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Lawyers Educated Outside the U.S. ruler

Each year Georgetown Law Center provides Master of Laws degree programs for more than 100 students who received their legal training outside the United States.  Their varied professional and personal experiences add to an intellectual cultural diversity we are proud to have at Georgetown. There is a strong interest in international and comparative law throughout the faculty and student body at the Law Center. Georgetown's graduate program in international law is one of the largest in the U.S. and most of our American J.D. students also take courses in international law. A large number of the faculty teach international law or include comparative elements in their teaching. Each year we welcome visiting faculty from throughout  the world, both as research scholars and as members of the teaching faculty. The foreign lawyer is truly at the center of an international community. 

Please note that all admissions criteria for this LL.M. are contained in the admissions materials that can be accessed on the Admissions Information webpage.

Candidates for all Master of Laws degrees (with the exception of the Master of Laws in Advocacy) must:

  • Complete the required number of academic credits for the degree, including any minimum number of hours in a specialization and/or required courses;
  • Earn a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00;
  • Complete all requirements for the degree within the prescribed period of study. Full-time students are expected to complete the degree in one academic year, and part-time students may take up to three years.
  • All foreign-educated attorneys on student visas are required to enroll as full-time students. A student’s visa cannot be extended to provide additional time for the student to complete a paper or coursework except for compelling academic or medical reasons consistent with U.S. visa regulations.  Other foreign-educated students may enroll as part-time students if they are U.S. citizens, permanent residents of the U.S. or if they are on a visa permitting part-time study.

Master of Laws Degrees for International Students
International students at Georgetown generally enroll in one of two programs:

  • Master of Laws (General Studies)
  • Master of Laws (International Legal Studies)

International students also may apply to the specialized Taxation or Securities & Financial Regulation LL.M. degrees if they have particularly strong backgrounds in these areas.  International students admitted to these programs will be expected to complete introductory courses in U.S. law as well as the required hours of specialized course work for either degree.

The Master of Laws (General Studies) and Master of Laws (International Legal Studies) degree programs combine a core of American Law requirements with elective courses tailored to the student's own area of interest. Both degrees require completion of a minimum of 20 credit hours of course work (usually four or five courses per semester).

Master of Laws  (General Studies)

Requires, in addition to the general requirements above: 

  • 20 academic credits in a program of study approved by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs;
  • participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the one-credit required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse.

Master of Laws in International Legal Studies

        Requires, in addition to the general requirements above:

  • 20 academic credits in a program of study approved by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs, including a minimum of 12 academic credits in courses listed under International and Comparative Legal Studies course cluster in the online curriculum guide;
  • participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the one-credit required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse.

The election to receive the International Legal Studies degree rather than the General Studies degree may be made after the students have made their final course choices in order to allow students maximum flexibility in pursuing their own academic interests.

Students applying for the Master of Law (General Studies) or the Master of Law (International Legal Studies) may also apply to receive a certificate in International Human Rights Law, National Security Law or IIEL WTO Studies in combination with the LL.M. degree.  Applicants with relevant interests and backgrounds for any particular certificate program should include a discussion of them in their personal statement for Admissions.

International students choose their elective courses in consultation with the International Student Advisor who may approve more than 20 total hours of study where appropriate.  However, please keep in mind that all LL.M. students are limited to 13 credit hours per semester. Waivers to exceed the 13 credit-hour limit are only granted in extraordinary circumstances.

International students enroll in a full-time course of study that is completed in one academic year (August through May of the next year).  Georgetown's LL.M. programs are not designed to assist foreign trained attorneys to remain in the U.S. for their legal careers, and students are expected to return home after they study here.  Under current visa regulations, however, it is possible for international LL.M. graduates to see limited "practical training" in law after completion of their studies, and a number of our graduates do sit for a bar exam soon after completing the degree.  Georgetown, through the Graduate Career and Professional Development Office, assists international students in their search for post-degree employment. 

Curriculum  
Students coming to Georgetown to study International and Comparative Law will find an extraordinarily rich curriculum.  With more than 100 courses and seminars dealing with aspects of international law, foreign law, and the intersection of the laws of different countries, the Law Center may offer more courses in this field than any other law school in the world.  In addition, many courses dealing with specialized areas of legal practice, such as corporate, environmental, tax and finance, cover international and comparative as well as the domestic aspects of those areas. 

Students trained outside the U.S. who wish to delve into other aspects of the U.S. legal system will find an equally rich curriculum in almost any area of study they can imagine.  The full range of J.D. and LL.M. courses is available to them as they develop an individual course of study.  Many international students will choose a broad mix of courses, others will concentrate on specific areas such as corporate, environmental, constitutional, or intellectual property law.

**Note:  A few seats are reserved for LL.M. students in a number of JD classes.  However, the seat availability in most JD classes is extremely limited and LL.M. students only receive seats (if available) once JD students have registered.  Please take this into account as you develop your course schedule.  In addition, while Georgetown strives to fulfill each student’s academic goals to the greatest extent possible, it is our experience that there are certain very popular courses for which waiting lists are common.  While you are welcome to register for these classes and may be successful in enrolling, the Office of Graduate Programs cannot guarantee you a space in any particular course or with any particular professor.  Occasionally students find that they cannot have their first choice courses, usually due to restrictions in class size or the faculty member’s requirement of prior specialized course work in the subject.  In those cases, suitable alternative courses are usually available.  

Foundations in American Law and Legal Education 
To prepare students from other countries for study at an American law school, Georgetown offers Foundations of American Law and Legal Education.  Foundations is an intensive month-long course that introduces the International LL.M. student to the common law process, American law, American legal education, legal writing, and use of the law library.  The program is strongly recommended for all admitted international students, especially those not already educated in the common law tradition.

Reporting Date 
Students attending the Foundations of American Law and Legal Education program will report to Georgetown University Law Center on the opening date of the program in mid-July. Foreign lawyers are required to arrive a week before classes begin for the fall semester. Students who are unable to arrive by this date should plan to defer their admission until the next academic year.

Global Opportunities
In recent years, Georgetown has developed programs that institutionalize the school's commitment to various areas of the world-programs that touch in a very real way the laws and lives of people beyond the usual reach of the Georgetown community.  We've expanded opportunities for students and visitors to the Law Center and given our students a broader forum to develop their interests through programs like the Asian Law and Policy Studies Program (ALPS), the London Study Abroad Program, and the Visiting Scholar/Researcher Program.

Foreign Lawyers Association of Georgetown (FLAG) 
All international students at Georgetown are invited to participate in this student organization, which aims to promote international legal and cultural understanding. FLAG seeks to achieve this goal through social, academic and professional integration among the members of the Association; between the Association and other organizations at Georgetown; and between the Association and other law schools in the United States and other countries. FLAG hosts social and professional events throughout the school year, such as speeches by important legal figures, round-table discussions, and excursions.

  LL.M Courses
  J.D. Courses

Revised June 22, 2009 (mbj)