Georgetown Law Announces Two New Degrees, Including Nation’s First “Master of Law and Technology” Program for Non-Lawyers

March 9, 2020

Classes will start fall 2020 for new program designed to equip technologists, Hill staff, civil society advocates and other professionals with a foundation in technology law and policy

WASHINGTON – Building on its leading edge in technology law and policy offerings, Georgetown University Law Center will debut two new graduate programs this fall to equip lawyers and a broader variety of professionals to tackle the toughest questions on the tech policy horizon.

The first-of-its-kind Master of Law and Technology (M.L.T.) will allow non-lawyers – including computer scientists, engineers, Hill staff, entrepreneurs, and civil society advocates – to build a solid foundation in technology law and hone specialized expertise in tech-related policy issues.

The other new program, aimed at lawyers, trains tomorrow’s leaders in tech policy in the city where the nation’s laws are made. The new Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Technology Law and Policy is poised to become the premier program for lawyers to master the policy dynamics of the ever-evolving tech landscape.

“Rapid advances in technology are continually raising new ethical, social and legal challenges, and our society faces a critical need for experts across fields who are prepared to address these issues,” said William M. Treanor, dean and executive vice president at Georgetown Law. “Georgetown Law’s unmatched tech law and policy resources together with our location in the heart of the nation’s capital make this the perfect place to launch these new programs.”

In recent years, Georgetown Law, the nation’s largest law school, has hired legions of new faculty, staff and fellows to build out unparalleled course offerings, campus resources and research capacity focused on tech law and policy. The school now boasts more than 70 courses in the specialty, taught by 19 full-time faculty members, dozens of adjunct professors who are active practitioners in the field, and distinguished fellows who have held leadership roles at the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.

Additionally, Georgetown Law has built two leading tech research and policy institutions – the Center on Privacy & Technology, world-renowned for its work on the impact of facial recognition and other commercial data practices on marginalized communities, and the Institute for Technology Law and Policy, dedicated to training the next generation of lawyers and lawmakers in tech law and policy, while providing a forum for policymakers, academics, advocates and technologists to discuss cutting-edge issues in tech law. Other Georgetown Law centers and institutes – including the Institute for International Economic Law and the Center on National Security and the Law – are developing innovative legal and policy solutions around the regulation of financial technology, cybersecurity, foreign intelligence surveillance and other tech-related issues.

“When it comes to areas like data security, privacy, surveillance, artificial intelligence, fintech, intellectual property, and emerging technologies, the demand and need for law and policy expertise are profound,” said Paul Ohm, professor of law and Georgetown Law’s associate dean for academic affairs.

“And demand will only grow,” added Ohm, who previously served in both the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. “Our mission is to train and enlighten lawyers and non-lawyers alike to be prepared to help law firms, businesses, government agencies, elected officials, and public interest organizations face the complex technological challenges of the modern world.”

The new M.L.T and LL.M. programs can each be completed in one year full-time, or in two to three years part-time. Students in the M.L.T. program will take six credits of foundational coursework in the Communications, Culture & Technology program on Georgetown’s main campus as part of their degree. Classes begin in late August 2020. Georgetown Law is accepting applications for Fall 2020 now. Learn more here.


Georgetown University Law Center is a global leader in legal education based in the heart of the U.S. capital. As the nation’s largest law school, Georgetown Law offers students an unmatched breadth and depth of academic opportunities taught by a world-class faculty of celebrated theorists and leading legal practitioners. Second to none in experiential education, the Law Center’s numerous clinics are deeply woven into the Washington, D.C., landscape. Close to 20 centers and institutes forge cutting-edge research and policy resources across fields including health, the environment, human rights, technology, national security and international economics. Georgetown Law equips students to succeed in a rapidly evolving legal environment and to make a profound difference in the world, guided by the school’s motto, “Law is but the means, justice is the end.”