1. APPLICATION DEADLINE

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2025-2026 APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR MASTER OF LAWS (LL.M.) PROGRAM

The information and instructions below are for applications to the Harvard Law School LL.M. program only. If you wish to apply

to the S.J.D. or the Visitor program, please return to the application home page and select the appropriate program.

1. APPLICATION DEADLINE

2. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

3. ADMISSIONS CRITERIA

4. ENGLISH PROFICIENCY/TOEFL REQUIREMENTS

5. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

6. ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

7. PERSONAL STATEMENT

8. TRANSCRIPTS AND DIPLOMAS

A. Instructions for Submitting Transcripts and Diplomas

B. Transcript FAQ

9. LSAC LL.M. CREDENTIAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE (OPTIONAL)

10. RECOMMENDATIONS

11. CERTIFIED TRANSLATIONS

12. APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID

13. APPLICATION FEE

14. REAPPLYING TO THE LL.M. PROGRAM

15. REQUIRED CERTIFICATION

16. NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

17. CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

18. INTERVIEWS

19. CHECKING THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION

20. ADMISSIONS DECISIONS

21. WHERE TO SEND MATERIALS NOT SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

22. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE APPLICATION

1. APPLICATION DEADLINE

Your application and all supporting documents must be received by the Harvard Law School Graduate Program office no later

than 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on December 1 (and preferably by November 15).

Please note that the application deadline of December 1 will be strictly observed. It is your responsibility to make

certain that all supporting materials (e.g., unofficial transcript, recommendations, TOEFL report) reach the Graduate

Program office by the deadline.

Please do not call or email us about the possibility of submitting materials after the deadline. If you have completed and

submitted your online application by the deadline, we will not disqualify your application if some of your supporting documents

(e.g., unofficial transcript, recommendations, TOEFL report) have not been received by the deadline. However, we will begin

our review process once the deadline has passed, even if some of your supporting documents are missing. Therefore, you will

be at a competitive disadvantage when compared to other applicants whose files are complete.

We strongly encourage applicants to submit their applications before December 1 so that any technical problems that may

arise can be resolved before the application deadline.

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2. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To be considered for admission to the Harvard Law School LL.M. program, an applicant must have a J.D. (Juris Doctor)

degree from an accredited U.S. law school or a first law degree (J.D., LL.B., abogado, or the equivalent) from a law school in

another country. Harvard Law School is rarely able to accept into its LL.M. Program anyone who already holds (or is pursuing)

an LL.M. from another law school in the United States.

3. ADMISSIONS CRITERIA

Admission to the LL.M. program is highly competitive. Each year a substantial number of applicants compete for a limited

number of places in the LL.M. program. Most applicants are fully qualified for the program, and the Harvard Law School

Committee on Graduate Studies must select from among a vast pool of candidates who have excellent credentials. In

evaluating applications, the Committee takes into consideration applicants’ grades and rank in their university and law studies,

their ability to write a cogent legal essay, their English language proficiency, the quality of their letters of recommendation, their

professional and personal accomplishments, and other factors, including the following:

For LL.M. Applicants from Abroad

The Harvard Law School LL.M. program is designed for intellectually curious and thoughtful candidates who come from a

variety of legal systems and backgrounds and who have demonstrated intent to return to their country to contribute to the

academy or legal profession. We are equally interested in applicants pursuing careers in law teaching and research,

government service, the judiciary, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and private practice.

For LL.M. Applicants from the United States

For applicants (regardless of citizenship) who hold a J.D. from a law school in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico), the LL.M.

degree is intended as preparation for a career in law teaching. The strongest candidates will have had at least two or three

years of experience beyond law school and will have demonstrated a commitment to law teaching. In the admissions process,

the Committee on Graduate Studies looks for applicants who have excelled in their basic law school studies, who elicit strong

letters of recommendation from law school teachers and others familiar with their work, and who have spent at least two years

working as a law school teacher, judicial clerk, or practitioner in a public agency or private practice. A strong publication record

and graduate education in a field other than law would also be significant. Weight will be given to materials demonstrating the

applicant’s interest in, commitment to, and aptitude for a career in law teaching. On rare occasions, the Committee may

consider an applicant who is not primarily interested in a teaching career but who makes a strong case for study at Harvard as

contrasted with other schools, based on the applicant’s area of specialization or other factors.

4. ENGLISH PROFICIENCY/TOEFL REQUIREMENTS

A high level of English language proficiency is a requirement for admission. All applicants from non-English-speaking countries

who did not complete their basic legal education entirely in the English language must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a

Foreign Language) within two years prior to submitting their applications. The Harvard Law School Graduate Program requires

a score of at least 100 on the Internet-based test (IBT), with at least 25 in each of the four subsections.

We will accept scores from the TOEFL iBT

Home Edition, but reserve the right to condition admission on an in-person test.

We do not accept MyBest™ TOEFL score reports or the TOEFL Essentials™ test.

If your TOEFL score does not meet our minimum required score, your application will still be reviewed; however, you will be at

a competitive disadvantage when compared to other applicants.

The TOEFL is offered by the Educational Testing Service at locations around the world. For more information, visit the ETS

website. Harvard Law School’s TOEFL Institution code is 3457.

Please arrange to have an official TOEFL score report sent directly to the Graduate Program by the application deadline.

Faxes or photocopies of score reports are not acceptable as official reports, nor are scores that are more than two years old.

TOEFL Waivers

Applicants with near-native English fluency and at least two consecutive years of full-time university education conducted

entirely in English may request a waiver of the TOEFL; however, such waivers are very rare, and are granted at the sole

discretion of the Committee on Graduate Studies, whose decision is final.

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To submit a TOEFL waiver request, select “I am requesting a TOEFL waiver” on the English Proficiency/TOEFL page of the

online application and complete the TOEFL Waiver Request within the application. NOTE: If you have not completed at least

two consecutive years of full-time university education conducted entirely in English, your request for a TOEFL waiver will be

automatically denied. The Committee on Graduate Studies will not make a decision on your TOEFL waiver request until all

transcripts have been received.

5. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

To apply for the LL.M. program, carefully complete and submit the online Application for Admission. The application

requirements include the following items.

Checklist of application materials:

 Online application form

 Personal statement

 CV/Résumé

 Transcript(s)

 Diploma(s) (for degrees that have been granted)

 LSAC Report (if applicable)

 Recommendations (at least two)

 Official TOEFL report (if applicable)

 Financial aid application (if applicable)

 Application fee of US$85

**Please note that we do not require an LSAT or GRE score.

You will need to upload your Personal Statement and CV/résumé and pay your application fee in order to submit the online

application form. Please follow the instructions below regarding submission of your transcripts and diplomas, LSAC report (if

you are using this optional service), recommendations, and official TOEFL report.

You are responsible for assembling and submitting all of the credentials necessary for evaluating your application, and for

making sure that all materials are received by the deadline.

6. ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

Please complete this form carefully. You will not be able to access or change any part of the form after you have submitted it.

Please do not use ALL CAPS to complete the form (other than for acronyms such as UNICEF, etc.).

A note about names: Please include your full name exactly as it appears on your passport in the application and on all

documents, but do not write it in ALL CAPS. Failure to submit your name exactly the way it appears on your passport will

cause delays in reviewing your LL.M. application and may compromise the issuance of your visa documents should you be

admitted to the program.

To determine how your name is listed on your passport, look at the bottom of your passport biographic page.

 Your Surname is listed at the bottom of your passport biographic page before the “<<” sign.

 Your Given Names are listed after the “<<” sign. Include any middle name(s) in the Given Names field.

 For example, if your passport says P<xxxTORRES<SANTIAGO<<PABLO<LUIS<MANUEL<<<<<<, then you should

list “Torres Santiago” as your Surname and “Pablo Luis Manuel” as your Given Names, even if you write your name

differently in your home country.

Do not use nicknames, except in the Preferred First Name field. Please notify us of any legal name variations that may appear

on requested documents.

7. PERSONAL STATEMENT

The Personal Statement is an essential component of your application. It provides an opportunity for you to present your ideas

and demonstrate your writing ability to the Committee on Graduate Studies. Please limit your statement to no more than 1,500

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words —anything exceeding this limit will be disregarded. Please note that footnotes do not count towards the overall word

limit as long as they are limited to providing sources and citations.

The Personal Statement must be solely the product of your own efforts. We reserve the right to disqualify the application of a

candidate who has submitted a Personal Statement written by, or with the help of, someone other than the candidate.

Your Personal Statement should address both of the following questions specifically, with Part (A) constituting at least half of

the total length:

(A) Briefly describe either an important issue in your field of interest or a current legal problem facing a particular country,

region, or the world, and then propose and analyze a theoretical framework or legal strategy to address this issue. For

the avoidance of doubt, your response should not be limited to outlining a research plan or proposal. Successful essays

will contain substantive analysis of the issue identified.

(B) Please tell us something about yourself — in particular, why you wish to pursue an LL.M. degree at Harvard and how

doing so connects with what you have done in the past and what you plan to do in the future.

Please follow the instructions on the Personal Statement page of the online application to upload your Personal Statement.

Note that your Personal Statement must be uploaded and submitted with the rest of your application. We will not accept any

Personal Statement sent to us separately from the online application.

8. TRANSCRIPTS AND DIPLOMAS

You must submit a transcript and diploma (i.e., certificate of degree conferral) for every university or law degree you have

received. (Applicants who have received a degree from a U.S. educational institution are not required to provide a separate

diploma for that degree unless the transcript lacks a clear indication of degree conferral.) If you have a diploma supplement,

you must submit both a transcript and diploma supplement (not just the diploma supplement).

If you are enrolled in a degree program that is still in progress, you will need to submit a current transcript for that program. If

your school is unable to provide a transcript, you must provide an enrollment letter from your school’s registrar. In such cases,

your application will not be complete without an enrollment letter. Please note that your qualifying law degree must be

conferred by June 2025 in order to be eligible to attend the 2025-26 LL.M. program.

Law Exchange Programs

You must provide an official transcript for any exchange program for which you received credit for your law degree, unless the

name of the exchange school, all credits earned, and individual class grades from the program are clearly reported on your

official law school transcript.

Summer Programs/Certificate Programs

Please do not submit transcripts for summer programs, or for certificate programs shorter than 6 months.

Multiple Degrees from the Same School

If you have received more than one degree from the same university or law school, you may submit a single transcript (as long

as the transcript provides detailed information, including credits earned and individual class grades, for each degree).

Bar Schools or Programs

If you attended one of the following bar schools or programs in Australia, Barbados, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, Jamaica,

Kenya, Korea, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, or the United Kingdom, you should include the bar

school/program in the list of institutions on the Education page of your application, selecting "Other" for the level of study. You

will also need to provide a transcript for the bar school/program attended. Applicable bar schools or programs are Australian

Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GDLP), Commonwealth Caribbean Certificate of Legal Education, Ghana School of Law,

Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL), Legal Training and Research Institute (LTRI), Kenya School of Law, Judicial

Research and Training Institute (JRTI), New Zealand Professional Legal Studies Course, Nigerian Law School, Sierra Leone

Law School, Law School of Tanzania, Law Development Centre, Legal Practice Course (LPC), and Bar Professional Training

Course (BPTC f/k/a BVC). If you did not participate in one of those programs, or if you attended a bar school or

program in another country, please disregard this instruction.

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A. Instructions for Submitting Transcripts and Diplomas

During the application phase, applicants must provide electronic versions of academic records (transcripts, diplomas,

enrollment letters, class rank statements, etc.) either (a) through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service; or (b) by email to the

Graduate Program Admissions Office at [email protected] (but not both).

IMPORTANT: All applicants who are admitted or offered a place on the waiting list will be required to submit official hard

copies of their academic records immediately upon receiving their admissions decision. This applies to applicants who

submitted their academic records by either submission method (LSAC or email to gptranscripts@law.harvard.edu) as well as

to Fulbright/IIE applicants.

For this reason, while you may not submit the official hard copies of your academic records at the time of application, we

strongly recommend that you obtain two official copies of each material from your registrar or school official: (a) one copy

that you can submit via LSAC or (unofficially) to [email protected]d.edu; and (b) one copy in a sealed envelope,

unopened, that you can have ready to submit without delay if you are admitted or waitlisted.

Select which method you will use to submit your academic records on the "Application Data" page of the online application and

use the instructions below to format your materials. Please make sure to follow these instructions carefully to ensure that your

materials are accepted for review.

Option 1: Submit your academic records through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service

If you use LSAC to submit your academic records, please skip to Section 9: LSAC LL.M. Credential Assembly Service

(Optional).

Option 2: Email your academic records directly to the Graduate Program

If you choose to email your academic records to the Graduate Program at [email protected], you must follow the

instructions below carefully to put your academic records in a format that will be accepted by the Graduate Program:

1. Send all of your academic records in a single email. Do not send multiple emails with multiple transcripts attached.

2. Send the academic records from the email address you provided in your online application.

3. Include your name and the word “Transcripts” in subject line of the email as follows: Surname, Given Name-

Transcripts

a. For example: Pablo Luis Manuel Torres Santiago should use the following subject for his email: Torres

Santiago, Pablo Luis-Transcripts

4. Combine all materials (including translations, if applicable) for each degree or program into one pdf file per

degree/program in the following order:

a. English versions:

i. Diploma (required for degrees that have been granted)

ii. GPA and/or Class Rank Statement (only if available)

iii. Transcript (including grade key)

iv. Letter of enrollment (only for PhD programs or programs in progress for which no transcript is

available)

b. Original language versions (if not in English) of the same documents, in the same order:

i. Diploma (required for degrees that have been granted)

ii. GPA and/or Class Rank Statement (only if available)

iii. Transcript (including grade key)

iv. Letter of enrollment (only for PhD programs or programs in progress for which no transcript is

available)

5. Name each pdf file using the following convention: “Surname, Given Name-University Name-Degree Name.pdf” (You

may abbreviate the name of the university if necessary.)

a. For example, if Pablo Luis Manuel Torres has a B.A. degree from the University of Auckland, an LL.B. from

the University of Auckland, and an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge, spent a law exchange semester

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at the University of Chile, and obtained a B.L. from the Nigerian Law School, he should attach five files to

the email labeled as follows:

i. Torres Santiago, Pablo Luis-Auckland-BA

ii. Torres Santiago, Pablo Luis-Auckland-LLB

iii. Torres Santiago, Pablo Luis-Cambridge-LLM

iv. Torres Santiago, Pablo Luis-U of Chile-Exchange

v. Torres Santiago, Pablo Luis-Nigerian Law School-BL

6. Your email with transcripts attached must be received by 11:59 p.m U.S. Eastern Time (4:59 A.M. UTC) on

December 1.

IMPORTANT: If you do not follow these instructions, we will not be able to accept your transcripts via email!

When you send your transcripts to [email protected]ard.edu, you should receive an automated response. Please check

your spam folder if you do not receive it.

**As a reminder, [email protected] is for sending transcripts and other academic materials only. If you have any

questions, please write to [email protected]ard.edu. Please only contact us from the email address you provided in your

online application.

Applicants who are admitted or offered a place on the waiting list will be required to submit official hard copies of

their academic records immediately upon receiving their admissions decision.

B. Transcript FAQ

Can I send my transcripts and other academic records before submitting my application?

Yes.

Can I send my transcripts and other academic records both by email and through LSAC?

No – you must choose only one method.

If I submit official copies to LSAC, will I later need to submit official hard copies to the Graduate Program if I am

admitted or waitlisted?

Yes – anyone who is admitted or waitlisted will be required to submit official hard copies of their academic records to the

Graduate Program.

Can my school send my transcripts and other academic records to you during the application phase?

No. Please send all of your materials together in a single email from the email address you used in your online application.

Can I go ahead and send official hard copies during the application phase if they are available?

No. Please do not send official hard copies to the Graduate Program until and unless we ask you to do so.

What if I have already sent hard copies of my academic records?

We will not be able to process them, and you will need to re-submit them using one of the approved methods for this year’s

application process.

What if my academic records are not in English?

Follow the instructions for certified translations in Section 11: Certified Translations.

9. LSAC LL.M. CREDENTIAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE (OPTIONAL)

The LL.M. Credential Assembly Service is a service for international applicants provided by the Law School Admission Council

(LSAC). For a fee, the LSAC will collect your transcripts and TOEFL scores and send them to the participating schools. If you

are applying to several schools at the same time, you may find this service to be an efficient way to submit your official

transcripts and TOEFL scores, since you will have to supply those records only once, to LSAC, even if you apply to multiple

schools. The service is recommended but not required for applicants to the LL.M. program at Harvard Law School. Details

about this service may be found at http://www.lsac.org/llm.

Please note: We do not accept recommendations through LSAC.

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Notes on using the LSAC service:

 Register with LSAC at http://www.lsac.org/llm.

 If you earned your first law degree outside the U.S., you must sign up for both the Document Assembly Service and

the International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation Service.

 Materials submitted to the Graduate Program through LSAC must satisfy the Graduate Program’s application

requirements.

 For every university or law degree you have received, submit a transcript and diploma (i.e., certificate of degree

conferral) to LSAC. If you are enrolled in a degree program that is still in progress, you will need to submit a current

transcript for that program. Submit only official documents to LSAC. If the documents are not provided in English,

follow the instructions for Certified Translations in Section 11: Certified Translations, but send the translations to

LSAC directly.

 In the Graduate Program online application form, answer “Yes” to the LSAC question on the Application Details page.

You will then need to enter your 8-digit LSAC registration number in the online application form (do not include the “L”

at the beginning of the number). Please make sure to provide all 8 of the numbers in your registration number, and to

list the number correctly.

 If you provide your 8-digit registration number, we will automatically request your materials from LSAC, typically

within one week after you have submitted your online application.

 If you have questions about the status of your LL.M. Credential Assembly Service materials, please check with LSAC.

 If you use this service, you must not also submit your transcripts, diplomas, or TOEFL scores directly to the Graduate

Program during the application phase.

DEADLINE: If you intend to use the LL.M. Credential Assembly Service, you will need to have your transcripts and TOEFL

score reports mailed to LSAC at least six weeks in advance of the December 1 deadline to be sure that the LSAC Report will

be delivered to Harvard Law School by December 1.

NOTE: LSAC may require additional transcripts that we do not, e.g., for summer programs, certificate programs shorter than 6

months, or non-law exchange programs. In that case, LSAC will not send us your report until they have received all of

the transcripts that they require, even if they have received all of the materials that are required for your Harvard Law

School LL.M. application. Accordingly, please make sure to send LSAC all of the materials they require before the

December 1 Harvard LL.M. application deadline (even if they are not required for your Harvard LL.M. application).

IMPORTANT: Applicants who are admitted or offered a place on the waiting list will be required to submit official hard

copies of their academic records immediately upon receiving their admissions decision.

10. RECOMMENDATIONS

You must provide at least two letters of recommendation (most applicants provide three). We will not accept more than five

recommendations under any circumstances.

The letters that are most helpful are those written by law faculty members who know you well or by persons for whom you

have worked in a professional capacity. The content of the recommendations is much more important than the total number of

recommendations you submit. Letters from personal or family friends, no matter how eminent, are generally not helpful.

Applicants who hold a J.D. degree from a law school in the U.S. are strongly encouraged to submit at least three

recommendations, at least two of which should be from law school faculty members.

Letters of recommendation may be addressed to the Committee on Graduate Studies.

Recommendations must be submitted through our online application (and not by email or on paper).

IMPORTANT: You must provide the names and institutional affiliations of your recommenders by completing the Register

Your Recommenders page of the application. Recommendations from unregistered recommenders will not be

considered.

If you have submitted your application and we have not yet received recommendations from all of your registered

recommenders, you may add or make changes to your registered recommenders by clicking the recommendations page link

on your status page before December 1. No changes to recommender registrations will be permitted after December 1

under any circumstances.

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Online recommendation instructions (Required)

For each recommendation:

 Register the recommender (or qualified translator, if applicable – please refer to Section 11: Certified Translations

below) using the “Add Recommender” link on the Register Your Recommenders page of the online application

 The recommender or translator will then receive a “Recommendation Request” email from Harvard Law School

Graduate Program with instructions on how to submit the recommendation online

Note that your recommenders may upload their letters of recommendation at any time before the December 1 deadline,

even after you have submitted your application.

IMPORTANT: Recommendations must be written solely by the recommender. If your recommender cannot provide a letter in

English, please ask them to provide a letter in their own language. In such cases, the applicant should obtain a certified

translation into English done by someone other than the applicant (please follow instructions in Section 11: Certified

Translations below). We reserve the right to disqualify the application of a candidate who has played any role in writing or

translating a letter of recommendation.

11. CERTIFIED TRANSLATIONS

Documents that are not provided in English must be translated by third-party qualified (i.e., certified, professional, or formally

trained) translators. For avoidance of doubt, applicants and their family members may not translate application-related

documents even if they are qualified translators.

For transcripts and diplomas

If your school does not provide your transcript and/or diploma in English, we recommend that you obtain two official copies of

your academic records. Please take the applicable documents in the original sealed envelope(s) to a qualified translator and

ask the translator to:

(a) open the sealed envelope;

(b) translate the contents into English — the translation must be a literal and complete version of the original document;

(c) certify that the original is a true and official copy of your school documents as the translator received them from you;

(d) give you one copy of the translation along with the applicable academic record, so you can submit them during the

application phase, either (a) to LSAC; or (b) if not using LSAC, by email to [email protected]; and

(e) place a second copy of the original documents, the translation, and the certification in a new envelope, seal the

envelope, and sign across the envelope seal.

You should keep the sealed envelope you receive from the translator on hand so that you can send it to us unopened if you

are admitted or offered a place on the waiting list.

For letters of recommendation

If a recommendation is not written in English, please ask your recommender to provide a letter in their own language, in a

sealed envelope that has been signed over the seal. (This must be done in hard copy - electronic letters are not acceptable.)

Instead of registering your recommender’s name and email address in the Register Your Recommenders section of the online

application, provide the name and email address of a qualified translator. (In the “Relationship” field, please specify

“Translation for [Recommender Name],” but list the recommender’s Organization and Position/Title.).

Take the recommendation in the sealed envelope to the qualified translator and ask the translator to:

(a) open the sealed envelope;

(b) translate the contents into English — the translation must be a literal and complete version of the original document;

(d) upload the translation, together with a scanned copy of the original letter, using the link they receive by email after you

You will not need to provide a second copy of your recommendations if admitted or offered a place on the waiting

list.

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12. APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID

If you wish to apply for financial aid from Harvard Law School, you must also complete the financial aid application (including

the Parent Financial Information Form and, if applicable, the Spouse’s Form). You will need to submit these forms even if

you are also seeking funding through the Fulbright Commission, IIE, or other programs (e.g., Boas Scholarships) that

send your application separately to Harvard Law School.

Please note that Harvard’s financial aid is need-based only, and that Harvard generally does not provide full-tuition grant

awards. To increase the likelihood of substantial grant funding, we encourage you to apply for outside scholarships in addition

to HLS financial aid. For information on additional scholarships administered by Harvard University, please visit:

https://scholarships.harvard.edu/.

To complete the financial aid application, please return to the application home page and select the financial aid application

option. (You can work on an application for admission and the online financial aid application simultaneously, but you must

complete the “Personal Data” page of the online admissions application before starting the online financial aid application.)

Your application for financial aid will have no bearing on your application for admission, since the two decision processes are

completely separate. Financial aid applications are not reviewed until after admission decisions have been reached.

Because our goal is to make financial aid decisions available as soon as possible after admission offers have been

communicated, we cannot wait to receive financial aid applications from admitted students. We will make grant awards first to

the students who timely submitted their financial aid applications. If you do not submit your financial aid application until after

you receive an admission offer, we likely will not have any grant funds available to award to you, and will only be able to offer

you loan assistance.

13. APPLICATION FEE

The application fee is US$85 and must be paid online by credit card when you submit your application. Do not send cash.

The application fee is nonrefundable and will not be credited to your program fee if you are admitted.

Fee waiver request: If payment of the application fee would present an extreme financial hardship, you may request a waiver

of the fee by submitting a fee waiver request. (The Application Fee Waiver Request Form is available within the online

application when you answer “yes” to the question “Are you applying for an application fee waiver?” on the Administrative

Details page of the online application.) If you are requesting a fee waiver, you will need to submit the Graduate Program

Financial Aid Application before your request for a fee waiver will be considered.

Application fee paid by sponsor: If your application fee will be paid by a sponsoring organization (e.g., IIE, government

agency, etc.) that is unable to pay the fee with a credit card, please contact the Graduate Program

([email protected]d.edu) well before the application deadline to receive further instructions on how to submit your online

application as well as instructions for how the sponsoring organization should submit the application fee.

14. REAPPLYING TO THE LL.M. PROGRAM

If you submitted your most recent application after August 2016, then during the application phase of the 2025-2026

application cycle you will not need to re-submit copies of transcripts already provided with your original application. If you are

admitted or offered a place on the waiting list, you will need to provide official copies of your academic records, even

if you have provided them in a previous application cycle.

Reapplicants must complete and submit a new online application, indicating on the application form that you have previously

applied to the LL.M. program as well as the academic year for which you originally applied.

Reapplicants must also provide:

 New personal statement

 New letters of recommendation (at least two) (If you are using the same recommenders, we would expect to see an

updated letter and not the same letter submitted with your prior application.)

 Transcript(s) and diploma(s) for any additional academic credentials or coursework you have completed since your

last application

 An updated TOEFL score if your TOEFL score is more than 2 years old

 New financial aid application (if applicable)

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 Application fee of US$85

Reapplicants in the 2025-2026 application phase who need to provide academic records for coursework completed since their

most recent application may use the LL.M. Credential Assembly Service or email their transcripts to

[email protected]. Please refer to the Section 8: Transcripts and Diplomas and Section 9: LSAC LL.M.

Credential Assembly Service (Optional), as applicable for further instructions.

The deadline for reapplications is December 1.

15. REQUIRED CERTIFICATION

To submit an application, you will need to make the required certification:

I certify that the information presented in my application is accurate, complete, honestly presented, and is my own work. I also

certify that any information submitted on my behalf is authentic, including letters of recommendation, academic transcripts, and

certifications. I understand and agree that any inaccurate information, misleading information, or omission will be cause for an

investigation of misconduct in the admissions process, rescission of any offer of admission, and/or for discipline, dismissal, or

revocation of degree if discovered at a later date. I agree to immediately notify the Graduate Program of changes or updates to

information submitted within this application and I acknowledge that any changes or updates may affect the outcome of the

admissions process.

16. NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

Harvard University’s policy is to make decisions concerning applicants, students, faculty, and staff on the basis of the

individual’s qualifications to contribute to Harvard’s educational objectives and institutional needs. Harvard University and

Harvard Law School do not discriminate against any person on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, sex (including

gender identity and gender expression, as well as pregnancy), genetic information, ancestry, religion, caste, creed, veteran

status, disability, military service, sexual orientation or political beliefs in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment

in its programs and activities.

Questions about the Non-Discrimination Policy

Inquiries regarding the application of the Law School’s non-discrimination policy may be referred to the Law School

coordinator of that policy, the Assistant Dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies, at

[email protected]d.edu or 617-496-8214.

Inquiries concerning the application of non-discrimination policies may also be referred to the Regional Director, Office for Civil

Rights, U.S. Department of Education, J. W. McCormack POCH, Room 222, Boston, MA 02109-4557.

17. CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

The application for admission, together with all supporting materials, becomes the property of the Harvard Law School

Graduate Program upon submission. No materials will be returned to the applicant or forwarded to other schools or agencies.

All information submitted by the applicant will be treated as confidential and, subject to relevant laws, will not be shared with

persons outside of Harvard University without the applicant's permission.

18. INTERVIEWS

Evaluative interviews are not part of the admissions process because we believe that an adequate comparison of personal

qualities and professional accomplishments is not possible on the basis of brief personal interviews. Therefore, an interview

will not improve your chances of admission.

19. CHECKING THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION

You will not be able to check to see if your materials have been received until after you have submitted your online application.

Once you submit your online application, you will be able to track the status of your application as it is processed by our office

on your Status Page in the online application. Your Status Page will indicate whether your various supporting documents

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(recommendations, transcripts, TOEFL score reports, etc.) have been received. You will not have access to your Status Page

and the status of materials sent to the Graduate Program will not be updated until AFTER your application is submitted.

If there is a problem with any of the materials you submit, we will contact you. Please do not contact the Graduate Program to

inquire about the status of your application materials. Given the number of applications we receive and the limited time we

have available to process, authenticate, and review each of them, it is not possible for us to reply to inquiries asking us to

verify receipt of application materials or to confirm application status.

Instead, we ask that you check your Status Page in the online application and return to it periodically to see if specific items

have been received.

NOTE: It may take several weeks to several months for the status of a particular item to be updated. As long as you

have submitted your application and supporting materials by the December 1 deadline, you will not be penalized if the status

of your materials is not updated until after the deadline.

20. ADMISSIONS DECISIONS

All admissions decisions for LL.M. applicants will be released in the online application system at the same time, typically in late

March. Once the decisions have been reached, you will be notified promptly and will be able to log in to your Status Page to

check whether you have been admitted, denied, or placed on a waiting list. Applicants on the waiting list likely will not know the

final result of their applications until June and, in some cases, until August. To protect the confidentiality of applications, we do

not release any information on an application decision to anyone other than the applicant.

Please do not contact the Graduate Program office to inquire about the status of your admission decision. This will only disrupt

our workflow and prevent us from completing our decision-making process as quickly as possible.

21. WHERE TO SEND MATERIALS NOT SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

During the application phase of the admissions process, we will not be able to accept materials that are not submitted

electronically. No exceptions will be made.

22. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE APPLICATION

Please note that the Graduate Program application works best when it is accessed through the Chrome web browser on a

computer (as opposed to a tablet or smartphone). You can download Chrome here for free if you do not already have it

installed on your computer.

Some actions within the application may require you to click a pop-up dialog box to confirm the action you have selected. If

your browser has a pop-up blocker enabled, you may need to disable the pop-up blocker or create an exception for

graduateprogram.law.harvard.edu. If you are completing the application on a public computer terminal and the application

seems to be “stuck,” you may need to contact the system administrator to create a pop-up blocker exception in order to

complete the application.

If you are using the Chrome browser, pop-up dialog boxes may offer the option to "prevent this page from creating additional

dialogs." DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION. Dialog boxes are required to perform certain actions (including submitting the

application), and blocking dialog boxes will prevent you from being able to complete those actions.

If you inadvertently select the "prevent this page from creating additional dialogs" option in Chrome, you should immediately

click "Continue" at the bottom of the page to save your work and then close the browser and completely exit the Chrome

browser. When you reopen the browser and return to the application, dialog boxes should be re-enabled. If you do not know

how to disable the Chrome pop-up blocker or if exiting and restarting the browser fails to restore the dialog box function,

please consult the pop-up information on the Chrome support site for instructions before contacting the Graduate Program.

If you experience any technical problems using the Graduate Program application, please email [email protected]arvard.edu for

assistance.