The School of Law offers a one-year program for foreign lawyers leading to the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. The program is for persons who have completed a basic legal education and received a university degree in law in another country. Students may elect to take courses aimed at developing knowledge in specific areas of the law — such as international business law, environmental law, or comparative law — or may tailor a custom course of study to suit individual interests or professional needs.
The UA School of Law is one of the top 10 public law schools in the nation according to US News & World Report. To earn an LL.M. degree, a student must be in residence in The University of Alabama School of Law for two semesters and must be enrolled for at least 24 semester hours of work over the academic year. Courses and seminars will be arranged on an individual basis with the advice of a faculty “mentor” and the Director of International Programs, Dan Joyner. To earn the degree students must maintain a minimum 2.5 overall grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for all courses and seminars. Students must also, in the judgment of the law faculty, demonstrate satisfactory understanding of the subject matter and above-average ability as legal scholars. In the case of LL.M. students for whom English is a second language, the Dean may waive the grade point average requirement by allowing such students to take course work on a pass/D/fail basis and to write papers in lieu of examinations, in which case the degree may be earned if such students satisfactorily pass all course work.
Out-of-state tuition is reasonable when cost compared with many other American law schools. However, tuition is subject to change.
For more information on the application process, please contact the Law School Admissions Office at admissions@law.ua.edu. For more information on the LL.M. Program course of study, please contact the Director of International Programs, Dan Joyner at djoyner@law.ua.edu.
