as soon as possible–typically within a month of submitting a completed application. Admissions decisions through the Early Action are contingent on proof of consistent and successful performance and completion of the second semester of law school study. 

Students who apply Early Action will receive either an admit, deny, or deferred action decision.  Applicants who receive a deferred action admission decision during Early Action will automatically be considered for Regular Decision. Deferred Early Action applications will be considered under Regular Decision upon receipt of a law school transcript containing final grades obtained during the full first year of law school.

In addition to the required application materials above, Early Action applicants must:

  • Submit the Early Action application no later than April 15
  • Select “Early Action” within the “Application Type” section of the application
  • As soon as second semester grades are released, send an official transcript containing final grades for the full first year of law school.

Transfer Application Review Process

The Admissions Committee reviews transfer applications using the same holistic approach as applied to regular admissions application files, with a strong emphasis placed on first-year GPA and class rank. Transfer candidates must be in good standing at a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.

Transfer students admitted to UT Law may receive up to 31 credit hours of transfer credit for classes successfully completed at their previous, ABA-approved law school. Credit only (not grades) are transferable. Transfer students are responsible for providing course descriptions and syllabi for previously completed courses to enable the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to determine the amount of credit to be awarded. In addition, a determination will be made as to which UT Law course requirements may be satisfied by the transfer credit. The Associate Dean has discretion to refuse credit, in whole or in part, for courses completed at a previous school, based on review and consideration of the course materials submitted. Transfer students are ineligible for transfer credit for any course in which they earned a grade lower than a C (2.0) or its equivalent. Upon transfer, the student must complete 58 credit hours or more at UT Law in order to graduate.