Overview

To be eligible to graduate, candidates for the LLM degree must successfully complete a total of 25 credit hours in courses offered at the College of Law. The curriculum of each LLM candidate is subject to approval by the Director of the LLM program.

Students with foreign law degrees must complete the following Required Courses, subject to the exception below:

Legal Research and Writing and Analysis (LAW-151) (4 credit hours)
Introduction to American Law (course) (3 credit hours)

The Director of the LLM Program, in cooperation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & the Associate Dean for Student Affairs & Administration, may choose other courses to substitute for these requirements as long as the relevant LLM candidate receives training appropriate to their preexisting legal and language skills in (a) U.S. Legal Research, Writing, and Analytical processes, and (b) fundamental principles of US law and legal structures.

LLM students seeking to complete an LLM concentration will need to complete 16 credits (out of their 25 total) in their respective concentrations. Students who have developed their own course of study should work with their faculty advisor and the Director of the LLM program to ensure that they are planning to take at least 16 credits in their area of focus. The LLM Director may waive required courses or obtain recognition of alternative elective courses to be used towards completion of the LLM where appropriate.

For students with foreign law degrees, the two required courses above count towards the required 16 credits. Students seeking to complete requirements necessary to take a state bar exam should consult with their advisor, and recognize that completing a concentration as well as necessary requirements for the bar may require more credits than 16 or 25 total.

In addition to the required 16 credits, students must complete elective classes in order to reach the total of 25 credit hours taken at the College of Law. In courses in which enrollment is limited, JD students may have enrollment priority.

Writing Requirement

In order to graduate, LLM candidates must complete a carefully supervised paper on a topic related to their program option. In preparation of the required paper, the candidate will work with a faculty member in the substantive field of the proposed paper. At a minimum, the paper must comply with the requirements of the Graduation Writing Requirement for JD students. See Graduation Writing Requirement section of this Student Handbook. The LLM Director retains complete discretion to determine whether a paper meets the equivalent requirements of a GWR work in an appropriate subject area.

Master of Laws (LLM)

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