Visiting Scholar Program

Each year, the University of Virginia School of Law accepts a small number of visiting scholars from around the world. Given the difficulty of choosing among many qualified applicants, we typically limit invitations to full-time academics currently affiliated with a university who have a special need for our library resources in order to complete a well-defined research project. In exceptional circumstances, we also will consider applications from judges, government officials, or practitioners who otherwise meet these requirements.

Please note that our visiting scholar program is not open to students currently pursuing doctoral or other degree programs at other academic institutions, whether in the United States or abroad.  Such candidates are invited to consider applying for admission to our LL.M. program.

Under our program, visiting scholars have access to the Law School's library facilities, to the legal research services such as Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg, and to the resident faculty. Scholars may also informally audit up to two Law School courses each semester, provided there is room in the desired courses after degree-seeking students have completed registration. Please note that our visiting scholars pay research tuition and fees. For 2024-25, this fee is $9,500 per year (or $4,750 per term) for Virginia residents or $10,500 per year (or $5,250 per term) for nonresidents.

Program duration: 
Visiting Scholars may choose to visit for any duration of time not to exceed one academic semester (fall or spring). Visits can be as short as one or two weeks and as long as four months (full length of a semester).
Visiting Scholars’ tuition and fees are charged per semester and are not prorated, so whether visiting for one week or for four months the full charge per term will apply.
In rare occasions a scholar may be allowed to visit for an entire academic year (fall and spring, August to May). 
The Visiting Scholars program is not available in the summer months (late May to early August).
Please make sure to clearly list the proposed dates for your visit in your application materials.

Space allocation:
Given our space constraints, Visiting Scholars are not guaranteed an office space at the law school. 

Those interested in being considered for participation in the program should send an email to @email with their curriculum vitae, proposed dates of residence, an outline of their proposed research program, at least one letter of recommendation printed in letterhead and signed with a pen (wet signature), and recent (no more than two years old) English proficiency test scores (TOEFL or IELTS accepted), please refer to this page for minimum scores required.

Your research proposal and letters of recommendation can be addressed to:

Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee
c/o Graduate Studies Office
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Rd.
Charlottesville, VA 22903-1738

Applications for the Visiting Scholars Program must be received by March 1 for the following academic year or part thereof. Invitations are usually made in April or May.  Candidates who require an earlier response in order to meet the requirements of their prospective funding source, such as the China Scholarship Council, should clearly state in their cover e-mail the date by which they require an answer, and ensure that their application is complete at least 6 weeks prior to that date.

Graduate Studies Office
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-1738
Telephone: (434) 924-3154
Fax: (434) 982-6682
email: [email protected]