Online Master of Laws (LL.M.)
The online Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program in American Legal Studies is designed for foreign-educated graduates and attorneys who want an edge in an increasingly globalized legal world.
Admission Eligibility
We accept applicants from a range of backgrounds but all are required
- To have a first professional degree in law from a foreign country; or
- To be qualified to practice law in a foreign country.
The requirements for a first professional degree in law vary by country, but commonly include an LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws), LL.M. (Master of Laws), or J.M. (Juris Masters). The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) provides a list of country-specific minimum degree requirements to be eligible for admission to the bar, which may be helpful in determining your eligibility for admission into the Online LL.M. program at William & Mary Law School. LSAC is a not-for-profit organization that provides products and services to support candidates throughout the law school admission process.
Key Dates
Not accepting applications at this time.
Steps to Apply
- Complete the Online Application, which consists of:
- Contact and background information
- Enrollment history from all previously attended institutions
- Resume
- Personal Statement
- Optional: Up to 2 Letters of Recommendation
- Limited scholarships may be available for online program students. No separate application is required.
- Submit Transcripts
- Please upload unofficial transcripts and graduation conferral (certificate of graduation) with English translation from all previously attended institutions to your application for initial review. If accepted, you must provide official evaluated transcripts from all previously attended institutions as a condition of matriculation.
- Submit the English Language Test Requirements
- Applicants who have not graduated from a U.S. institution of higher education are required to submit official test scores from one of the following:
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), achieving a minimum of 4.5 or 90 (Internet-based total);
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS), achieving a minimum of 6; or
- Duolingo English Test, achieving a minimum of 105.
- Applicants who have not graduated from a U.S. institution of higher education are required to submit official test scores from one of the following:
William & Mary will not accept scores older than two years at the time of application.
International applicants who meet the following condition may be considered for admission without submitting English language scores:
- English is the applicant's country's official language; or
- The applicant earned a law degree from a school where the exclusive language of instruction is English.
Official Transcript Evaluation Required (Admitted Students)
If official evaluated transcripts were not submitted at the time of application, admitted students must request a credential evaluation report from any NACES member evaluation agency that provides transcript verification and credit evaluation. Please note that there will be fees associated with utilizing a NACES-approved transcript evaluation service. While William & Mary Law School accepts evaluations from any NACES member agency, many students use the WES (World Education Services) ICAP (international credit application package) transcript evaluation or the ECE (Educational Credit Evaluators) Course-by-Course report. Admitted students will not be able to register for classes until an official evaluated transcript is provided. If an official evaluated transcript is not provided by the date specified in the admission letter, the admitted student's matriculation will be canceled.
The Online LL.M. in American Legal Studies requires the completion of 25 credits. Students are permitted to take up to 28 credit hours. Program courses include:
- LAW 101: Criminal Law
- LAW 102: Civil Procedure
- LAW 107: Torts
- LAW 108: Property
- LAW 109: U.S. Constitutional Law
- LAW 110: Contracts
- LAW 115: Professional Responsibility
- LAW 309: Evidence
- LAW 320: Business Associations
- LAW 701: Legal Writing & Research (Required)
Transfer Credits
Transfer credits are not permitted in the online LL.M.
All online LL.M. courses require a final exam. All exams will be administered via Blackboard LMS. Students will need stable access to the internet via a laptop or desktop computer. Mobile phones and tablets are not recommended.
- Exam Timing: Each course will indicate the length of time that students must complete the exam. Exams will generally be made available for a 3-day window. The exam may be taken at the time of the student’s choosing within the exam period window but must be submitted before the due date and time.
- Exam Instructions: Each course will designate in the exam instructions:
- the length of the exam;
- mode of exam (closed book, open book with open LMS, open book, open LMS plus Internet);
- whether students may access the Internet during the exam, along with any limitations on which Internet sources may be accessed (including ChatGPT or other generative AI technologies).
- the nature of any word limits for individual questions or for the exam as a whole.
- Anonymous Grading: Student names are hidden from the instructor while grading. Students should not include their names on documents submitted as part of their exams.
- Exam Accommodations: William & Mary accommodates students with disabilities in accordance with federal laws and university policy. Students who feel as if they may need an exam accommodation based on the impact of a learning, psychiatric, physical, or chronic health diagnosis should contact Student Accessibility Services staff at (757) 221-2509 or at sas@wm.edu to determine if accommodations are warranted and to obtain an official letter of accommodation. The Office of Student Affairs & Academic Support will provide information to students about the implementation of exam accommodations. To preserve anonymity on exams, students should not contact faculty members about exam accommodations.
- Exam Conflicts and Reschedules: Students may reschedule an exam only under the following circumstances:
- Two exams are scheduled within 23 hours - for example, an exam that begins at 8:30 am followed by an exam that begins at 1:30 pm.
- Two exams are scheduled at the same time.
- Three or more exams are scheduled on consecutive days.
- A qualifying illness, injury, or emergency precludes the student from taking the exam, as determined by the Office of Student Affairs & Academic Support after reviewing supporting documentation.
Exam Accommodations
- Any student who has registered with Student Accessibility Services as described in Section 6.03 may also be eligible for exam accommodations. Student Accessibility Services will provide all exam accommodations to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs & Academic Support. The Associate Dean for Student Affairs & Academic Support will work with each individual student to make sure that they receive the specified accommodations and that their anonymity is protected.
- To ensure that accommodations are processed in time for exams, a student requesting accommodations should complete their accommodation request with Student Accessibility Services as early as possible, and in all cases by the first day of the last week of classes.
- Please note that accommodations must be renewed each semester. Also please note that professors will not be notified of exam accommodations, as all exam accommodations will be handled by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs & Academic Support. To protect their privacy, students should not discuss their exam accommodations with their professors.
Grading
All courses in the program will be graded on an A through F scale: A, Excellent; B, Good; C, Minimum Pass: and grade below C, Fail. Students may not repeat a course in which a minimum grade of C was received, unless a petition to do so is approved by the Associate Dean for Online and Executive Education. If a course is repeated the student will pay tuition to retake and the first grade remains on the student’s record and is included in the cumulative GPA. Though any grade below a C is considered fail, the grading system allows for grades C- through F and identifies quality points for these grades. These grades are included in the cumulative GPA. Grade distribution (a curve or mean GPA) will not be integrated in LL.M. grading.
Law grades in courses graded by standard letter grade have quality points from which student grade point average is determined:
- A (4.0), A- (3.7)
- B+ (3.3), B (3.0), B- (2.7)
- C+ (2.3), C (2.0),”C- (1.7), D (1.0) and
- F (fail - 0 quality points that will factor into the grade point average, no credit is earned).
The grade of A+ is not awarded as a final course grade.
Other grades that have no effect on grade point average may be on student transcript:
- P; transfer credit from another institution - students must request permission to “visit” another institution or an institution’s abroad program and must seek approval to register in specific courses. To transfer, grades in approved credits must be a “C” or better and will come to the W&M transcript as a P (pass)
- I; incomplete-can only be given with permission of the Associate Dean for Online and Executive Education and is never given to a graduating student in the semester they are graduating
- O; satisfactory audit-no credit earned
- U; unsatisfactory audit-no credit earned
Grade Review Policy
Students have a right to meet with professors regarding their performance on examinations, papers, presentations, class participation, externship or clinic journals, or any other work submitted in partial or complete satisfaction of the requirements for credit in any course offered by William & Mary Law School.
The nature of the conversation is not to dispute the grade; rather, it is for the student to learn more about:
- The strengths and weaknesses of the examination, paper, presentations, class participation, externship or clinic journals, or any other work.
- The general grading scale utilized to evaluate the work.
- The relative ranking of the work when measured against the quality of all other work in the class.
If a student believes a member of the faculty has not complied in some material respect with the substantive right discussed above, a formal notification of dissatisfaction may be filed in writing with the Vice Dean. The Vice Dean will take immediate steps to ascertain whether:
- There has been a failure by the faculty member to adhere to the substantive standards prescribed above, or
- Whether the formal notice of dissatisfaction is without reasonable foundation.
If a student is dissatisfied with a determination by the Vice Dean that a faculty member is in substantive compliance, or if the student believes that efforts to remedy an asserted noncompliance by a faculty member have not produced satisfactory results, the student may submit an appeal to the Academic Advisory Committee.
If either the faculty member or the student concerned is dissatisfied with the action taken by the Academic Advisory Committee, a protest of the Committee’s action may be filed in writing with the Dean of the Law School. The Dean’s decision will be the final adjudication of this dispute between the faculty member and the student concerned.
Minimum GPA Requirement
LL.M. Degree candidates must earn a final cumulative grade point average of 2.0 to earn the LL.M. Degree. They must also pass any Honors/Pass/Fail classes if those credit hours are needed to meet the minimum required credit hours to graduate with the LL.M. Degree.
Grading Policies
LL.M. students may elect, in any semester, to be graded on an Honors/Pass/Fail scale, rather than on a letter-grade scale, for all coursework in that semester other than Legal Research and Writing. Students wishing to make this election must communicate that intention by submitting a Grading Election Form to the Law School Registrar, by the end of Add/Drop week in that semester. If the form is not submitted by the deadline, the student will be subject to the standard grading scale in all courses that semester.
Such an election, once made, is irrevocable and it must be exercised with respect to all coursework in a semester.
Courses that are offered to all students only on a Pass/Fail basis will not award Honors grades.
Pursuant to Law School policy, LL.M. students may also convert to a Pass/Fail grade one grade in a course taken during any semester at the Law School except the final semester of study. Students may not convert a grade earned in any required class, including a course taken to meet the writing requirement (e.g. Legal Research and Writing). Students wishing to convert a grade must communicate that intention by submission of the Grade Conversion survey, made available to students during their final semester of study at the Law School.
The deadline for submitting a Grade Conversion request is November 1 if the final semester of study is the fall semester, and April 1 if the final semester of study is the spring semester.
The Curve and Ranking
LL.M. students are not affected by nor count towards the curve, and they are not ranked.
Academic Probation and Dismissal
Students whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 will be placed on academic probation. Student notifications will include the GPA in subsequent courses required to achieve the 2.0 minimum cumulative GPA and be removed from probation.
A student will be dismissed from the program if the student:
- Cannot mathematically achieve the minimum GPA before completing the remaining credit hours required to complete the degree;
- Receives two or more failing grades (any grade lower than a C) in any course at any time during the program;
- Fails to achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 1.75 upon completion of 16 credit hours in the program; or
- Fails to achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 upon completion of 32 credit hours (completion of the program).
Any student who has been academically dismissed in other than their final semester may petition the Academic Advisory Committee for reinstatement. The decision of the Academic Advisory Committee concerning such petitions is final. All petitions for reinstatement must be typed and filed with the Office of the Vice Dean. Email petitions must be sent from the student’s official .wm email account, and the student bears the burden of ensuring receipt. A student who has been academically dismissed after having been readmitted is no longer eligible to petition for reinstatement.
Students are encouraged to review guidance and procedures for submitting a Petition for Reinstatement.
These regulations apply to all degree candidates and ensure a student who is unable to raise their GPA to the minimum required for graduation can be dismissed and will not incur further financial obligations for a degree they are not able to earn.