Commencing with the 2007-08 academic year, the Law Center is offering a J.D./LL.M. joint degree program in Taxation.  This joint degree program enables George­town students and students from other accredited U.S. law schools to earn a J.D. degree and an LL.M. in Taxation in a total of seven full-time semesters.

The requirements of the Tax LL.M. degree for joint degree students are the same as for students who matriculate in Georgetown’s LL.M. program after com­pleting their J.D. degree – namely, 24 academic credits, of which 20 credits must be in eligible tax-related courses.  However, joint degree students are able to complete the LL.M. require­ments in one semester rather than two, because the program permits them to count 12 credits in tax courses both toward their J.D. degree and toward their LL.M. degree.

Students apply to the J.D./LL.M. joint degree program at the end of their second year.  During the J.D. phase of the program, joint degree students must take 12 credits in qualifying tax courses, and these courses will count toward their J.D. degree and toward their Tax LL.M. degree.  For this purpose, “qualifying tax courses” means all courses (including J.D.-level courses) that are listed in the Course Schedule as counting towards the specialization requirement for the Tax LL.M. degree.  [click here for the list of LL.M. courses by degree].  Taxation I, which is a pre-requisite to matriculation in the Tax LL.M. program, cannot be included among the credits thus counted.

After receiving their J.D. degree, joint degree students will need to complete only 12 additional academic credits (of which at least eight must be in qualifying tax courses) in order to fulfill the requirements of the Tax LL.M. degree.  All of these additional credits must be completed at the Law Center.  Joint degree students are expected to begin the LL.M. phase of the program in the Fall semester immediately following receipt of their J.D. degree.  Students attending full-time can thus complete the LL.M. degree require­ments during that semester; in any event, they are expected to complete their degree requirements within one year following their J.D. graduation.  Students attending part-time are expected to complete their degree requirements within two years following their J.D. graduation.  (Under exceptional circumstances, a student who has been admitted to the joint degree program but is unable to start the LL.M. phase of the program in the Fall semester immediately following his or her J.D. graduation may request a deferral to the following spring or fall semester.)

Students currently enrolled in a J.D. program at another law school may apply for admission to the Law Center’s J.D./LL.M. Taxation joint degree program.  Students who are admitted to the program apply to attend Georgetown as visiting students for their entire third year.  Visiting students must take 12 credits in qualifying tax courses while visiting at Georgetown.  Courses taken at the applicant's home school will not count toward the LL.M. degree.  Those credits count toward the student’s J.D. degree (which would be awarded by the law school from which the student visited) and toward the Tax LL.M. degree (which would be awarded by the Law Center upon successful completion of the required additional LL.M. credits).  [Please note:  An application to attend the Law Center as a visiting student will not be considered unless the applicant’s Dean authorizes the student’s attendance and agrees to transfer the credits earned at the Law Center.]  A visiting student seeking admission to the J.D./LL.M. joint degree program in Taxation must have completed Taxation I (or an equivalent introductory course in individual income taxation) during the first two years of his or her J.D. program.  Successful completion of additional tax courses, though not required, will be viewed as a factor favoring admission.

Students seeking admission to the J.D./LL.M. joint degree program from another law school should follow the instructions for “Visiting Students” on the Admissions web page (www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions/visiting.html).  The application deadlines for Fall-semester visitors will apply.  In the personal statement, the applicant should list his or her intention to pursue the joint degree program in Taxation as the primary reason for requesting admission as a visiting student.  The applicant will be admitted as a visiting student only if the applicant is accepted into the joint degree program.