Highly qualified foreign law students from UCLA Law’s partner schools may apply to attend UCLA Law for one semester. Foreign law students who are not enrolled at a partner school are not eligible to apply to study abroad at UCLA Law, as the law school does not presently accommodate “free movers” or other students outside of its existing exchange agreements.

UCLA School of Law’s academic calendar begins in August each year. The first semester runs from early August to December and the second semester runs from January to early May. Each partner school may normally nominate up to two students to attend UCLA School of Law per semester, with a limit of no more than 12 exchange students over a consecutive three-year period.

Eligibility

Foreign law students who wish to attend UCLA Law under the Foreign Legal Study and Exchange Program (FLSEP) must be advanced law students in master’s or doctoral degree programs. In rare instances, students in their final year of study toward an initial law degree may be considered. Applicants must have obtained at least one full year of credit at their home institution and must be in good academic standing there.

Successful applicants will have superior academic records, an understanding of comparative law (including common law systems), and the necessary English language skills to undertake rigorous legal education offered in English. In the case of non-native speakers of English, applicants will be required to demonstrate their English language competence by means of a minimum TOEFL score of 617 on a traditional hard-copy test on paper, 260 on a computer-based test, or 105 by internet-based means of testing. A partner school will nominate only those students that it believes meet the stated academic standards of UCLA School of Law.

How to Apply

Only those students who have been nominated by one of our partner schools may apply. Nominated students must provide the following supporting documentation in order to receive consideration for admission to UCLA School of Law’s Foreign Legal Study and Exchange Program:

1. Application form
2. Résumé/Curriculum Vitae
3. Official transcripts from each university program attended leading to a degree
4. Two letters of recommendation from scholars or professors who know the applicant’s skills and accomplishments
5. One nomination letter from the exchange program coordinator or dean of the applicant’s home institution
6. TOEFL score

The complete application materials for each student must be received no later than April 15 for students who wish to visit UCLA Law during the fall semester later that year, and no later than September 15 for students who wish to visit UCLA Law during the spring semester of the following year.

Applications and supporting documents should be submitted electronically as high resolution PDF files to Sidney Matthews, at matthews@law.ucla.edu. Hard-copy applications may also be submitted, sent to the attention of Tiffany Parnell at the UCLA Law postal address. Once completed, the file will be forwarded to the corresponding UCLA FLSEP Coordinator. The UCLA FLSEP Coordinator is the designated faculty coordinator and contact person for administrative matters pertaining to the FLSEP for each respective partner school.

The UCLA FLSEP Coordinator will make a recommendation for or against admission of any applicant from the school for which the coordinator is responsible. Such recommendation will be forwarded to the Chair of the International Curriculum and Visiting Scholars Committee at UCLA School of Law, who shall decide whether to admit the applicant in consultation with other committee members and the Director of Graduate Studies. Successful applicants will receive a letter of acceptance to visit UCLA Law. The letter will include additional information about registering for coursework at UCLA Law and related matters.

Admission of foreign students to UCLA Law under the FLSEP is at the sole discretion of UCLA Law, is limited to participation in the exchange program at the law school, and does not constitute admission to UCLA for any degree program or any other purpose.

Once accepted into the FLSEP, exchange students will be permitted to enroll in courses for which they are qualified at UCLA Law in accordance with normal enrollment procedures. It is the responsibility of exchange students to verify that the UCLA law courses in which they enroll are eligible for credit at their respective home schools. To view a comprehensive list of recent years’ course offerings at the law school and their corresponding course descriptions, prospective students may visit our curriculum course list.

Exchange students are required to fulfill all requirements for courses in which they are registered. Students may elect to receive letter grades for their courses or take their courses on a pass with credit/no pass-no credit basis. Students must enroll in a minimum of eight units of coursework and will receive academic credit for successfully completed courses up to the equivalent of 13 units or hours of credit in one semester, which will be reported on an official UCLA transcript.

Each partner school shall approve the coursework and monitor the studies undertaken by its own students, including reviewing course materials and sufficient written work of the student to ensure that the program at UCLA Law meets the partner school’s standards. UCLA Law will appoint an advisor for each visiting exchange student. The advisor, who will normally be the UCLA FLSEP Coordinator for the exchange student’s home institution, will be a well-qualified faculty member or administrator who will supervise and monitor the student’s study at the law school.

Fees and Expenses

Exchange students pay tuition and other related fees to their home school and are exempt from paying such fees to UCLA Law. The home school is responsible for ensuring that its own students have registered, paid required fees, and are in good standing . Students must provide for their own personal expenses and housing costs while attending classes in the exchange program. UCLA Law does not provide any financial aid, nor can it offer guaranteed housing to any incoming exchange students.

Exchange students are responsible for obtaining the appropriate visa and related documents necessary to pursue studies at UCLA School of Law. UCLA’s Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars will process the visa for an exchange student for a $40 fee, which shall be paid by the visiting student. International exchange students who do not hold U.S. citizenship or permanent residency will normally apply for the J-1 student visa.

All incoming students will be automatically enrolled in the university’s mandatory health insurance program, UC SHIP. Exchange students are required to cover the cost of this insurance or provide proof of full health coverage that meets UCLA insurance requirements, in which case they must submit an application to waive UC SHIP. Adequate medical coverage that meets the minimum conditions of health insurance per university regulations is also a condition of obtaining a visa. Prior to registering at UCLA Law, exchange students must also provide the law school with documentary evidence, in PDF format, that they possess sufficient funds to cover all reasonable anticipated costs and personal expenses during their stay at UCLA.

University Resources

UCLA’s Dashew Center is available to assist exchange students during their stay at UCLA School of Law. FLSEP participants also are entitled to any and all services normally available to UCLA students (for instance, parking permits, access to the UCLA recreation center, etc.). Visiting exchange students are required to pay any small incidental fees associated with these services, as regular UCLA students must.

Student Conduct

Incoming exchange students visiting UCLA Law are subject to the same rules and regulations as regular, full-time students regarding general conduct, academic honesty and similar matters. In accordance with the discretion and capabilities of UCLA Law, exchange students enjoy the same privileges and responsibilities as regular students.

Highly qualified, committed students at UCLA Law may apply to participate in foreign study opportunities at law schools outside the United States. Normally, such students will participate through the FLSEP and will attend one of UCLA School of Law's partner schools.

Foreign Legal Study Outside of FLSEP

If a UCLA law student wishes to engage in foreign study at a law school with which UCLA Law will not have an exchange agreement in effect for the period in which the student wishes to engage in foreign study, then that student must take a leave of absence from UCLA Law during that period. In such cases, the student will receive transfer course credit for the foreign study only in exceptional circumstances, to the extent approved by the Standards Committee, and provided that the foreign law school is of the highest repute in the sub-field of study, the student's proposed sub-field of study is unavailable at UCLA Law and all partner schools, and the student meets the terms and conditions outlined in the application procedures and requirements.