Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program; 530-752-6081; Fax 530-752-4704; Master of Laws

Graduate Study

The Law School LL.M. (Master of Laws) program integrates American and foreign law students at all levels of study. For foreign law graduates, the program provides an opportunity to gain a basic knowledge of the United States legal system. United States law school graduates and selected foreign LL.M. candidates may also seek admission on a thesis rather than a course basis. Other opportunities available to all graduate law students include developing special expertise in a particular area and doing special projects and original research under the direction of a faculty member.

Each LL.M. candidate must successfully complete a minimum of 20 semester units of work, usually 10 units each semester. Foreign LL.M. students must enroll in the 2-unit course LAW 200A and the 1-unit course LAW 207A. They earn the remainder of their required course credit in elective J.D. courses. Each foreign student must also complete an intellectually rigorous legal research and writing project,  constituting at least 2 units of credit.

All LL.M. candidates begin their year of study with a complete orientation in the academic and social life of the law school, the UC Davis campus, and the city of Davis. LL.M. students are encouraged to enroll in the School of Law’s Orientation in U.S.A. Law Program, given during the summer before the fall semester of LL.M. begins.

LL.M. Degree Requirements

To earn an LL.M. degree, a graduate law student must:

A. Pass all required courses;

B. Earn twenty semester credits;

C. Complete two semesters in residence;

D. if a graduate of a United States law school, write a graded thesis having a semester credit value of between four to eight units; or

E. if a graduate of a foreign law school, write an analytically rigorous legal research paper, either as part of a seminar or for an independent study project worth at least two semester units of credit, which is completed within the two semesters of the graduate program and is equivalent in quality and substance to the writing project required of candidates for the J.D. degree under paragraph 1.4C;

F. Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 at the end of the program. The grade point average shall be determined on the basis of letter grades. This rule applies even for LL.M. students who elect "Satisfactory"/ "Unsatisfactory" grading as provided in paragraph 6.3D or paragraph 6.3E. The grade point average is computed to the nearest tenth; numbers 0.50 and above will be rounded off to the next highest tenth.

Additional information may be found in the Law School's Regulations.