Graduate Quick Facts

                                Graduate Legal Studies at Georgetown Law

Georgetown’s graduate programs attract a diverse and highly qualified group of students from throughout the United States and the world. Georgetown Law is proud of the diversity and breadth of interests and experience of our student body. This profile provides a snapshot of Georgetown’s graduate community in recent years.
  • Over the long history of Georgetown Law’s LL.M. and S.J.D. programs (the LL.M. program dates back to 1878), students have come from over 120 countries around the world. 
  • Students who earned their first law degree outside the United States comprise between 40 to 50% of our graduate classes. In each of the last three years, foreign-educated students from more than 60 countries and close to 150 different law schools outside the United States have come to Georgetown.
  • In the last three years, students who earned their first law degrees in the United States have come from more than 140 different law schools in the United States and Puerto Rico.
  • Many students have competed in moot court competitions, participated in their law schools’ journals and law reviews, previously published an article or book, have other advanced degrees or qualifications, and/or have prior experience teaching law.
  • Students come to Georgetown with a diversity of outside interests as well, including community service, pro bono activities, the arts, and athletics. Students have founded non-profits and served as volunteers. Students have been professional musicians and members of bands. Several students have been national-level amateur, semi-professional, and even professional athletes in a variety of sports.
  • A large percentage of students have worked full-time after completing their first law degree; some examples of past experience are given below.

 

Prior Work Experience (Classes of 2009 to 2012)

Foreign-educated Students

U.S.-educated Students
  • Practitioners in private law firms and in-house counsel
  • Lawyers serving in government branches, departments and ministries in countries as varied as Azerbaijan, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Georgia, Ghana,  Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Oman, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates
  • Lawyers from international organizations, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, the Organization of American States, the International Criminal Court, and the Inter-American Development Bank
  • Diplomatic officials from various countries, including the Czech Republic, Kenya, Mexico, Turkey, and Thailand
  • Judges, prosecutors, and public defenders from countries including Cameroon, Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand
  • Law clerks to the highest courts of their home countries, for example, Philippines and Uganda
  • Practitioners in private law firms
  • Members of the Judge Advocate General Corps of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
  • Attorneys from federal departments including the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, and Education
  • Attorneys from federal agencies including the National Security Agency, Internal Revenue Service, Food and Drug Administration, Financial Industry and Regulatory Authority, Social Security Administration, Central Intelligence Agency, Government Accountability Office, the United States Agency for International Development, Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Attorneys from non-profit and international organizations including the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and the World Bank

 

 

                      Academic Interests and Opportunities at Georgetown Law

  • Georgetown has more than 118 full-time faculty and close to 300 adjunct graduate faculty
  • Students have the opportunity to choose their classes from one of the largest course lists of any law school in the United States. In 2011, more than 350 classes and seminars were open to graduate students. Close to 140 lecture classes and 90 seminars are specifically for graduate students; graduate students may also take upper-level courses with J.D. students.
  • Students who wish to produce a substantive writing project of publishable quality under the supervision of a Georgetown Law professor have the opportunity to do so, either through participating in a seminar or engaging in Graduate Independent Research.
  • Georgetown’s S.J.D. students participate in the Fellows Collaborative – a collaborative program with Georgetown’s clinical and research fellows who intend to pursue an academic career   
  • Georgetown’s vibrant academic community, which includes institutions like the Institute of International Economic Law, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, the Center on National Security and the Law, the Human Rights Institute, Law Asia, the Supreme Court Institute, 11 law journals and reviews, and more than 75 active student organizations, combined with the school’s location in Washington, DC, means that there are opportunities to attend lectures, conferences, symposia and other legal events practically every day.   

 

               Graduate Programs Staff and Professional Development and Careers
  • Georgetown Law has an extensive administrative, academic, and professional development staff exclusively for students in Georgetown’s graduate program.
  • A multi-member dedicated professional development staff provides numerous services and resources for Georgetown’s graduate students and assists them in finding employment in private law firms, international organizations, corporations, and accounting firms.
  • Georgetown’s Graduate Language Center conducts workshops and facilitates conversation and writing groups to assist students in developing their English language skills. 
  • Georgetown’s LL.M. program allows students to do externships for academic credit. Placements have included the World Bank, Amnesty International, the Center for International Environmental Law, Human Rights First, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United States Committee Joint Committee on Taxation, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the International Trade Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, Senate Finance Committee, and Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Graduate Contact Info

Graduate Admissions
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW Room 589
Washington, DC 20001-2075

Phone: (202) 662-9020
Fax: (202) 662-9439
TDD: (202) 662-9013

Graduate Admissions E-mail: llmadmis@law.georgetown.edu