Dean's certification letter

Some law schools* require a "Dean's Certification" or "Dean's Letter" as part of the application process. This is a letter from the undergraduate institution that details the applicant's disciplinary record (if any) and, in some cases, confirms the applicant's grade point average and class rank (if available).

The Pre-Law Advising Office processes all Dean's letters for majors in the following Colleges and Schools: Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Science and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Isenberg School of Management. For majors in other schools, please see your academic dean.

In order to process your request, we require the following:

• a completed and signed Dean's Letter Packet, including a signed authorization allowing the Pre-Law Advising Office access to your transcript and disciplinary record;
• an original Dean's Certification form from each law school that requires one (usually available in the "Supplemental Forms" section of the LSDAS online applications); and
• stamped, addressed envelopes to each law school (do not put your return address on the envelopes; do use self-adhesive envelopes if possible).

The Dean's Letter is NOT completed online and does NOT got through LSAC. It may very well be the only part of your application that must be completed on paper and that is sent directly to law schools.

You must allow three weeks for processing of your request.

Because we must request information from other departments of the University, your letter takes some time to complete. Do NOT put this off. The Pre-Law Advising Office has little control over the speed of the process and cannot hurry along your request just because your application deadline is approaching.

The Dean's Letter Packet is available from the Pre-Law Advisor in E-20 Machmer, or, when that office is closed, from E-24 Machmer. You can also download a copy of the Dean’s letter packet and transcript request form here:

Dean's Letter Packet (753KB)

Please print ALL pages, fill them out, and return them to the Pre-Law Advising Office. You will need Adobe Reader to view and print the files – download it for free here.

Please also note the following procedures:

DO NOT SEND FORMS DIRECTLY TO THE REGISTRAR OR DEAN OF STUDENTS OFFICE.  We handle this process from beginning to end.  All forms should be sent to the pre-law office.

Note about disciplinary records: The main purpose of Dean's letters is to report on your disciplinary record, both regarding conduct and academics. Many students do not realize they have disciplinary records, especially when the record consists of something minor, like a noise or bathroom policy violation that resulted in a warning. For this reason, the Pre-Law Advising office always notifies applicants by email with the details of their record if one exists. Please see the page on Disciplinary and Arrest Records for more information on how law schools take these into consideration.

* Among the schools that have at times required Dean's Letters are the following popular with UMass students: Boston University, Brooklyn, Columbia, Cornell, Suffolk and UConn. Please note: schools' requirements change frequently, and we cannot monitor them. YOU MUST CHECK YOUR LAW SCHOOL'S REQUIREMENTS BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION!