collageJuris Doctor Application Requirements
Each candidate must submit to the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law a completed application for admission available online through the Law School Admission Council’s website. The application deadlines are:
- Accelerated Two-Year JD
- Final Deadline: February 1
- Traditional Three-Year JD
- Priority Deadline: February 1
- Final Deadline: April 1
All applicants for admission must have received a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university prior to law school registration. To be considered for admission, each candidate must submit the following:
- $60 non-refundable application fee – Waived for the 2022 application
- Completed, signed, and dated application
- Resumé
- Personal Statement
- Optional Statement
- Two Letters of Recommendation
- Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Score or Graduate Records Examinations (GRE) score
- Registration with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS)
- International Student Data Form (for visa holders)
Resumé
Please attach to your application for admission a resumé, including a record of employment, scholastic honors, extracurricular activities, and community involvement.
Personal Statement
Please include a two- to four-page, double-spaced personal statement indicating fully your reasons for wanting to study law, why you chose to apply to Pepperdine Caruso Law, significant extracurricular and/or civic activities, and any further information that you feel should be considered by the Admissions Committee. If you desire, please discuss any applicable factors that would bring diversity to the class including racial or ethnic origin, age, work experience, geographical origin, and socioeconomic background.
Optional Statement
Pepperdine Caruso Law’s rich political, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and religious diversity forms a strong and connected community among our faculty, students, and staff. Led by our faith-based values, we believe that each person’s voice and convictions enhance our community.
In light of this, you may choose to provide the Admissions Committee additional information about yourself and the contributions you would make to our community by responding to the prompt below. This is an optional portion of the application; you are in no way disadvantaged should you choose not to submit a one- or two-page written statement.
Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership. Caruso Law’s dedication to our Christian mission drives a deep desire to embody and imbue in our students the highest standards of ethics and morality. We are proud to have a strong Christian faculty that also includes several professors from other faiths. We welcome students of all faiths, as well as students who are not part of any faith tradition. Our complete mission and vision can be found here. Please share how you would contribute to this unique community.
Pepperdine Law School Scholarships
Full Tuition Straus Scholarships
JAMS Scholarship
The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law is pleased to announce that JAMS is sponsoring two (2) full-tuition scholarships for students applying to our LLM program.
JAMS is the largest for-profit provider of mediation and arbitration services in the United States, with offices in more than 25 cities and more than 300 retired judges and senior lawyers on its panel. JAMS has been focusing on international opportunities and sees this scholarship as an expression of its support for future practitioners.
Application instructions and form can be found here.
Deadlines:
MARCH 1, 2021 – If you are applying to start the program in May 2021 (Summer)
APRIL 15, 2021 – If you are applying to start the program in August 2021 (Fall)
Additional Information
In addition to the full-tuition scholarship, Pepperdine provides partial scholarships at the point of admission.
In preparation for the LLM program, international students may want to participate in Pepperdine’s U.S. Law and Legal Writing Seminar, offering a five-day Legal English intensive experience in May.
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