LL.M. in Taxation Online Program FAQs

Georgetown offers two parallel tracks, an on-campus and an online program, that lead to the same LL.M. in Taxation degree. Students in both programs take the same courses, complete the same assignments, and are graded on the same curve. All classes offered as part of the online program are taught in the same semester in which students are enrolled. Class materials and videos are not recycled or offered in later semesters.

On-campus students are generally required to attend classes in-person. However, U.S.-trained students may request to take one or more online classes in certain circumstances (e.g., if there is a time conflict between two live classes, a student may request to take one of those classes on a distance basis). Foreign-trained students generally may not take online courses if they seek to be admitted to a U.S. state bar.

Students in the online program will generally complete their courses asynchronously, although certain classes may require real-time participation by Zoom. Because not every tax course is offered in an online format, students should review the Georgetown Law Curriculum Guide to sort classes using the Taxation LL.M. (online) tab to see which courses are offered online, and in which semesters. Most courses are available in both formats (in-person and online), although some smaller seminar courses may only be available to on-campus students. Students enrolled in the online program may take courses on-campus if they can attend all classes on campus and in-person.

Students should keep in mind that the LL.M. in Taxation online program is intended for working professionals outside of the Washington, D.C. area who cannot come to campus to attend classes in-person. The online program is not intended to be completed on a full-time basis. Work experience, therefore, is an important factor considered in admission to the online program. Students who have recently graduated from law school, have little or no full-time legal work experience, or who intend to complete their degree on a full-time basis are strongly encouraged to apply to the on-campus program.

Lastly, the LL.M. in Taxation online program will not qualify a student to sit for the bar exam in any state.

International students in F-1 or J-1 status are not able to enroll in our part-time or online programs. Please email an International Student Advisor at lawcentervisa@georgetown.edu if you have any questions.

Admission to Georgetown Law’s LL.M. in Taxation online program is highly selective, and is based on the same admissions standards as our on-campus program. Applicants must hold a first degree in law (J.D. or equivalent) from an ABA-approved law school, or a bachelor’s degree in law from an approved non-U.S. law school. For more information on admission to the Taxation LL.M. program, please visit the Office of Graduate Admissions website.

All prospective students must have taken a basic federal income tax course during their J.D. program, or complete Georgetown Law’s online course, Foundations of Federal Income Tax, prior to matriculation. The vast majority of applicants to the LL.M. in Taxation online program have several years of post-graduate legal work experience.

There is no standalone admission into Georgetown’s online Certificates of Specialization programs. Once admitted into the LL.M. in Taxation online program, an online Certificate of Specialization can be pursued alongside the degree.

The online LL.M. in Taxation requires the completion of 24 credit hours of coursework, including 20 tax specialization credits.

A full list of qualifying courses can be found under the Taxation LL.M. (online) tab under Courses in a Graduate Program in the Georgetown Law Curriculum Guide.

There are no specific course requirements, so students are able to design their program to suit their academic and career objectives. However, the faculty and administration provide detailed course selection guidance for graduate tax students, and all students receive individualized academic advising throughout the duration of the program.

Most graduate-level tax classes carry two credits each.

Full-time LL.M. in Taxation students generally take twelve academic credits each semester and complete the program in two semesters.

Part-time LL.M. in Taxation students typically take between two and six credits per semester and finish the program in two or three years.

Most tax classes are offered in both the on-campus and online program with a designated meeting time (e.g., Mondays from 5:45-7:45 pm). However, the majority of online classes are asynchronous, meaning that students receive access to the class videos within 24 hours after the live class meets. A handful of online courses do require live attendance on specific days and times.

Students interact with one another and their professors using Canvas, Georgetown’s learning management system, and through e-mail and videoconferencing applications. The class format for each course is described in the Georgetown Law Curriculum Guide.

Although the final assessment varies depending on the course, most online students will complete a take-home examination at the end of the semester. These exams are administered online by the Office of the Registrar and may be time limited (e.g., students may have a window of 3-4 hours during the exam period to complete a take-home exam).

Full-time students (taking eight or more credits) pay tuition by the semester, and part-time students (taking seven or fewer credits) pay tuition by the credit hour.

More information can be found on the Georgetown Law Tuition & Cost of Attendance page.

Yes to all! Online students receive the same access to academic and career resources as on-campus students, including individualized academic advising, career advising, and access to Georgetown’s Symplicity jobs database and on-campus interview programs (including the Taxation Interview Program, co-hosted with NYU, during the year of the student’s expected graduation date).

All students (including online students) receive a student ID that gives them access to all campus buildings, and are provided with access to all electronic library resources, including Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg, and RIA Checkpoint, among others. Online students may also attend classes in person and take on-campus classes on a space-available basis.

Yes.