Apply to Washburn Law

Washburn has agreements with several institutions offered law early admission programs. You will need to work with your undergraduate institution to apply through their program. 

Learn more about LEAP. 

You'll follow the same procedures outlined above, but in addition, you will need to complete the following step. 

Complete credential evaluation by a U.S. service:

• We recommend the J.D. Credential Assembly Service (JD CAS) but will accept evaluations from the following services.
• World Education Services, Inc.
• Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.

Applicants who have previously attended law school but do not wish to transfer any previous coursework or were not in good standing at the time they left a previous law school, follow the same procedures outlined above in the J.D. LSAT Applicant Steps, but they will need to add one additional step outlined below. 

Submit the following items directly to Washburn Law. 

• Letter of recommendation from a former law professor. 
• Final official transcript for all law classes completed at your prior law school. 

Washburn Law is not able to award advanced standing credit for coursework taken at a law school that is not accredited by the American Bar Association. Your application to Washburn Law will be considered a new student application (i.e., without advanced standing credits). However, in addition to the steps outlined above for a J.D. LSAT applicant, you will also need to complete the following: 

Submit the following items directly to Washburn Law. 

• Letter of recommendation from a former law professor
• Letter verifying good standing from your prior law school
• Final official transcript for all law classes completed at your prior law school. 

Although generally grades received at Washburn University School of Law are recorded on a student's transcript and are included in the cumulative GPA, there are unusual circumstances in which students may be granted academic fresh start.

Academic fresh start includes the following:

• All previous academic work at Washburn University School of Law is disregarded with respect to graduation requirements;
• The prior academic record remains on the transcript. However, no credits, hours or grade points are carried forward as part of the student's program. The transcript will indicate "Academic Fresh Start" and the date it was granted;
• The student will then begin his/her law school study again under the current requirements;
• This policy applies only to Washburn University School of Law students enrolling at Washburn. A student transferring from Washburn University School of Law to another institution will have to follow the receiving institution's policy.
• A student may receive Academic Fresh Start only once.

There are only two circumstances in which Academic Fresh Start is applicable. They are as follows:

• Students in Good Standing
  Students in good standing (GPA of 2.0 or above) who choose to discontinue their studies may re-enroll at the beginning of any semester, including the summer session, if only two years or less have elapsed since the end of the semester in which they were last in attendance at law school and the beginning of the semester in which they re-enroll. If more than two years have elapsed, such students must apply for readmission.
  
  Such a student readmitted after a two year or greater absence, as defined above, may or may not be given credit for all previous course work, depending upon the preferences of the student, the length of time the student has been out of law school and the student's law school grade point average.
  
  Upon receipt of an application for readmission from a student in good standing, the Admissions Committee will determine whether the student should be readmitted and whether the student will be required or permitted to retake any or all courses. If such a student is readmitted and required or permitted to retake all courses, the student is granted Academic Fresh Start.

• Students Not in Good Standing
  Students who perform below a 2.0 in their first year or two and then withdraw or are not immediately readmitted are occasionally readmitted at a later date.
  
  Upon receipt of an application for readmission from a student not in good standing, the Admissions Committee will determine whether the student should be readmitted in accordance with the ABA standards for readmission of academically disqualified students.
  
  If the student is readmitted and if at least three years have elapsed between the end of the semester in which the student was last in attendance at law school and the beginning of the semester in which he or she is readmitted the student is required to begin law school over and is granted Academic Fresh Start.

• Three times in a single testing year (the testing year goes from June 1 to May 31).
• Five times within the current and five past testing years (the period in which LSAC reports scores to law schools).
• A total of seven times over a lifetime.
• This policy is forward-looking, not retroactive. Tests taken prior to September 2019 will not count against these numerical limits.

In addition, test takers will not be permitted to retake the LSAT if they have already scored a 180 (perfect score) within the current and five past testing years, the period in which LSAC reports scores to law schools. This aspect of the policy will be applied retroactively.

There is an appeals process for test takers who have special circumstances and want to request an exception to this policy. Those requesting an exception should contact the Law School Admission Council.

Indicating "yes" to the Character and Fitness questions on the application for admission related to past or current violations of the law does not prohibit acceptance to our law program.

However, we want to make sure you understand that admission to law school and completion of a law degree does not guarantee you admission to the bar. Because of the ethical standards to which lawyers are held, failure to disclose information required by the Character and Fitness questions will often lead to more serious consequences than would flow from a full disclosure of the required information.

If you indicate "yes" to any of the Character and Fitness questions on the application it will be necessary to attach a statement fully describing the events giving rise to the charge, the date of the charge, conviction or diversion, the name and location of the courts, and the disposition for each offense.

Also, please keep in mind that, if, before or after a decision is made, any new developments cause your answer to no longer be correct or complete, you are obligated to immediately inform the Admissions Office. 

Students who graduate from the LL.M. program may apply to the JD program as transfer students. LL.M. students wishing to transfer to the J.D. program must complete the J.D. application process through LSAC. (Fee waivers may be available from the Admissions Office.) Upon successful admission to the J.D. program, a maximum of 30 credits from LL.M. coursework can be applied toward the JD degree, but only for graded courses in which the LL.M. student earned a B+ or better and not including the Introduction to Anglo-American Law course.

Updated February 2024

You should know that the program is not designed for students who would really prefer to go to law school and to practice law. American Bar Association accreditation policies generally prohibit us from transferring credit from our M.S.L. program toward completion of a J.D. degree.

With that understanding, you would generally not have to retake the LSAT as long as you took the LSAT within a reasonable time prior to applying to the J.D. program. The law school would, however, still consider your prior LSAT as a factor in your application for admission so it might be to your advantage to retake the LSAT if you have a marginal score. Generally, we only consider your best LSAT score when evaluating your application for admission to law school.