Degree Requirements

The LL.M. program is designed to be completed in one academic year of full-time study. Students enter in the fall semester, which begins in late August and ends in late December, and finish in the spring semester, which begins mid-January and ends in late May. There are no spring admissions. Attendance during the summer session is permitted but not required.

All students enrolled in the LL.M. program must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours and complete a substantial paper involving independent research and legal analysis to obtain the LL.M. degree. LL.M. students will enroll in a seminar or a directed research class to complete the writing requirement.

Students to have a foreign law degree are required to take "Contracts for Foreign Lawyers," a course developed specifically for LL.M. students.

Students in the U.S. Law for Foreign Lawyers program will choose their classes from the full spectrum of classes in the J.D. curriculum, including seminars and many of the clinics.

Students in the Global Energy, International Arbitration and Environmental Law program will take the majority of the required 24 credit hours in core courses in energy law, international arbitration, and environmental law. Students will have the flexibility to concentrate in one of the areas through additional advanced courses.  Coastal and Ocean Law, Electricity Law, Emerging Trends in Oil & Gas Litigation, Environmental Law, International Commercial Arbitration, Wind Law, Electricity Law,  Oil & Gas, Trade, Environment & Human Rights, and Global Climate Change Policy are just a few of the courses available.

Students in the Latin American and International Law program will take at least 12 of the required 24 credit hours in courses with a Latin American, comparative, or an international focus.  Constitutional Strategies in Latin American Law, International Business Litigation, International Trade, Immigration, International Human Rights, Mexican & Latin American Law and Public International Law are a small sampling of regularly offered courses.

Because of the importance of a foreign language to the practice of law in the Americas, students completing this program will be required to demonstrate a basic proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese before graduation. In special circumstances, proficiency in another language may satisfy the language requirement.