Transcript:
Stanford Law School requires all LLM applicants submit their official transcripts through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS). This service is an easy and convenient means of submitting transcripts to a number of different institutions. LSAC, in cooperation with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), provides law schools with verification, authentication, and evaluation of transcripts and allows our office to more efficiently proceed with the review of your application.
Transcripts submitted through the LSAC LLM Credential Assembly Service should show all courses taken and marks earned, and receipt of any degree from each university and any institution of higher education at which the applicant has been in residence for one year or more. Transcripts submitted directly to the Stanford Law Admissions Office will not be accepted.
Curriculum Vitae:
Stanford requires a one-to-two page resume or curriculum vitae describing your academic, extracurricular, and professional activities. The resume must be submitted with your application.
Personal Statement:
This statement of two to three pages seeks information about the applicant’s experience in legal practice, and interest in graduate study (in the applicable specialization). This statement should also discuss the applicant’s professional goals, and how the completion of an LLM degree could benefit his or her legal career.
Recommendation Letter:
Letters of recommendation must be submitted through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service.
It is suggested that LLM applicants obtain one letter from someone familiar with their work in legal practice (or related professional experience) and one letter from someone familiar with their academic work. At least one letter should be from someone with whom the applicant has worked who can address the applicant’s English-language proficiency.
Research Proposal:
This statement of not more than five pages should (a) briefly explain the applicant’s intended research project, including the nature of the underlying problem to which the research will respond, and (b) state clearly the scholarly and practical objectives and significance of the research. In addition, applicants should explain, on the basis of their prior research on and/or experience with the underlying issue, the methods they intend to deploy in analyzing and contributing to the ultimate resolution of the problem. In particular, applicants should address interdisciplinary perspectives and modes of analysis that promise to increase understanding of the underlying problem. The SPILS Admissions Committee pays particular attention to research proposals in evaluating applications. The committee reviews each research proposal carefully with respect to clarity of focus, analytical specificity, interdisciplinary approach and feasibility, and the degree and quality of research and work-related experience and preparation that the applicant brings to the proposal.