Credit Hours Required: 24

(or an additional 10 credits for a minimum total of 34 credit hours, if a student seeks the LL.M. degree with an Advanced Specialization.)

Students enrolling full-time must register for a minimum of 9 credits per semester and may not register for more than 17 credits in any one semester.

Length of Program

This program must be completed within four consecutive semesters for students enrolling full-time (or six consecutive semesters for students enrolling full-time, if a student seeks the LL.M. with an Advanced Specialization). For students not enrolled full-time for good cause, the length of program will be decided in consultation with the Vice Dean.

Courses Required

Although students may choose their own coursework, most LL.M. students choose to take first-year J.D. courses including Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, and Torts.  Students who wish to sit for a state bar examination should review these requirements carefully and select courses that will meet the state’s application requirements.

For the LL.M. Degree with Advanced Specialization, in addition to the course work described above, students will select courses from specific areas of law including business law, constitutional law, criminal law, intellectual property law, international law and justice, and methods of dispute resolution. In additional to the minimum 24 credits required for the LL.M. degree, an additional minimum of 10 credit hours must be taken in the area of specialization (for a minimum total of 34 credits). Students who meet these requirements will receive their LL.M. degree with a designation that they have an “Advanced Specialization” in a subject-matter area.

LL.M. degree candidates must earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 to earn the LL.M. Degree.

LL.M. Degree and must pass any pass-fail classes.

Writing Requirement

Legal Research and Writing (2 credits) is a required course and should be taken in the first semester of the LL.M. program.

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.  Such an election must be made by 4:00 p.m. on the last day of Add/Drop week in that semester and, once made, is irrevocable. The option must be exercised with respect to all coursework in a semester. Please find additional grading policy information in the Grading Policies  section of the catalog.

LL.M. students who wish to avail themselves of the Honors/Pass/Fail grading option must communicate that intention by the end of the Add/Drop week by submitting a Grading Election Form to the Law School Registrar.  If a form is not submitted by the deadline, the student will be subject to the standard grading scale in all courses that semester.

Courses that are offered to all students only on a Pass/Fail basis will not award Honors grades.

LL.M. students may also, pursuant to Law School policy, convert one grade in a course taken during any semester at the Law School except the final semester of study to a Pass/Fail grade. Students wishing to convert a grade must communicate that intention by submitting a Grade Conversion Form to the Law School Registrar during their final semester of study at the Law School. The deadline for submitting a Grade Conversion Form 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.

Students considering either of these grading options should be aware that eligibility for admission to a state bar, for admission to a J.D. or other educational program, for third-party funding, or for other programs may be affected by the number of courses taken for other than a letter grade.

Questions should be directed to Professor Jennifer Stevenson, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, Director, American Legal System Graduate Program, and Professor of the Practice of Law.