Online J.D. Application Details
Southwestern Law School’s campus and residential programs have been located in Los Angeles, California since 1911. Southwestern is authorized to offer its Online J.D. to residents of California and residents of other locations indicated below.
Where the Online J.D. Program is offered
- Locations where Online J.D. students may reside during the program
- Alaska*
- Arizona
- California
- Canada: British Columbia and Ontario
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana**
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada**
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Ohio**
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas**
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia***
- Washington
- West Virginia**
- Wyoming
- Southwestern does not currently offer the Online J.D. to students residing in the following locations
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Puerto Rico
- Wisconsin
- Southwestern is seeking to offer the Online JD in these jurisdictions for the class starting August 2025
- Arkansas
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Wisconsin
We will consider applications for the Online J.D. Program from students who intend to study remotely while living in locations where we are approved and where we are in the process of applying for authorization (pending jurisdictions). Students who plan to reside in pending locations should check this website regularly because the list of locations where Southwestern is authorized to offer the Online J.D. Program continues to expand.
If Southwestern does not have authorization to offer the Online J.D. Program in a pending state by June 2025, we will notify each student residing in that state that they are eligible to receive a refund of any monies paid to Southwestern in connection with their application.
Students who would like to study remotely from Canada, the UK, and the EU and spouses/dependents of visa holders who have an H-4 visa and are eligible to study online are welcome to apply.
Application Deadline
Application Deadline: April 1, 2025
Applications submitted after the deadline indicated above will be considered on an individual basis. Applicants should be aware, however, that a waiting list can be established as early as February, and eligibility for certain forms of financial aid most preferred by students (e.g., scholarship programs) may be reduced substantially after April 1. We will, however, consider June LSAT scores and later applications on a space-available basis.
Application Requirements
Visit our Apply Now page to view application requirements for all J.D. programs.
For information about bar licensure by jurisdiction, click here.
*Our Online J.D. Program is available to residents of Alaska through an approved exemption. Alaska students should be aware that our authorization to enroll residents of Alaska in our Online J.D. is under AS 14.48 and 20 AAC 17.015 because the program is online or distance delivered and does not have a physical presence in the state.
For consumer complaint contacts for each state or jurisdiction in which Southwestern is authorized to do business, please click here.
** Online J.D. students residing in these states cannot currently do an Externship with a firm or organization physically located there. However, students can do an online Externship with a firm or organization located in other states.
*** The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has determined that Southwestern Law School meets all requirements for distance education certification as stated in section 23. I -219 (F) of the Code of Virginia. Southwestern Law School is certified to offer solely distance education to Virginia residents effective April 29, 2024 through June 30, 2025, after which certification must be renewed on an annual basis.