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ENROLLMENT AND CREDIT POLICIES
Period of Study
The LL.M. and Certificate programs ordinarily must be completed within three years from the date of matriculation; however, full-time students are expected to graduate within one year from the date of matriculation unless a waiver is granted. A student may petition the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in writing to extend the three-year time limit for up to two additional years. Permission to extend the period of study will be granted where good cause is shown and where the student is making satisfactory progress.
Where credit for non-degree coursework has been granted, the maximum period of study allowed will be reduced by one semester for every four academic credits granted.
Note: The period of study for international students is limited by U.S. visa restrictions. Please see the section below on Special Visa Requirements for International Students.
Enrollment for Bar Purposes
The Law Center’s Graduate Program is not designed as a bar preparation program. Accordingly, the Graduate Program does not guarantee enrollment in any course, graduate or J.D., that Bar authorities may require as a condition of eligibility to sit for a bar examination.
Duplication of Courses
The Graduate Program discourages students from repeating courses for which they have previously received credit in another degree program, but recognizes that there may be circumstances where such repetition is appropriate. Hence, students are not required to seek permission to take a course that may duplicate previous work.
Conferral of the Degree
Once a student has completed the requirements for an LL.M. degree and any certificate that the student is pursuing, the student’s final cumulative grade point average will be calculated and the degree and certificate conferred. If a student who is pursuing a certificate has completed the requirements for an LL.M. degree but not the requirements for the certificate, then with the permission of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, the student may take the courses necessary to complete the certificate. In this situation, both the degree and the certificate will be conferred when the certificate requirements are completed.
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.
Full-Time and Part-Time Enrollment Defined
The Graduate Program defines full-time enrollment as eight or more semester hours of academic credit during the Fall and Spring semesters, and as four or more semester hours of academic credit during the Summer session. Part-time enrollment is seven or fewer semester hours of academic credit during the Fall and Spring semesters. By the end of the add/drop period, students must ensure that they are enrolled in the appropriate number of academic credits required to maintain their full-time or part-time status. For example, if a part-time student registers for eight or more academic credits, he or she will automatically be charged full-time tuition despite his or her designation as a part-time student.
Transfer Between Full-Time and Part-Time Status
A student in an LL.M. degree program may apply to transfer from full-time to part-time status, or from part-time to full-time status, subject to visa requirements, by submitting a written request detailing the reasons for requesting the transfer to the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs or the Director of LL.M. Academic Services.
Note: A student who begins in part-time status and transfers to full-time status will continue to pay tuition on a per credit basis. A student who transfers from full-time to part-time status may be subject to a tuition equalization fee.
Limitations on Academic Credits Per Semester
Without the prior written approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, full-time students may not enroll in more than 13 semester hours of academic credit in any semester, and part-time students may not enroll in more than seven semester hours of academic credit in any semester.
Note: No student who is or anticipates being employed more than 20 hours per week during a semester may enroll for more than seven semester hours of academic credit in that semester. Deviations from these limitations will be approved only under exceptional circumstances.
Credit for Courses in the Graduate School of Georgetown University
LL.M. students may take a maximum of four academic credits in the Graduate School of Georgetown University with the permission from both the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and the professor teaching the graduate course. Students will be enrolled in courses by the Office of the Registrar during the University’s add/drop period on a space available basis and with the approval of the academic department. Course descriptions may be found in the catalog of the Graduate School.
Undergraduate level courses cannot be applied toward an LL.M. degree or Certificate. Language classes may be taken on a space-available basis, but they will not be credited towards the LL.M. degree.
Full-time students may take graduate courses and undergraduate language courses during the Fall and Spring semesters without additional charge. Part-time students pay for all courses at the applicable Law Center credit hour rate. Full-time or part-time students taking Summer Main Campus courses are billed at the applicable Main Campus tuition rate. All courses, credits, and grades taken in the Graduate School will appear on the student’s Law Center transcript, but the grades will not be counted in the student’s grade point average.
LL.M. students are limited to four total credits outside of the Law Center. Any credits taken in the Graduate School of Georgetown University are subtracted from the number of credits that can be taken at another institution (see below).
Note: International students considering taking a U.S. bar exam should be aware that non-Law Center courses may not count towards the required number of law credits necessary to be eligible to take the bar exam.
Credit for Courses in Georgetown's London Summer Program
LL.M. students may take courses in the Georgetown London Summer Program. However, due to the intensive nature of that program, a maximum of four credits will count toward an LL.M. degree. Courses taken in the London Summer Program will be included on the student’s transcript and grades earned in these courses will be included in the student’s grade point average.
Credits Earned at Other Institutions
With the prior approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, and subject to the conditions listed below, a student may apply to the LL.M. degree a cumulative maximum of four academic credits earned at other institutions while an LL.M. student at the Law Center. In approving such a request, the Associate Dean will consider the institution at which the student proposes to take the course, the level of the proposed course, and how the proposed course or courses fit into the student’s overall academic program. The Law Center does not award LL.M. credit for courses taken at another institution before a student matriculated at the Law Center.
Credits for course work and grades earned at another ABA-approved law school and accepted for credit toward a Georgetown LL.M. degree by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs will be entered on the Georgetown transcript but will not be taken into account in the computation of a student’s grade point average at the Law Center.
Even if prior approval is obtained for taking a course at another ABA-approved law school, students who do not receive a minimum grade of “C+” in the course will not be allowed to transfer the academic credits.
Credits earned at other institutions will count toward the specialization requirement for any degree or certificate program only with the prior approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs.
LL.M. students are limited to four total credits outside of the Law Center. Any credits taken at another institution are subtracted from the number of credits that can be taken in the Graduate School of Georgetown University (see above).
Advanced Standing for Graduate Credits Earned as a Non-Degree Student at Georgetown Law
Students in an LL.M. degree program may apply up to eight non-degree academic credits that were earned at the Law Center within two academic years prior to matriculation in the degree program. Courses and grades will be entered on the transcript, and the grades for those courses will be included in the computation of the LL.M. grade point average. The maximum period of study allowed for the degree will be reduced by one semester for every four academic credits of advanced standing that are applied.
Advanced Standing for Credit Earned as a J.D. Student at Georgetown Law
Students who received their J.D. degree from the Law Center within three years of matriculating in an LL.M. degree program may apply up to six academic credits earned while a J.D. student, provided those credits were in excess of the minimum number of credits required for the J.D. degree. Courses and grades involved will remain part of the J.D. record; advanced standing credit for specific courses will be applied to the LL.M. degree. The courses and grades will be entered on the transcript, but grades for those courses will not be included in the computation of the LL.M. grade point average. For part-time students, the maximum period of study allowed will be reduced by one semester if four or more credits are applied.
Note: This section does not apply to students who are admitted into a joint J.D./LL.M. program.
Graduate Independent Research
Graduate students may undertake a Graduate Independent Research project during their degree program. To undertake a Graduate Independent Research project, a student must first identify a faculty member with relevant expertise who is willing to supervise the project. After agreeing upon a topic, the student and the faculty supervisor both sign the registration form available from the Office of the Registrar, the Graduate Programs Office, or the web pages of either the Graduate Programs Office or the Registrar. The registration form is due no later than the first day of class of each semester.
All requests to do a Graduate Independent Research project must be approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and approval is not automatic. Students must demonstrate that they have a well-developed topic suitable for a substantial scholarly paper. In addition, Graduate Independent Research projects will usually be approved only if the topic of the project is not adequately addressed in a course or seminar. Ordinarily, students are limited to one Graduate Independent Research project during their degree program, but a second project may be approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs.
The student and faculty supervisor must meet regularly to discuss the project. The student must submit an outline and a draft to the faculty supervisor for review and comment on an agreed upon schedule. The final paper must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar, not directly to the professor. The final paper must be submitted by the date set in the approved proposal, which may be no later than 60 days in the Fall semester or 45 days in the Spring semester beyond the date set for paper submission in the academic calendar, except that students in their final semester must submit the paper by the date announced in the academic calendar for graduating students. Students who do not receive the approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs for extensions beyond the maximum or who fail to submit a final paper by the due date (including any extension) will be withdrawn from the Graduate Independent Research project. The withdrawal will be reflected as a “W” in the student’s transcript.
The standard GIR project receives two credits and requires a paper of at least 6,000 words of text excluding footnotes (about 25 pages). Many GIR papers are longer than this minimum. Students seeking to do a major paper of publishable quality may request a three credit GIR. The three credit GIR requires a paper of at least 10,000 words of text excluding footnotes (about 40 pages). A three credit GIR must be approved as such in advance by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. Absent such advance approval, a two credit GIR for which the student submits a paper of 40 or more pages will not be converted to a three credit GIR.
Note: International students considering taking a U.S. bar exam should be aware that Graduate Independent Research may not count towards the required number of law credits necessary to be eligible to take the bar exam.
Two-Credit Seminars
The two-credit seminars offered in the Graduate Program require a substantial research paper, or a series of shorter papers, totaling approximately 6,000 words of text excluding footnotes (about 25 pages). Papers submitted in lieu of an examination in a course (permitted only when announced in the course schedule) must also meet this minimum standard.
Three-Credit Seminars
The three-credit seminars offered in the Graduate Program allow a student the opportunity to write a paper under close faculty supervision. Students receive comments on their outlines and first drafts and then edit and rewrite to produce a polished final paper. Three-credit seminars meet two hours per week. The extra credit that these seminars receive reflects the additional time and work that students are expected to devote to their papers.
The papers that students write for these seminars should show the student’s mastery of the in-depth research undertaken and demonstrate how the student has organized, clarified, or advanced this body of knowledge in resolving the issues raised by the paper. The technical requirements for a paper in a three-credit seminar include: (1) submission of an outline and a first draft, in accordance with the professor’s instructions and schedule; (2) submission of a revised final paper based on the professor’s comments; and (3) a final paper consisting of at least 6,000 words (excluding footnotes), which is approximately 25 typewritten pages using customary margins and spacing.
One Paper for Two Seminars
Students may submit one paper to satisfy the requirements in two seminars or writing projects by securing the written approval of both professors and the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in advance of writing the paper. When permission is granted, the student will be required to write a paper of at least 12,000 words excluding footnotes (approximately 50 pages), and meet all other requirements of both seminars. Students will be expected to indicate the joint nature of the paper on the cover page of all submissions. Each professor approving such a project independently will submit a final grade indicating his or her judgment of the paper as it pertains to his or her course, and the final grades given for the two seminars need not be identical.
Students may not submit a single paper for a seminar and a GIR project. Students also may not submit a single paper to satisfy the requirements of two GIR projects.
LL.M. Externship Program
The Law Center offers a “for-credit” externship program course for LL.M. students each Spring semester. All current LL.M. students are eligible to participate in the externship program, except for COST Scholars (who participate in a separate externship program at COST).
Although the Office of Graduate Programs maintains a list of externship opportunities, students are responsible for securing their own placements. The work must be legal in nature and under the direct supervision of a lawyer. To be eligible for credit, students may not receive pay or other compensation from the placement organization during the externship period.
LL.M. students who participate in the for-credit program will receive two credits graded on a pass/fail basis. The LL.M. student must be registered for the two credits in order to participate in the program and these two credits will count toward the maximum of 13 academic credits allowed per semester.
LL.M. externs are required to attend an orientation class in the first week of the Spring semester and at least one additional class or meeting at the end of the Spring semester. LL.M. students are then required to devote a minimum of ten hours per week for at least eleven weeks to the externship. Students must keep a weekly diary that reflects the number of hours the student has worked and describes the nature of the work performed without disclosing any confidential information. This diary must be submitted on a weekly basis to the Externship Coordinator. At the end of the semester, the student will be required to submit a five- to ten-page paper reflecting on the externship experience.
Note: Although LL.M. students may receive academic credit only once for an externship during their LL.M. program, they are free to participate in other non-credit internships, subject to visa rules and the Law Center’s regulations on student employment.
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