For more information about the LL.M. program, please contact:
LL.M. Program Coordinator
The University of Texas School of Law
727 East Dean Keeton Street
Austin, Texas 78705-3224 USA
Phone: 512.232.1262 Telefax: 512.475.7970
Email: llm@law.utexas.edu
The LL.M. program is a small and extremely selective program. Each year we receive approximately 250 applications for the 50 places in the LL.M. class.
The LL.M. class of 2009-2010 is composed of 40 students from 14 countries.
The Law School's LL.M. program is designed to allow each student to design an individual course of study tailored to his or her own academic and professional interests. Most of a student's program will be drawn from the J.D. curriculum. In general, students do most of their coursework in a traditional classroom setting, learning side-by-side with U.S. law students enrolled in the J.D. program. However, it is possible to design a program that is more focused on research and writing, filling their schedules primarily with seminars and individual research projects. Still others choose to complement their law school classes with course offerings from other parts of the University, subject to the approval of their law school faculty advisor.
The LL.M. program offers three different courses of study. The U.S. Law for Foreign Lawyers program is designed to provide a basic understanding of the U.S. legal system to legal professionals who received their first law degree at foreign law schools. Students may choose to focus on a particular area of U.S. law, such as business organizations, intellectual property law, international & comparative law, or human rights law, to name a few. Others choose to obtain a broad overview, sampling courses in a wide variety of subjects.
The Law School’s new Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law will allow LLM students to take advantage of a unique and innovative program. The Center is the only one of its kind, offering a master’s degree in law that explores the intersections between natural resources law, environmental law, and international arbitration. Students in the program take core courses in energy law, international arbitration, and environmental law, ensuring a solid grounding in each field, but will have the flexibility to concentrate in one of the areas through advanced courses. In all classes, connections among the areas of concentration will be studied: environmental law classes will focus on energy exploration, development, and production laws as well as laws concerning climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels. International arbitration will be examined in the context of energy and environmental disputes. Such a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary approach to modern environmental and energy disputes is offered nowhere else. This program is open to both U.S. and foreign attorneys.
The Law School offers an exceptional program in Latin American and International Law, in conjunction with the country's preeminent center for the study of Latin America, the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS). The program is designed to provide both U.S. and foreign attorneys with an increased understanding of the transnational legal environment in the Americas. Students in this program typically take courses in international trade and investment, international human rights, international environmental law, NAFTA, and the legal regimes of Mexico and other Latin American states. Students may also choose to add an interdisciplinary perspective to their studies by enrolling in LLILAS courses in areas such as art history, anthropology, economics, history, public policy, literature, politics, sociology and zoology. Students who take a sufficient number of LLILAS courses may obtain a Certificate in Latin American Studies along with their LL.M. degree.