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CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS
Certificate programs offer students an opportunity to concentrate within one of the designated fields of study. The Law Center will award no more than one Certificate at the time an LL.M. degree is conferred. Any student who has satisfied the requirements for more than one Certificate must designate the Certificate he or she would like to receive. With the permission of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, a student who has received an LL.M. from Georgetown may enroll in the Employee Benefits Law, Estate Planning, Human Rights Law, or National Security Law Certificate program as a separate, free-standing program. If the student has completed some of the specialization credits for the Certificate, the student may request permission to carry those credits into the Certificate program.
Certificate in Employee Benefits Law
The Employee Benefits Law Certificate is available to students enrolled in a Law Center LL.M. degree program and to students who are not so enrolled but who were admitted separately to the Certificate program. Successful completion of a basic course in federal individual income taxation is a prerequisite to commencing work on the Employee Benefits Law Certificate.
The following are requirements for the Employee Benefits Law Certificate:
- Candidates must successfully complete a minimum of 10 academic credits in courses listed under Employee Benefits Law Certificate in the course schedule.
- Six of the 10 required credits must be satisfied by successfully completing the following three required courses: Retirement Plan Qualification Requirements; Retirement Plans -- Design and Taxation; and ERISA: The Fiduciary Provisions.
- A minimum grade point average of “B-”must be attained in the courses that are counted toward the Certificate’s specialization requirements.
For purposes of earning the LL.M. in Taxation, Employee Benefits Law Certificate courses will be counted toward the required academic credits in Taxation. Students who wish to apply for the Employee Benefits Law Certificate must do so by the end of the add/drop period of their last semester before graduation.
Note: Students admitted for the Employee Benefits Law Certificate only (i.e., students who are not enrolled in an LL.M. degree program) are not eligible for graduation with distinction or the Dean’s List..
Certificate in Estate Planning
The Estate Planning Certificate is available to students enrolled in a Law Center LL.M. degree program and to students who are not so enrolled but who were admitted separately to the Certificate program. Successful completion of a basic course in federal individual income taxation and a course in decedents’ estates (or its equivalent) are prerequisites to commencing work on the Estate Planning Certificate.
The following are requirements for the Estate Planning Certificate:
- Candidates must successfully complete the following three courses: Introduction to Private Wealth Planning: The Estate and Gift Tax (fall semester); Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates (fall semester); and Advanced Private Wealth Planning Seminar (spring semester).
- Candidates must complete at least two additional academic credits in a tax course related to estate planning, such as tax-exempt organizations, employee benefits, partnership taxation, or other subject approved by the Director of the Graduate Tax Program.
- A minimum grade point average of “B-” must be attained in the courses that are counted toward the Certificate’s specialization requirements.
For purposes of earning the LL.M. in Taxation, all Estate Planning Certificate courses will be counted toward the required academic credits in Taxation. Students who wish to apply for the Estate Planning Certificate must do so by the end of the add/drop period of their last semester before graduation.
Note: Students admitted for the Estate Planning Certificate only (i.e., students who are not enrolled in an LL.M. degree program) are not eligible for graduation with distinction or the Dean’s List.
Certificate in International Human Rights Law
The International Human Rights Law Certificate is available to students enrolled in a Law Center LL.M. program. The Law Center will not admit students solely for the International Human Rights Law Certificate program.
The following are requirements for the International Human Rights Law Certificate:
- Candidates must successfully complete a basic course in International Law I (or its equivalent) in a J.D. program (or an equivalent course in their home country, in the case of foreign-educated LL.M. students) or during the first year at the Law Center. This course does not count towards the 12 specialization credits for the program.
- Students must successfully complete a minimum of 12 academic credits in courses listed under International Human Rights Law Certificate in the course schedule.
- As part of the required 12 specialization credits, each student must successfully complete the basic International Human Rights Law course.
- A minimum grade point average of “B-” must be attained in the courses that are counted toward the Certificate’s specialization requirements.
Certificate in National Security Law
The National Security Law Certificate is available to students enrolled in a Law Center LL.M. program. The Law Center will not admit students solely for the National Security Law Certificate program.
The following are requirements for the National Security Law Certificate:
- Candidates must successfully complete a basic course in International Law I (or its equivalent) in a J.D. program (or an equivalent course in their home country, in the case of foreign-educated LL.M. students) or during the first year at the Law Center. This course does not count toward the 12 specialization credits for the program.
- Students must successfully complete a minimum of 12 academic credits in courses listed under the National Security Law Certificate in the course schedule.
- As part of the required 12 specialization credits, each student must successfully complete the course “National Security Law.”
- A minimum grade point average of “B-” must be attained in the courses that are counted toward the Certificate’s specialization requirements.
Certificate in World Trade Organization (WTO) Studies
The WTO Studies Certificate is available to students earning a J.D. or LL.M. at the Law Center. (Students earning an S.J.D. at the Law Center, and students earning graduate degrees in other related subjects at Georgetown University who are eligible to enroll in courses at the Law Center, may obtain the WTO Studies Certificate only by permission of the Institute of International Economic Law.) Students will not be admitted solely for the WTO Studies Certificate program. Successful completion of a basic international law course, either at the Law Center or elsewhere, is a prerequisite for the WTO Studies Certificate, and this qualifying course does not count toward the 12 credits required for the WTO Studies Certificate.
The following are requirements for the WTO Studies Certificate:
- Students who wish to pursue the WTO Studies Certificate must notify the Law Center’s Institute of International Economic Law by the end of the second week of classes in the first semester of graduate studies, or, for J.D. students, by the end of the second week of classes in the first semester of their second year.
- Candidates must successfully complete 12 academic credits of coursework on WTO-related subjects, selected from specific courses listed as eligible for the WTO Studies Certificate and posted on the website of the Law Center’s Institute of International Economic Law (www.iiel.org).
- Students must maintain an overall grade point average of “B” or higher.
- Students must complete a research paper on a WTO law subject approved by the IIEL.
- Students must participate in four extracurricular activities related to international trade during their course of study (such as attending a conference, a congressional, administrative or court hearing, or a similar event).
Note: Academic credit transferred from other institutions and/or graduate programs will not count toward the WTO Studies Certificate.
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