Best Universities offering graduate programs in Law

The Coordinated JD/PhD Program is designed for students interested in completing interdisciplinary work at Harvard University and is founded on the belief that students’ legal studies and their arts and sciences graduate studies can be mutually enriched through this pursuit. Students completing the coordinated program receive a JD from Harvard Law School (HLS) and a PhD from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). It is expected that these students will be strong candidates for teaching posts at law schools and in arts and sciences programs, as well as for other positions in law and academia.

GSAS students who apply to and are admitted to HLS after the G3 year at GSAS must then separately apply to the coordinated program. The application to the coordinated program should include (1) a statement detailing the way in which the student plans to integrate his or her legal studies with his or her graduate studies including how work done at HLS will inform the dissertation work and vice versa; and (2) a letter of support from the primary GSAS advisor; and (3) the Plan of Study.

Students will be registered in only one School during any given semester/term. Pursuant to ABA rules, students must complete all requirements for the JD degree within seven years of the date they first enroll in HLS; they may graduate from HLS before completing the PhD. Students must have satisfactorily completed at least 16 half courses in their GSAS department to receive the PhD. Students in the coordinated program will have two primary faculty advisors, one at HLS and one at GSAS, who will jointly advise students.

Students will be expected to complete the first-year program, three upper-level fall or spring semesters, and two winter terms at HLS, for a total of five fall and spring semesters and three winter terms. In lieu of the sixth HLS semester generally required of JD students, students in the coordinated program may take a semester at GSAS, completing courses or dissertation work pre-approved by HLS, and equivalent to at least 10 HLS credits. This GSAS semester may be taken only after a student has matriculated at HLS and completed their entire first year of study there. Students and their faculty advisors will determine the most appropriate sequencing for each student’s course of study, keeping in mind the HLS course, credit, and residency requirements for this program.

Yale Law School admits a limited number of graduate students each year to pursue one year of full-time study leading to the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M.). Admission is generally open only to those committed to a career in teaching law. The LL.M. program at Yale Law School is not designed to prepare students to take the New York State Bar Examination.

LL.M. students at Yale Law School enjoy small class sizes, the camaraderie of fellow LL.M. and J.D. students, and a close relationship with the Yale Law School faculty. No uniform course of study is prescribed for LL.M. candidates. Courses are elective, and students are afforded considerable flexibility to tailor their studies to their interests. Subject to meeting degree requirements, LL.M. candidates are invited to use the resources of the Law School in whatever program of study will best prepare them for a career in research and teaching. They are also eligible to apply for support to present at national and international academic conferences.

Beyond the extraordinary academic opportunities at Yale Law School, our LL.M. students regularly and actively participate in many other aspects of student life at the Law School and across Yale University, including participating in a diversity of student organizations and attending a wide variety of co-curricular events and activities. The Graduate Programs Office also hosts a range of academic and social events for graduate students throughout the academic year—from, for instance, our Works in Progress Symposium, where students present their research to faculty and peers, and workshops on academic writing and publishing, to our winter and spring luncheons, a cruise around the Thimble Islands, and a visit to the historic Litchfield Law School, among others.

While small—the Law School typically enrolls around 25 LL.M. students each year—the LL.M. program at Yale Law School is truly global in its reach. Over the past four years, our LL.M. students have come from over 30 different countries.

The Law School offers two graduate degrees beyond the masters level: Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.S.D.), and Doctor of Comparative Law (D.Comp.L.). While most students elect to receive the J.S.D., the D.Comp.L.will be awarded at the student's option if the same degree requirements are met.

In order to earn the J.S.D. degree, a candidate must produce a dissertation which makes a creditable contribution to legal scholarship. The dissertation must be supervised by at least two members of the faculty and must be completed within five years of the candidate's first registration in the J.S.D. Program.

A candidate must spend at least two years (six academic quarters) in residence at the Law School while working on the dissertation. Residence requires living in Chicago.

During the years in residence the candidate will be expected to participate in the academic activities at the Law School on a daily basis. This can include taking classes related to the dissertation, participation in the Junior Scholars Colloquium, regular attendance of faculty workshops and attending the weekly faculty Works in Progress lunches.

The Graduate Studies Committee expects that J.S.D. students will make satisfactory progress on their dissertations. They are also expected to keep in regular contact with their faculty supervisors. The Committee will initiate periodic review of J.S.D. candidates’ progress.

During the three years at Columbia Law School, students will leverage all the benefits of a world-class institution and join a tight-knit community of driven intellectuals who are poised to be leaders in the field of law. Students J.D. academic experience at Columbia Law School is powered by connections that go far beyond the classroom.

The Law School offers globally focused courses in both emerging and traditional areas of law and our robust curriculum covers the most compelling issues in modern legal scholarship.

articipate in a broad range of clinics, externships, simulations, policy labs, and other public service opportunities, which provide an insider’s view into how the law operates in practical settings.

Mastering legal doctrine is just the beginning of a proper legal education. Lawyers play countless roles in the society—as advocates, as advisors, as leaders in their own right. They practice law, work in business and government, put their degrees to use in science, education, and policymaking, and serve their communities in many other ways. Knowledge of the law, both its content and how to argue about it, remains critical in all these roles. But it is not enough, and a lawyer must also understand the needs of the people he or she serves and the consequences for them of different legal positions. And because those needs cross disciplinary boundaries, Stanford Law—true to Stanford University’s heritage of learning without limits— offers the opportunity for a truly interdisciplinary, multidimensional legal education.

Stanford Law has adopted a variety of innovative approaches to prepare students to think not just like lawyers but also like clients and scholars. To begin, we make it easy to experience the diverse learning opportunities that are possible only at a university like Stanford—with its breadth of highly ranked schools and departments, all located close together on a well connected physical campus. Stanford Law students have broad access to courses outside the law school that will fill out their legal education. In this way, students benefit from academic thought leaders across disciplines, not to mention the intellectual life of the campus found in the myriad of conferences and events held each year and in countless other multidisciplinary research programs.

Nor do the opportunities to broaden your legal education at Stanford Law end here. In addition, you can explore law’s intersection with a growing range of fields by pursuing a joint degree and adding a master’s or doctorate to your law degree or by taking teamwork oriented simulation courses with students and faculty from other parts of the university.

The LLM in Law and Entrepreneurship is a two-semester, 24-credit program. The LLMLE program provides the opportunity to not only explore students interests further in the classroom, but to apply those interests during the practicum in a real working environment.

The Law & Entrepreneurship program provides students with a deep understanding of the historical and current perspectives on entrepreneurship and the law; enables students to understand the business, institutional, and strategic considerations applicable to entrepreneurs; fosters an understanding of the public policy and legal frameworks that promote innovation; ensures that students master both the core substantive law and the lawyering skills that are necessary for effective representation of entrepreneurs; and provides students with an opportunity to explore their own potential for entrepreneurship.

The Doctor of Juridical Science Program (SJD) is the highest law degree offered by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. The SJD program focuses on research and the production of original scholarship. The degree is granted upon the successful completion and defense of a dissertation.

All SJD candidates are required to be in residence at Penn for the first year of the program. Residency after this period is encouraged as it is highly conducive to completion of the dissertation.

Admission to the program is based upon the evaluation of a candidate’s past record and future promise as a legal scholar. Consideration is given to an applicant’s proposed research project, writing sample, academic record, professional experience, recommendations, personal statement, and English-language ability.

In keeping with its mission of training future legal academics and global leaders, Penn Carey Law provides fellowships for eligible SJD candidates that include full tuition, health insurance, and a stipend. Fellowships will cover three years of residence at Penn Carey Law.

The Maryland LLM brings advanced American and foreign-trained lawyers together, exposing students to the broad variety of approaches to law and policy-making, domestically and internationally, and preparing them for the challenges of an increasingly global legal community. The Maryland LLM is a centerpiece of Maryland Carey Law's commitment to advancing legal expertise and promoting justice not only across the United States, but also around the world.

Building on the law school's nationally recognized specialty programs, the LLM provides advanced legal education for lawyers and law students seeking to develop expertise in one or more specific areas of study or who would like to survey a broader range of topics, particularly relevant for international candidates.

The MSL residential program includes both full-time and part-time options. The full-time program can be completed in 9-months at Northwestern Law’s downtown Chicago campus. The part-time program is designed for STEM professionals in the Chicagoland area and can be completed in two to four years, also at the Law School’s downtown Chicago campus.

Both residential programs operate on the semester system, with each semester divided into two eight-week terms: Fall 1, Fall 2, Spring 1, and Spring 2. Each eight-week term includes a seven-week session and a one-week session, called the “Power Week.” The seven-week sessions include foundational and in-depth classes, while the Power Weeks tend to include more focused, specialized, and workshop-type classes.

This unique structure of four separate seven-week sessions coupled with four Power Weeks allows MSL students to experience a wide variety of classes, topics, formats, and pedagogical techniques.

Full-time students are generally in class an average of 12 to 15 hours per week, divided between day and evening classes. Part-time students are generally in class an average of 3 to 6 hours per week, usually in evening classes that meet 1 or 2 nights per week. Additionally, students should expect a substantial amount of out-of-class work, approximately 4 to 8 hours per course per week.

The LLM degree in Intellectual Property and Technology Law is a one-year graduate degree program that responds to the demand for knowledgeable and skilled intellectual property professionals who have already earned a basic law degree. The IP/TL curriculum allows students to study introductory and advanced intellectual property law and to scrutinize the politics affecting those areas of the law under the guidance of leading scholars in the field. Students participate in practical skills courses taught in small groups by teams of experienced intellectual property lawyers.

The IP/TL LLM student body is drawn from two distinct sources. First, we admit JD graduates from across the US who desire to focus their legal expertise through one year of intensive study of intellectual property law. Second, we admit experienced intellectual property attorneys from abroad who want to broaden their IP knowledge to include US and international intellectual property. WashULaw offers students a wide range of opportunities to explore the many facets of intellectual property law including conferences, symposia, speaker programs and involvement in related student organizations and competitions.

To earn the LLM in Intellectual Property and Technology Law, a student must successfully complete 24 credit hours of courses, 15 credits of which must come from the IP/TL curriculum.