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Charleston School of Law Juris Doctor Program Catalog and Student Handbook 2023-2024

Academic Catalog and Handbook

Applicants Transferring from Another U.S. Law School

Transfer applicants from an ABA-approved law school may apply to transfer to the Charleston School of Law for either fall or spring semester.  The priority deadline for applying as a transfer student is July 1. Transfer applicants should submit the following:

  1. Transfer Application. Applications are available at www.LSAC.org.
  1. Two letters of recommendation, at least one of which is from a faculty member at the applicant’s current law school.
  1. A letter of standing from the Dean, or appropriate official, at the current law school, including class rank. The letter should be written after all current law school grades are finalized, indicating your academic standing and eligibility to return.
  1. LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Law School Report.
  1. An official transcript from the law school currently attending. The transcript must reflect all first-year courses and grades, and should be sent directly to LSAC.
  1. A statement as to why you seek to transfer.
  1. A final transcript from the undergraduate degree-granting institution and, if applicable, the graduate degree-granting institution denoting that a degree has been granted. The transcript(s) must be sent to LSAC prior October 15 for fall enrollees and within four weeks of the date classes begin for spring enrollees, but preferably before law school matriculation.

Information about Transfer Credit for Applicants Who Transfer from Another ABA-approved Law School

A candidate who has transferred from another ABA-approved law school must successfully earn and maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.0, complete all required courses or their substantial equivalent, and satisfy all other Charleston School of Law degree requirements.

Credits for courses completed at another approved law school are evaluated on an individual basis for possible transfer into the Charleston School of Law by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Only courses completed with a grade of “C” or better and that are comparable to courses offered for credit at the law school are transferable. The Law School will accept up to 30 credit hours from other ABA-accredited law schools, but will not accept the associated grades; rather, all transfer credits will be accepted, if at all, on a Pass/Fail basis. Accordingly, credits earned at other ABA-accredited law schools, even if accepted for credit at the Law School, shall not be calculated in determining a student’s cumulative or semester GPA. In exceptional circumstances, the Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may accept up to 60 transfer credit hours provided any such credit complies with all other requirements of the Charleston School of Law transfer credit policy.

Students who transfer to the Charleston School of Law will not be ranked until they complete 30 credit hours at the Charleston School of Law and at least 24 hours of the full-time, first-year curriculum at the Charleston School of Law.  A transfer student’s grouping for purposes of class rank will include both the credit hours transferred and those completed at the Charleston School of Law. While the credit hours associated with transfer credit are used to generate a student’s cohort for purposes of calculating class ranks, the quality points associated with the student’s grades at other ABA-accredited law schools shall not be used to calculate a student’s class rank.

Transfer Eligibility for Law School Honors and Awards

Grades earned at other institutions shall not serve as the basis for eligibility for any Law School awards and honors.

Transfer Eligibility for Law Review

Transfer students may be eligible for law review based on a particular journal’s requirements. Interested students should contact the editors-in-chief of the specific law review or journal of interest. Grades earned at a previous law school will not count towards eligibility.