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Application requirements

Deadline

Jul 15, 2026

Application fee

$55.00

Recommendations

2 to 3

Updated for 2025-2026 application cycle

In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners at: http:www.ncbex.org/.

Because of the high ethical standards to which lawyers are held, the failure to disclose an act or event such as the ones described below is often more significant, and leads to more serious consequences, than the act or event itself. Failure to provide truthful answers, or failure to inform the Office of Admissions of any change to your answers, may result in denial or revocation of admission, expulsion after matriculation, revocation of law degree after graduation, or other disciplinary action by the Law School, referral to the appropriate state bar examiners, or denial of permission to practice by the state in which you seek admission. If you are unsure as to whether to make a disclosure, we strongly urge that you err on the side of full disclosure.

You may exclude minor traffic violations and parking tickets. However, if the traffic violation resulted in a Failure to Appear charge or warrant, you must report this information. You must also report any traffic or other offenses involving alcohol, drugs, or a controlled substance, or any offenses in which there was an attempt, whether successful or not, to suspend or revoke your driver's license. (Full disclosure is required even though you may have been advised by another source that you are not required to do so.)

If you answer "yes" to question 1, you must submit official court records as well as a detailed explanation of each instance, including its ultimate disposition. If a court or arresting/ticketing agency is unable to provide copies of pertinent records, you must obtain a written statement stating so from the court or agency. You must disclose each instance even if no charges were filed, even if you were granted any type of pretrial diversion such as deferred disposition or deferred adjudication, even if charges were dismissed, even if you were acquitted of such charges, and even if such charges resulted in a conviction that was reversed, set aside, vacated, or expunged. If expunged, please attach (in the Attachments Section) official court documents showing that the charges were expunged and the date of the expungement.

Have you ever (either as a juvenile or adult), been charged, arrested, convicted, or granted deferred adjudication or deferred disposition in any jurisdiction of any crime other than a minor traffic violation? If yes, give details in a separate statement and attach to this application in the Attachments Section.
Have you ever been charged with an honor violation or had disciplinary action (non-academic) taken against you while in school? If yes, give details in a separate statement and attach to this application in the Attachments Section. If you are in doubt as to whether or not such action has been taken against you, it is recommended that you call your school(s). In addition to providing the statement of details, you may request that your school's judicial office send a letter to our admissions office (lawadmissions@tsu.edu) regarding your infraction, sanctions, and outcome. Failure to disclose is often a more serious infraction than the misconduct.
Have you ever been, or are you now, academically suspended, dismissed or placed on academic probation? If yes, please attach a statement of circumstances to your application in the Attachments Section.
Have you ever been expelled, dismissed, or advised to resign from any post-secondary institution, college, professional school or law school in order to avoid academic or disciplinary action? If yes please provide a statement of explanation and attach to this application in the Attachments Section.

Thurgood Marshall School of Law only has one option for completing their JD degree: a full-time program. The full-time program is designed for students who plan to devote nearly all their time to law study. The Law School does not recommend full-time students to work more than 20 hours per week. Thurgood Law does not offer spring enrollment for entering 1L students.

Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)

Thurgood Marshall School of Law accepts LSAT scores on admissions applications. Applicants submitting an LSAT score should request scores for the past five years from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) using Thurgood Law's school code 6824. LSAT scores are reportable for five years following the applicants' test date. If you would like the Admissions Committee to consider a score from a future LSAT, you should note that on the application form and email a statement to our office asking that we hold your file until the future test score arrives. The email should be sent to lawadmissions@tsu.edu. No other communications will be acceptable. Suppose we receive this communication after reviewing your file. In that case, the decision of whether your file will be reconsidered, in light of the later score, will be left to the discretion of the Admissions Committee.

Mandatory Attachments - JD1 Application

Reminder: If you have previously attended any law school, please complete the JD2 application.

Personal Statement - A personal statement of no more than four pages is extremely valuable in the selection process. You may write your personal statement on any subject, but you should include a statement explaining your interest in attending Thurgood Law in either your personal statement or an optional statement.

Resume - Attach a resume or a list of civic and extracurricular activities, honor societies, and work experience on a separate sheet.

Letters of Recommendation - You must submit a minimum of two letters of recommendation (LOR). The most valuable LORs are those from professors, employers, or colleagues with whom you have had close working relationships. All letters must be sent through CAS.

Optional Attachments - Required for Certain Applicants

Character and Fitness - If you answered "yes" to any of the questions in the character and fitness section, please include an electronic attachment explaining all the relevant circumstances. For any of the questions, provide the final disposition of the incident(s).

Optional Attachments - Permitted for All Applicants

Optional Statement: You may wish to explain or highlight elements in your application that are not readily apparent. You may write an optional statement regarding your diversity, disadvantaged background, socioeconomic status, grade trends, substantial discrepancy between your performance on standardized tests and your actual level of academic achievement, or any other information you believe is relevant to the Admissions Committee that has not been previously included in your personal statement. If you did not include it in your personal statement, you should also describe why you want to attend Thurgood Law. Please limit this statement to no more than two pages, and include an appropriate header to this document. The header can be as simple as "Last Name, L#, Optional Statement."

Checking the Status of Your Application

The Office of Admissions will notify applicants, via email, when their application has been received and processed. That email contact will include instructions for using our online status check system. It is vital that you provide us with a current email address and that you check your email regularly (including your spam folder). The Office of Admissions tries to keep applicants informed of their status via the online status check, but applicants are still responsible for making sure the application and all supporting materials arrive by the deadline. Applications that are not completed prior to the deadline will be denied. Applicants can check the status of their CAS file online at LSAC.org.

Because we use a rolling admissions process, more availability will likely occur earlier in the admission cycle. Decisions are made on a rolling basis beginning in December, and all decisions will be communicated to the applicants via the online status check system and via email. The admissions staff will not give admissions decisions over the telephone to protect the applicants' confidentiality.

Character and Fitness

You should thoroughly and carefully respond to every question on this application, but you should use extra care concerning the character & fitness section. While an honest "yes" to any of these questions will not necessarily result in the rejection of your application, a dishonest "no" is evidence of a lack of candor and honesty and can have serious repercussions. Both Thurgood Marshall School of Law and any state bar associations to which you apply will consider any substantial discrepancy between your application and the facts as grounds for adverse action, including revocation of admission to, expulsion from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, or denial of admission to the bar. Good moral character is part of being a worthwhile lawyer. Providing truthful and complete answers to these questions is your chance to exhibit that character.

Thurgood Marshall School of Law will not be sympathetic to applicants who fail to disclose matters that are clearly required to be reported under this section. When in doubt, you should err on the side of full disclosure. If you still have questions, please contact the Office of Admissions at 713.313.7114. Thurgood Law also places upon each applicant the continuing responsibility to promptly notify us of any changes that render incorrect or incomplete responses in the application. This notification is required before, after, and at any time while enrolled as a student. You should research the character and fitness qualifications for the state(s) in which you intend to practice. Please retain a copy of your completed application and supporting documentation for your records. The Texas State Board of Examiners will require you to submit a copy of this application.

Financial Aid/Scholarships

All admitted students will be considered for merit scholarships. For more information on merit scholarships, please visit our website.

Texas Southern University- Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL), does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age or disability in the administration of its academic or employment policies or other school-administered rights, privileges, programs or activities.