Applying to the S.J.D. Program

General Information
The Law School's S.J.D. program is a strictly research and writing ones designed for people who have already received a basic law degree from an American law school or an equivalent degree (e.g., LL.B.) from a university outside the U.S. and the LL.M. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. In rare cases, those who have written an LL.M. thesis that is deemed by the Graduate Admissions Committee to be the equivalent of a University of Wisconsin Law School LL.M. thesis may be considered for the S.J.D. program. However, direct entry into our S.J.D. program is generally not granted for someone who does not have an LL.M. degree from the UW Law School, even for applicants who have multiple LL.M. degrees.

Be sure to read the S.J.D. program requirements and the Overview of the S.J.D. program.

The application form for the S.J.D. and LL.M. is the same and much of the application procedure is the same. If you apply for the S.J.D. program and then want to change to apply to the LL.M. program for the same entry period, notify the Graduate Programs office of your intent. No additional application is required.

Applicants to the S.J.D. program may seek either Fall (August) or Spring (January) admission. Full-time enrollment and research done in Madison for two regular semesters (i.e., fall and spring) is necessary to satisfy the academic year physical presence residence requirement. Thus, anyone admitted in the spring must be a resident for the following fall semester as well.

The deadline for Fall admission is March 1; for Spring admission--October 1. Please see that we receive all application documents by the deadline date.

We have a two-part application process for our research-based graduate programs: (1) the filing and initial review of the full application and (2) initial approval and seeking a research advisor.

Part 1

To apply to a Law School graduate program, you must see that we receive in timely fashion:

A completed application form and a record of residence (available here in pdf format for downloading and printing).

The same application form is used for both the LL.M. and the S.J.D. programs. If you cannot download the application and record of residence forms available at these links, please send an email (gradprog@law.wisc.edu) or otherwise contact the Graduate Admissions Office at the Law School to request an application.

If you are applying to the M.L.I. program, you are at the wrong place. Do not use this application form. Instead go to the M.L.I. Program website.

If you are applying to the J.D. (basic law degree) from our law school, you are at the wrong place. Do not use this application form. Go to the J.D. Program website.

The statutes related to the record of residence form may be of interest to you.
An application fee of $56.00 (non-refundable). Make check or money order payable in U.S. dollars to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Do not send cash. The Law School does not accept payment by credit or debit cards.
Undergraduate, graduate and law school transcripts, including an indication of the degree granted and your law school class standing. We do not require a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score for the S.J.D. application.
Three original letters of recommendation from people who are familiar with your academic ability. At least one should be from a former law teacher. Letters from law faculty must be on official school stationery. Please be sure to give a waiver form to each recommender; the waiver should be included with the letter of recommendation.

The letters may be sent separately to the Graduate Admissions Committee by the recommender or included with your application. If the letter and its waiver are included with your application, they should be in an envelope sealed by the writer.
A statement of proposed research:

To apply to the S.J.D. program, the research proposal should be at least six (6) double-spaced typed pages long to ensure specificity.
If your last law degree is not from a law school in the United States or a country in which English is the first language, a TOEFL score of at least 625 [paper]/263 [computer-based] is requested.
International applicants must provide an official letter or statement confirming financial support for all expenses while completing studies. You must present documentation of having approximately $49,000 USD (single student) to fund your studies here for one academic year (two semesters). If you are admitted to the Law School, this documentation is required for the preparation of your immigration papers. It is your responsibility to assume full support for those dependents who accompany you to the United States. For information about the additional financial requirements for family members, see Tuition and Living Expenses, above.

A note about applying for financial assistance: Funds for graduate support are scarce. Awards are made in exceptional cases and only of modest amount. Admission to the degree program does not ensure financial support. If you wish to be considered for financial assistance, you will see that there is a place to indicate this on the second page of the application form. There is no additional form to complete; instead, you will need to submit a separate letter with your application detailing and documenting your financial situation and needs.

Send the above documents to our office so that they reach us by the deadline: October 1 for spring entry or March 1 for fall entry.

Graduate Programs Office
University of Wisconsin Law School
975 Bascom Mall
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
U.S.A.

REVIEW OF THE FULL APPLICATION: When the materials listed above are filed with the Graduate Programs Office, the Graduate Admissions Committee chair will review your file to determine whether it is complete and your record is consistent with our admission standards. You will receive a letter notifying you of the chair's decision.

Part 2

INITIAL APPROVAL AND SEEKING A RESEARCH ADVISOR: If your application receives preliminary approval, we will send you instructions on the process for seeking an advisor.

Final consideration of your application requires that a faculty member agree to serve as your advisor. Finding an advisor is your responsibility.

Before applying, please consider whether there are members of the UW law faculty who might be interested in acting as the primary advisor for the proposed project. (See the Law School Web page for information about the Law School faculty.) In general, neither emeritus faculty nor untenured faculty (those who are assistant professors) can serve as primary advisors.

If you have questions, please contact the Graduate Programs Office at the University of Wisconsin Law School:

telephone: (608) 262-9120
fax: (608) 265-2253
email: gradprog@law.wisc.edu