10/7/2020 LL.M.

Degree Requirements | Harvard Law School

LL.M. Degree Requirements

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The philosophy of the LL.M. program is to offer our students a broad platform on which to design their own
course of study within parameters set by the Harvard Law School faculty. All students must satisfactorily
complete a minimum of 23 credits and a maximum of 28 credits in one academic year; most students
complete between 23 and 25 credits. The foregoing minimum and maximum include the one credit assigned
for completion of the portion of the Legal Research, Writing and Analysis course that takes place during
Orientation. Students also must satisfy some specific course and written work requirements.

Specific Requirements
International LL.M. students are free to choose their own courses. The only course requirement is that
students must take one core course in U.S. law. The following courses have been pre-approved for this
requirement: Antitrust Law and Economics – U.S., Contracts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law,
Corporations, Criminal Law, Evidence, Family Law, Legislation and Regulation, Property, Separation of
Powers, Taxation, or Torts. International students also must write a paper of 25 or more pages that involves
independent reflection, formulation of a sustained argument and, in many cases, outside research. Papers
may be written either independently or in conjunction with a seminar. Finally, we strongly encourage
students to take at least one course focusing on legal history, legal theory, policy analysis or legal process.

For students who hold a J.D. from a law school in the United States or Puerto Rico, and who are
hoping to embark on a law teaching career, the emphasis is slightly different. These students have the
opportunity to take a step back and relate the doctrinal areas in which they previously concentrated to
broader intellectual, social, and cultural traditions and to pursue an extended writing project. Thus, students
from the United States and Puerto Rico are strongly encouraged to take at least one course that is primarily
focused on legal theory or jurisprudence and are required to write a paper of at least 50 pages in length.

Links
1. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/
2. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/welcome/
3. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/administration-and-staff/
4. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/graduate-program-admissions-financial-aid/
5. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-admissions/
6. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-application-deadlines-and-materials/
7. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-tuition-and-financial-aid/
8. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/ll-m-admissions-covid-19-faq/
9. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-admissions-faq/
10. https://hls.harvard.edu/content/uploads/2020/09/Sample-2021-LLM-Application.pdf
11. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/sjd-admissions/
12. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/sjd-application-deadlines-and-materials/
13. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/financing-sjd-study-at-harvard-law-school/

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10/7/2020 LL.M. Degree Requirements | Harvard Law School
14. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/vsvr-admissions/
15. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/vsvr-program-application-deadlines-and-materials/
16. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/visiting-scholar-visiting-researcher-program-invitation-letters-an
d-early-decisions/
17. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/vsvr-program-cost/
18. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/apply/
19. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-profiles/
20. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/student-life/
21. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-program/
22. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-degree-overview/
23. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/llm-degree-requirements/
24. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/academic-resources/
25. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/admitted-ll-m-students/
26. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/sjd-program/
27. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/sjd-program-of-study/
28. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/current-sjd-candidates/
29. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/connect-with-sjd-alumni/
30. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/sjd-teaching-and-fellowship-opportunities/
31. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/sjd-academic-life/
32. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/byse-fellowships/
33. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/visiting-scholar-visiting-researcher-program/
34. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/alumni/
35. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/make-a-gift-to-the-graduate-program/
36. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/international-postgraduate-research-program/
37. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/gphandbook/
38. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/contact-us/

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