Facebook pixel JD Application Requirements: Your Pathway to Legal Excellence Skip to main content
Pepperdine | Caruso School of Law

Juris Doctor Application Requirements

Each candidate must submit to the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law a completed application for admission available online through the Law School Admission Council's website. The application deadlines are:

  • Traditional Three-Year JD
    • Priority Deadline:  We are mindful of the devastation wreaked by the recent fires in the Los Angeles area, and our priority deadline has been extended to March 1, 2025
    • Final Deadline: April 1  

All applicants for admission must have received a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university prior to law school registration. To be considered for admission, each candidate must submit the following:

  • A non-refundable application fee - Waived for the 2025 application
  • Completed, signed, and dated application
  • Resumé
  • Personal Statement
  • Optional Statement(s)
  • Two Letters of Recommendation
  • Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Score or Graduate Records Examinations (GRE) score
  • Registration with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS)
  • International Student Data Form (for visa holders)

Resumé

Please attach to your application for admission a resumé, including a record of employment, scholastic honors, extracurricular activities, and community involvement.

Personal Statement

Please include a two- to four-page, double-spaced personal statement indicating fully your reasons for wanting to study law, why you chose to apply to Pepperdine Caruso Law, significant extracurricular and/or civic activities, and any further information that you feel should be considered by the Admissions Committee. 

Optional Statements

You may choose to respond to either or both prompts below to provide the Admissions Committee with additional information about yourself and the contribution you would make to our unique Pepperdine Caruso Law community. 

#1 Christian Mission

Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership. Caruso Law's dedication to our Christian mission drives a deep desire to embody and imbue in our students the highest standards of ethics and morality. We are proud to have a strong Christian faculty that also includes several professors from other faiths. We welcome students of all faiths, as well as students who are not part of any faith tradition. Our complete mission and vision can be found here. Please share how you would contribute to this unique community.

#2 Background, Life Experience, and Perspective

Pepperdine Caruso Law is a community of belonging with students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives. We are committed to creating a culture in which each person’s voice and convictions enhance our shared community. Please share with the Admissions Committee how your background, life experiences, and perspective have shaped your courage, determination, and character and ability to contribute uniquely to the culture of the Pepperdine Caruso Law community. 

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required. Recommendations should be furnished by those individuals who can best assess your ability to succeed in law school. When possible, at least one of the recommendations should be provided by a faculty member with whom you pursued your undergraduate studies. Relatives should not be asked to submit recommendations.

LSAT/GRE

 

 

Standards of Admission

Responsibility for evaluation of candidates for admission is vested in the faculty Admissions Committee. Completed files are sent to the Committee, where objective criteria such as the undergraduate grade point average and the Law School Admission Test score are carefully evaluated. Objective information regarding admitted students can be found here. The next stage of the evaluation is subjective and includes employment experience, extracurricular activities, evaluation of the applicant's ability to make a positive contribution to the unique environment of a Christian law school, community involvement, commitment to high standards or morality and ethics, reasons for wanting to study law, competence in writing and speaking, emotional stability, maturity, initiative, motivation, and other relevant subjective information furnished by the applicant.