Breadcrumbs
Masters of Law (LLM) Program
Each year the College of Law admits about 15 students to pursue studies leading to the LLM degree. The program is specifically designed for: (1) foreign-trained jurists who seek a comparative introduction to and specific training in United States law and legal institutions and (2) foreign-trained jurists or graduates of JD programs here in the United States who wish to deepen their understanding of international and comparative law, including the law pertaining to international business transactions. The LLM program is deliberately kept small so that each student can receive substantial attention from the faculty. Admission is competitive.
Admissions Guidelines
The program is specifically designed for:
(1) foreign-trained jurists who seek a comparative introduction to and specific training in United States law and legal institutions and
(2) foreign-trained jurists or graduates of JD programs in the United States who wish to deepen their understanding of international and comparative law, including the law pertaining to international business transactions.
The LLM program is deliberately kept small so that each student can receive substantial attention from the faculty. Therefore, admission is competitive.
To be admitted, all applicants must present evidence of high academic potential, such as high rank in class in their previous law studies; strong recommendations, especially from law professors who supervised their work in classes or seminars; and challenging professional work experience. To assess these credentials, academic references are heavily relied upon. Because U.S. JD-holders and all other applicants with native or near-native fluency in English in the program are required to produce a publishable paper, such applicants should be sure to show evidence of ability to carry out complex research and writing projects.
Educational Requirements to Apply to the Program
U.S. law graduates who apply for this graduate degree must have obtained a JD degree from a law school that is a member of the Association of American Law Schools or approved by the American Bar Association.
Foreign law graduates must have completed the basic course of university studies that qualifies the candidate to sit for the bar examination (e.g., the French maîtrise, the German "first state bar examination"). If the home country bar exam does not require a specific degree, applicants should either be experienced members of the bar or have completed at least the first university degree in law.
All applicants must present evidence (university transcripts and letters of recommendation) that they are serious students with a solid record of academic and professional achievement. In evaluating foreign transcripts, we rely heavily on recommendation letters, especially from academics, that explain in detail the basis for their recommendation.
English Requirements
Applicants who have not completed a bachelor's degree at an accredited university in the U.S. or an equivalent degree at an accredited English-language university in Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom must also have achieved a score of at least 580 (paper)/237 (computer)/92 (Internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Waiver of the TOEFL or IELTS requirements are not normally granted, but if they are, students will be tested at matriculation and may be required to take English classes before enrolling in law courses. The University's TOEFL code is 6681. For more information, visit: www.ets.org/toefl. In lieu of the TOEFL, we will also accept IELTS scores of 7.0 or better, as long as there is no subscore below 6.0.
UI Law Graduates
UI law students seeking the LLM degree may do so by successfully completing 114 semester hours of academic credit over four years; 24 of these 114 hours must be concentrated in the area of international and comparative law and at least 4 of these 24 hours must be taken after admission into the LLM degree program. To qualify as part of the 24 credit hours required for the LLM degree, the credits must be graded and the student must have obtained a 2.00 or better. For more information please see the academic requirements page.
Academic Requirements
To earn the LLM degree, each student must successfully complete a course of a minimum of 24 hours of academic credit, as approved by his or her faculty adviser. These 24 credit hours are to be earned from the law school's general course offerings, which include a strong focus on international and comparative law courses but also include business law courses from the College's Innovation, Business and Law program as well as cutting-edge courses in all other major fields of public and private law.
For foreign-educated lawyers, 3 of the 24 credits must be earned as follows:
- one pass/fail credit for a course on U.S. methods of legal reasoning (takes place during August orientation, may be waived for common-law trained students);
- one pass/fail credit for a tutorial course designed to give foreign-trained jurists a comparative overview of the U.S. legal system and legal institutions; and
- at least one graded credit for a research paper on some aspect of comparative law, public international law, or international trade law.
U.S. JD-holders and foreigners who have been trained in another common-law jurisdiction and whose English competence is sufficiently high are required to undertake a more ambitious, 4-credit hour research project intended to lead to the production of a publishable paper in the field of international and comparative law. Others suitably qualified may also attempt the longer research paper with their advisor's approval. To assist the students with their research and writing, they are organized into a writing seminar that runs throughout the fall and spring semesters.
With the exception of the special tutorial and the writing seminar, courses are taken together with regular JD students from the law school's rich offerings on U.S., international, and comparative law. This method of instruction ensures a very effective comparative experience for the foreigners through broad contact with U.S. law students and professors, and the U.S.-trained students similarly benefit from close contact with the foreign-trained lawyers.
Costs & Financial Aid
This table shows the costs for the academic year indicated for out-of-state U.S. law students and international law students, who are normally treated as out-of-state for tuition purposes. The column for "Students without Assistantships" shows the full costs for out-of-state students. The column for "Students with Assistantships" shows the costs for in-state students. The costs include an estimate of living expenses for twelve months, in part because you may well have to sign a twelve-month lease. The total shown on that document is the amount of support from all sources that foreign students will need to show in order to obtain a student visa. It is reasonable to expect these amounts to increase somewhat each year.
Students holding at least quarter-time assistantships are eligible for the resident rate of tuition. Students without assistantships pay the nonresident rate of tuition.
Housing estimates apply to on-campus or moderately priced off-campus housing, sharing housing with at least one other person, a modest style of living, and careful financial management.
Since costs for major medical care in the United States are very high, the University requires international students to purchase health insurance through the University or show that they have equivalent coverage of at least $75,000. In addition, students are strongly advised to provide health insurance for any dependents that will be here with them. Figures quoted are estimates. Students with assistantships have a lower cost for insurance.
Additional Estimated Costs for Students Bringing Dependents
Students whose spouse and child(ren) plan to accompany them to Iowa City on F-2 or J-2 visas must present additional evidence of sufficient financial support for their dependents' living expenses and health insurance costs. (If your family members plan to join you later, you may submit your proof of additional financial support after you arrive in Iowa City.) Students with young children requiring full-time daycare should expect to pay more than $130 per week for each child.
All figures quoted are subject to change without notification.
Financial Aid
Iowa's ability to provide financial aid for LLM students is limited. Tuition waivers are not possible. The chief financial support the College provides is to hire LLM students as quarter-time research assistants (10 hours per week for a total of 300 hours over the fall and spring semesters). In addition to wages, the position entitles the out-of-state student to pay tuition at the in-state rate, which is a substantial savings. A limited number of scholarships are also available to LLM students.
To apply for research assistantships and scholarships simply indicate on your LLM application that you need financial support to attend. Whether or not you are applying for financial aid, for visa purposes all international students must also fill out the section of the application entitled "Financial Statement for International Students." Because of the limited nature of our aid, we encourage you to look aggressively for funding elsewhere. International students should consider applying for such U.S. programs as Fulbright, the Muskie Program for countries of the former Soviet Union, or the Ron Brown Fellowships for Eastern Europe, as well as pursuing funding possibilities within their own countries, with international bodies, and with private foundations like Ford, Soros, Rotary International, the Asia Foundation, and the American Association of University Women. Students whose home universities participate in the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) may be able to come under that program without paying more tuition than their home university charges.
The Thelma L. Schaffer Scholarship, the Carroll Sample Scholarship and the Donald R. Newbrough International and Comparative Law Scholarship Fund are available to academically outstanding and otherwise deserving international and comparative law students. These scholarships are a modest award that do not cover the complete costs of tuition.