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MASTER OF LAWS DEGREE AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
(for programs other than Advocacy)
General Requirements for All LL.M. Students (both U.S.- and foreign-educated attorneys)
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 as described in the appropriate section below;
- Earn a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00;
- Complete all requirements for the degree within the prescribed period of study (see section on Period of Study below.) Full-time students are expected to complete the degree in one academic year, and part-time students may take up to three years.
Specific LL.M. Degree Requirements for U.S.-Educated J.D. Graduates
LL.M. (INDIVIDUALIZED PROGRAM)
Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 24 academic credits in a program of study approved by the Graduate Admissions Committee or an academic advisor. There is no limitation on the number of J.D. upperclass courses that may be included in the approved program, but approval does not guarantee entry into any particular course or seminar.
LL.M. IN GLOBAL HEALTH LAW Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 24 academic credits, including 16 academic credits (“specialization credits”) in courses listed under Global Health Law in the course schedule
- As part of the required 16 specialization credits, each student must successfully complete either the 4-credit course Global Health Law or the 2-credit course Global Health Law and the 2-credit course Global Health Law: An Intensive, Problem-Based Exploration.
LL.M. IN GLOBAL HEALTH LAW AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 12 academic credits completed at Georgetown, including 10 academic credits (“specialization credits”) in courses listed under Global Health Law in the course schedule.
- As part of the required 10 specialization credits at Georgetown, each student must successfully compete either (1) the 4-credit course Global Health Law or (2) the 2-credit course Global Health Law and the 2-credit course Global Health Law: An Intensive, Problem-Based Exploration.
- 39 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits (three ECTS credits are the equivalent of 1 Georgetown academic credit) completed at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, to be completed during a full-time spring semester in residence at the Graduate Institute. As part of the 39 ECTS credits at the Graduate Institute:
- Each student must complete 24 ECTS credits through coursework including the two compulsory courses, International Health Law and Global Public Health: Current and Emerging Issues.
- Each student must complete either an approved internship or a dissertation.
- The internship must last for a minimum of four weeks, must have a dimension linked to global health legal and/or policy questions, and must be authorized in advance by the Joint LL.M. Committee. Students pursuing an internship must submit an application to the committee at least one month prior to the beginning of the internship. At the completion of the internship, students must submit a written report to the Global Health Law Program Director (Georgetown) of no more than 10,000 words developing some of the themes and questions addressed during the internship. The report is graded and, in conjunction with completion of the internship, counts for 15 ECTS credits.
- With the prior approval of both the Head of the International Law Unit at the Graduate Institute and the Director of the Global Health Law Program at Georgetown, a student may undertake a dissertation instead of the required internship. A dissertation entitles the student to 15 ECTS credits.
- The academic policies of the Graduate Institute apply to credits completed at the Graduate Institute, including a dissertation, and are set forth in the Graduate Institute’s reglement for the degree program.
LL.M. IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC LAW (IBEL)
Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- Successful completion either prior to or during the LL.M. program of International Law I or a comparable course in public international law.
- 24 academic credits, including 16 academic credits (“specialization credits”) in courses listed in List C in the IBEL Curriculum Guide.
- As part of the 16 specialization credits, student must successfully compete:
- at least one course that focuses on international regulation (see List A in the Curriculum Guide),
- at least one course that focuses on international business (see List B in the Curriculum Guide), and
- Corporations, if they did not take a comparable course in their J.D. studies.
LL.M. IN SECURITIES AND FINANCIAL REGULATION Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 24 academic credits, including 16 academic credits in courses listed under Securities and Financial Regulation in the course schedule;
- Prior or concurrent completion of a basic course in Securities Regulation [Note: this course does not count towards the required 16 Securities credits but, if taken as part of the student’s LL.M. program, may count as elective credit toward the 24 total academic credits required for the degree].
LL.M. IN TAXATION Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 24 academic credits, including 20 academic credits in courses listed under Taxation in the course schedule [Note: Taxation I does not count towards the required 20 Taxation credits but, with the permission of the Director of the Graduate Tax Program, it may count as elective credit towards the 24 total academic credits required for the degree];
- Completion of the courses (1) Income Tax Accounting and (2) Corporate Income Tax Law I (with permission of the Director of the Graduate Tax Program, the J.D. course Taxation II may be substituted for Corporate Income Tax Law I to satisfy this requirement). Students who have taken prior courses on these subjects may petition the Director of the Graduate Tax Program to have a required course waived in order to substitute a tax elective. Petitions to waive either of these required courses will be considered only if (1) the student (by e-mail or in writing) petitions for the waiver during the first semester of enrollment in the Master of Laws in Taxation Program and (2) the student received a minimum grade of “B” in a comparable course from an ABA-approved law school.
Specific LL.M. Degree Requirements for Foreign-Educated Attorneys
LL.M. (GENERAL STUDIES)
Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 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 required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse I unless this requirement has been waived, in writing, by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs. Waivers will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
LL.M. IN GLOBAL HEALTH LAW Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 20 academic credits, including 14 academic credits (“specialization credits”) in courses listed under Global Health Law in the course schedule;
- As part of the required 14 specialization credits, each student must successfully complete (1) either the 4-credit course Global Health Law or the 2-credit course Global Health Law and the 2-credit course Global Health Law: An Intensive, Problem-Based Exploration;
- Participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse I unless this requirement has been waived, in writing, by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs. Waivers will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
LL.M. IN GLOBAL HEALTH LAW AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 12 academic credits completed at Georgetown, including 10 academic credits (“specialization credits”) in courses listed under Global Health Law in the course schedule.
- As part of the required 10 specialization credits at Georgetown, each student must successfully compete either (1) the 4-credit course Global Health Law or (2) the 2-credit course Global Health Law and the 2-credit course Global Health Law: An Intensive, Problem-Based Exploration.
- Participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse I at Georgetown, unless this requirement has been waived, in writing, by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs. Waivers will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
- 39 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits (three ECTS credits are the equivalent of 1 Georgetown academic credit) completed at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, to be completed during a full-time spring semester in residence at the Graduate Institute. As part of the 39 ECTS credits at the Graduate Institute:
- Each student must complete 24 ECTS credits through coursework including the two compulsory courses, International Health Law and Global Public Health: Current and Emerging Issues.
- Each student must complete either an approved internship or a dissertation.
- The internship must last for a minimum of four weeks, must have a dimension linked to global health legal and/or policy questions, and must be authorized in advance by the Joint LL.M. Committee. Students pursuing an internship must submit an application to the committee at least one month prior to the beginning of the internship. At the completion of the internship, students must submit a written report to the Global Health Law Program Director (Georgetown) of no more than 10,000 words developing some of the themes and questions addressed during the internship. The report is graded and, in conjunction with completion of the internship, counts for 15 ECTS credits.
- With the prior approval of both the Head of the International Law Unit at the Graduate Institute and the Director of the Global Health Law Program at Georgetown, a student may undertake a dissertation instead of the required internship. A dissertation entitles the student to 15 ECTS credits.
The academic policies of the Graduate Institute apply to credits completed at the Graduate Institute, including a dissertation, and are set forth in the Graduate Institute’s reglement for the degree program.
LL.M. IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC LAW (IBEL) Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- Successful completion either prior to or during the LL.M. program of International Law I or a comparable course in public international law.
- 20 academic credits, including 14 academic credits (“specialization credits”) in courses listed in List C in the IBEL Curriculum Guide.
- As part of the 14 specialization credits, student must successfully compete:
- at least one course that focuses on international regulation (see List A in the Curriculum Guide),
- at least one course that focuses on international business (see List B in the Curriculum Guide), and
Corporations.
- Participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse I, unless this requirement has been waived, in writing, by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs. Waivers will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
LL.M. IN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STUDIES
Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 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 Law in the course schedule;
- Participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse I, unless this requirement has been waived, in writing, by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs. Waivers will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
LL.M. IN SECURITIES AND FINANCIAL REGULATION
Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 20 academic credits in a program of study approved by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs, including a minimum of 14 academic credits in courses listed under Securities and Financial Regulation in the course schedule;
- As part of the required 14 specialization credits, completion of a basic course in Securities Regulation;
- Participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse I, unless this requirement has been waived, in writing, by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs. Waivers will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
LL.M. IN TAXATION
Requires, in addition to the general requirements:
- 20 academic credits in a program of study approved by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs, including a minimum of 16 academic credits in courses listed under Taxation in the course schedule;
- As part of the required 16 specialization credits, completion of the courses (1) U.S. Income Tax: Policies and Practices, and (2) Corporate Income Tax Law I or Taxation II;
- Participation in the Foundations of American Law program or completion of the required course for international students, U.S. Legal Discourse I, unless this requirement has been waived, in writing, by an international student advisor from the Office of Graduate Programs. Waivers will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
Joint J.D./LL.M. in Taxation
The J.D./LL.M. joint degree program permits students who are still completing their J.D. degree to take tax courses that will count both toward the J.D. degree and also toward an LL.M. degree in Taxation. Students in this program are expected, while still J.D. students, to complete at least 12 credits of courses listed in the course schedule as counting toward the LL.M. in Taxation (“qualifying tax credits”). After receiving their J.D. degree, joint degree students complete the additional academic credits necessary to fulfill the requirements of the Taxation LL.M. degree. Regardless of the number of qualifying tax credits completed during the J.D. phase of the program, following conferral of the J.D. degree, all students are required to complete an additional 12 credits, of which at least 8 must be tax credits. Students may complete these additional credits on a full-time or part-time basis. Joint degree students are expected to complete their LL.M. credits within two years of receiving their J.D. degree.
For students in this program, all of the qualifying tax credits that they take while completing their J.D. degree will be shown on their LL.M. transcript, along with the additional courses taken during the LL.M. phase of the program, and all of these courses will be counted toward the student’s LL.M. grade point average. (Taxation I, which is a prerequisite to matriculation in the Tax LL.M. program, may not be included among the 12 J.D. credits counted toward the LL.M. degree.)
Georgetown students apply to the J.D./LL.M. joint degree in the spring semester before the start of their final year and must have completed or be enrolled in Taxation I at the time of their application. Students who are enrolled as J.D. students in other ABA-approved schools are eligible to participate in this program provided they spend the final year of their J.D. studies as a visiting student at Georgetown. These students must apply for the LL.M. at the same time as they apply to visit and must have completed a basic course in federal income tax by the time of their application.
The Extended LL.M. Program and Certificate in American Legal English
A student enrolled in the Extended LL.M. is required to be a full-time student for two full academic years. The first year of the program is a structured program of required courses. Regular and punctual attendance is mandatory and any student who does not meet this requirement or who fails to demonstrate a seriousness of purpose may be terminated from the program. Following successful completion of the final year, students are awarded a Certificate in American Legal English. Students in the two year program are eligible to receive any specialized degree or certificate for which they satisfy the requirements.
Requirements for Two Separate LL.M. Degrees
Students who wish to complete two separate LL.M. degrees may apply to do so. Current students should submit an updated application to the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, who will consult with the Office of Admissions. No application fee is required for current students.
Transfer Between LL.M. Degree Programs
A student in an LL.M. degree program may apply to transfer to a different program by submitting to the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs or the Director of LL.M. Academic Services a written request explaining the academic reasons for requesting the transfer.
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