We encourage and welcome applications from law school students who are interested in transferring to Iowa Law.  The following list will serve as a guide for the transfer process.

  1. To apply, create an application account and begin your Transfer Application.
  2. As a transfer student, you must have completed at least one full academic year of law studies by June of the year in which you are seeking the transfer.   We will accept a minimum of 24 approved semester hours of credit and a maximum of 30 approved semester hours of credit (one-third the number required for the JD degree at Iowa) from another institution.   (Please note that, while we do count your transfer credits toward an Iowa JD, we do not count your grades for those transfer courses in your Iowa grade point average.  In effect, we consider your 24-30 semester hours of transfer courses to be ungraded, meaning that by the time you get your Iowa JD, only 66%-70% of your coursework will be graded.  This is a policy in effect at most law schools, incidentally, and has implications for Order of the Coif membership—see paragraph 9 below.) Credits earned at an institution within the United States must be from a law school accredited by the ABA.  Credits earned at an institution outside the United States may be counted toward the Iowa JD degree provided the requirements of the relevant ABA Standards are met.  (See Standards 507 and 304 of the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools.)  (For Iowa Law students who wish to study temporarily at another institution, here's information about how to transfer the credits earned back to Iowa Law.)
  3. The transfer application deadline is June 1. Materials supporting your application, including your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) report, official law school transcript, report of law school class rank, and a letter of good standing from the dean of your law school should be on file in the College of Law as soon after the deadline as possible. All of these items must be received by the College of Law before your application will be considered.
  4. Write a statement explaining why you want to transfer from your current law school to the University of Iowa College of Law (please attach separate sheets).
  5. Write and submit a personal statement (limited to two pages) that addresses the following topics:
    1. Why do you wish to study law?
    2. What has been your most significant accomplishment?
    3.  How would you contribute to our law school community and the legal profession?
    4. Describe any life experiences that would indicate your drive, determination, motivation, or leadership characteristics.
  6. You must submit letters of recommendation  from your current law school that evaluates your work during your first year.
  7. When evaluating  your first year's performance, we primarily consider whether or not you are in good academic standing.
  8. Membership in the Order of the Coif is governed by the Coif Constitution.  Section 5.1.a. of that Constitution provides: "Eligibility of Law Students.  For each academic year, measured from July I to June 30, or any other twelve-month period designated by a member school, a Chapter may elect to membership in The Order any graduating senior (1) who has completed at least 75 percent of his or her law studies in graded courses and (2) whose grade record ranks in the top 10 percent of all the graduating seniors of the school.  "Graded courses" are those for which academic accomplishment is recorded on the basis of educational measurement involving four or more discriminators. This provision means that transfer students are not excluded from eligibility for Coif membership, and will be considered as having completed their first year of law studies in graded courses for calculating (1) above. 

 Note to international applicants regarding current U.S. work eligibility requirement:

  • All applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. OR be a current member of a U.S. state bar association.
  • Student visas such as F-1 and J-1 do not meet the work eligibility requirement.
  • Exceptions to the work eligibility requirement are rarely made. Those wishing to have an application reviewed who do not meet this requirement must include an addendum to their application providing relevant details.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Admissions Office.