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Master of Laws (LLM) Requirements

students talking in front of row of flags during International Week

LLM students are expected in enroll in a minimum of 21 credit hours in law. All LLM students participate in the Distinctive Aspects of American Law course, and those with civil law training also will be asked to enroll in the U.S. Legal Analysis, Research and Writing for International Students course. Some LLM students elect to take first-year courses, but the greater part of the LLM curriculum consists of upper-class courses selected by the individual student.

Duke's LLM program is not a research degree, but students can pursue their own areas of interest under faculty supervision, either by conducting an independent research project or by enrolling in a seminar. LLM students are required to produce two credits of written work for the degree in either a seminar or an independent research project. An un-graded elective course, the Legal Writing Workshop, is available to LLM students during the spring semester; it is designed to provide LLM students with additional instruction in US legal correspondence and drafting, and to assist students in writing research papers and preparing for seminar presentations.

Candidates for the LLM degree must earn 21 law credits to graduate.

The program of study is normally completed in one academic year, which begins for all new students in late August. Additional requirements are as follows:

  1. LL.M. students are required to take Distinctive Aspects of U.S. Law.
  2. Students without extensive experience studying in English are required to take Legal Analysis, Research and Writing for International Students.
  3. Students are also required to produce a substantial piece of writing, which is usually satisfied by taking a seminar course or pursuing an independent research project supervised by a faculty member.

LLM students are welcome to make selections from the large number of courses represented in the curriculum. With the exception of the required courses, all classes are taken with JD students. Students may also take courses in other parts of the university, such as the Fuqua School of Business or the Sanford Institute of Public Policy.