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Curricula & Concentrations

Basic Degree Requirements

The LL.M. in Law and Government is a 24-credit degree that can be completed full-time in one year or on a part-time basis. The Program is dedicated to providing students a highly personalized and flexible experience to cater to students’ individual needs.  However, the following guidelines provide a general framework:

  • Full-time students generally register for 12 credits each semester. Part-time students may register for any number of credits up to 11 credits each semester. Students are responsible for ensuring that their chosen number of credits does not affect their financial aid packages in any adverse way.

  • No special petition is required to switch from part-time to full-time or vice versa. However, students are expected to be enrolled in consecutive semesters. Approval for leaves of absence must be obtained in advance by the Associate Director. Failure to seek approval in advance of a leave of absence may result in dismissal from the Program.

  • LL.M. students may complete degree requirements entirely by traditional classroom study or by classroom study combined with no more than 6 semester hours of non-classroom work (i.e., independent study or externship credits).

  • Each semester, the Program on Law & Government publishes a list of courses approved for the LL.M. degree. Courses that are not on the approved courses list will not count toward the LL.M. degree and may not be taken.  In particular, first-year JD courses, clinics, journals, and most international courses will not count toward the degree.

  • Students must obtain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 (C) to obtain the degree.

  • The only required course for U.S. trained lawyers is The Washington Lawyer. This 2-credit course is offered in the Fall and Spring semesters and satisfies the writing requirement for the LL.M. degree. Upon successful petition of the professor, LL.M. students may write longer final papers and expand the 2-credit course to 3 or 4 credits. Internationally trained LL.M. students are required to take American Legal Institutions during the Fall semester, a 2-credit class that covers substantive U.S. law and legal research and writing. This course satisfies the writing requirement for all Internationally trained lawyers pursuing the LL.M. degree.

  • All courses other than externships must be taken on a graded basis in order to be counted toward the LL.M. degree.

Courses

LL.M. students may choose from the Approved Course listing provided by the Program on Law and Government during the pre-registration period each semester. Complete course descriptions and accompanying syllabi for select courses are available on the WCL Registrar's Webpage.

Approved Law & Government
Courses
Current Semester Classes
Sample Spring Classes (PDF)
Sample Fall Classes (PDF)

Concentrations & Specializations

Students who are interested in a specific field of law may concentrate in one of the three umbrella areas of study listed below or further specialize by doing an in-depth study of a particular area within the concentration. Students who complete a concentration or specialization will receive a certificate from the Program on Law & Government. Students who wish to pursue a concentration or specialization must earn at least 12 credits in one of the areas listed below:

For International Students

The LL.M. in Law & Government is not a bar preparation program and we cannot offer official advice regarding the bar exam. However, many foreign-trained attorneys benefit from our diverse variety of U.S. domestic law courses. Helpful resources for bar review and legal employment in the U.S. include the National Conference of Bar Examiners Comprehensive Bar Survey (available at www.ncbex.org), as well as the National Association of Law Placement (www.nalp.org), and state bar association web sites.