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The College of Law has a long tradition of providing quality legal education to working students. Our part-time law program allows working professionals or those who have other day-time commitments to balance their career and responsibilities with evening courses. Our part-time program is limited to approximately 60 students. If you are employed full time by the federal government, law firms, trade associations, and other organizations, you can succeed while working full time. The part-time program is designed to allow students to complete the J.D. degree requirements in eight academic semesters (four academic years). The admission process and standards are the same for the full-time and part-time programs; you can apply to only one program.

Application Timeline

Fall (August)

• Application Opens: September 1
  • The date on which the application is available on the LSAC Electronic Application site.
• Priority Consideration:  February 15
  • Submitting and completing your application by this date gives you the same opportunity for admission and scholarship consideration. Scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Final Deadline:  June 15
  • We do not recommend you wait until this date.  We are unable to provide an application option for that term after that date.

Entrance Requirements

To be able to seek admission, you must fulfill the following requirements:

• You must have earned an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university, or the foreign equivalent, by the time our fall semester begins. There is no prescribed pre-law undergraduate course of study, however, you should consider courses that are challenging and that help develop critical skills needed for success in law study and practice: the ability to read massive quantities of dense material with a high level of comprehension; the ability to express thoughts clearly, particularly in the written word; and the ability to think and reason analytically.
• You must present a recent score from the Law School Admission Test (LSAT); scores more than five years old will not be considered. You are urged to sit for the test as early as possible. Rigorous and thorough preparation for the LSAT is advised. Information on the LSAT is found at www.LSAC.org.
• For your LSAT to be considered complete, you must have at least one writing sample on file - either from an earlier paper-and-pencil administration of the LSAT or from LSAT Writing.
• You are required to register for and complete the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) of LSAC. Official transcript(s) from all post-secondary educational institutions must be submitted to LSAC for the CAS report. This includes any dual enrollment (for example, courses taken during high school at a community college) or registered courses whether completed or not. These transcripts must be sent by the institution(s) directly, and not by the applicant. Your CAS subscription remains active for five years. Information on CAS is found at www.LSAC.org .
• Two (2) letters of recommendation are required through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS). These letters should preferably be from college professors who can attest to your ability to enter a competitive program in the law. If you are currently in college/university or have graduated within a year, one of the required letters must be academic, from one of your professors. If you have been out of school for some time, letters from a work situation can be helpful.

If you were educated in Cuba, LSAC requires you follow this two-step procedure to submit transcripts to them.

1. Request Consultoría Jurídica International (CJI) to send the following official documentation to LSAC via DHL express mail: Certificación de Notas y Certificado de Título issued by the university in Spanish and legalized by CJI, along with a CJI English translation of this documentation.
2. Send LSAC a copy of your original Certificación de Notas y Certificado de Título as originally issued by the university.

If you were educated in the People’s Republic of China

• You must submit official degree certificates (zhuanke, bachelor’s, master’s, etc.) and graduation diplomas in Chinese for all programs undertaken along with a complete and literal English translation.
• Your issuing institution must submit your official college or university academic record (transcript) in Chinese showing all courses and grades for all years of study. You must also have a complete and literal English translation submitted. The academic record must be issued by the institution’s central administrative office responsible for preparing and verifying official student records. Documents issued by an individual academic department or by a notary public are not considered official.

Application Checklist

• You may only submit your JD application online using the LSAC Electronic Application Service. [Paper applications will only be accepted if you can document a disability that is not accommodated by the LSAC service.] This service permits you to complete common information once for all of your law school applications, answer questions that are specific to Shepard Broad College of Law, attach required and optional documents, manage letters of recommendation, submit and transmit the application electronically, and save and access copies of your law school applications.
• Two (2) letters of recommendation are required through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS). These letters should preferably be from college professors who can attest to your ability to enter a competitive program in the law. If you are currently in college/university or have graduated within a year, one of the required letters must be academic, from one of your professors. If you have been out of school for some time, letters from a work situation can be helpful.
• Submit a typed, double-spaced, Personal Statement, of your own work, which should not exceed two pages. Keeping in mind that LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs are only a part of what the Admissions Committee will consider, take this opportunity to explain to the Committee why you should be selected for admission to NSU Law.  Topics that the Committee considers helpful in evaluating qualifications include:
  • Significant personal experiences beyond what may be reflected in the transcripts and on the resume, especially experiences associated with the law.
  • Characteristics and experiences that you will bring to NSU Law and the legal profession that distinguish you from other applicants.
  • Long-range career plans and goals that you intend to pursue with your law degree.
  • The intellectual contribution you will make to the classroom.
• Submit a resume which should include the following:
  • All post-secondary degree/certificate-granting institutions with attendance dates, majors(s), degrees received.
  • Employment with dates, position titles, responsibilities, and accomplishments.
  • Extracurricular, political, public interest, and community activities.
  • Honors, awards, publications, certifications, and licensures.
• If reapplying to law school after being academically dismissed, a detailed Statement of Success is also required. Refer to this page.