The Program
Full Brochure

Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants. The Law School is widely recognized as one of the nation’s best, and its graduates are prominent in the leadership of the bar, legal education and public service both in the United States and abroad. Consistently ranked among the top 10 law schools in the United States, Virginia has educated generations of lawyers, instilling in them a commitment to the ideals of leadership, integrity, and community service. Faculty members, nationally acclaimed experts in their fields and outstanding teachers, lead Virginia’s 1,100 students to appreciate the power of law to shape human behavior and to influence political, social, and cultural life.

Virginia is justly famous for its collegial environment that bonds students and faculty, and student satisfaction is consistently cited as among the highest in American law schools. Intellectual challenges are met with a spirit of cooperation and camaraderie. Students learn together and rely on the nation’s oldest student-run Honor System to maintain the highest ethical standards.

Since the 1960s, the Graduate Studies Program has provided an American legal education to lawyers who have obtained their first law degree in their home countries. Superbly talented individuals with wide-ranging interests and experiences, Virginia’s LL.M. students make important contributions in and out of the Law School classroom. By maintaining a small and highly selective program, the Law School ensures a supportive atmosphere for students. In a typical year, several dozen students, all holders of the academic degree regarded as their country’s first professional degree in law (equivalent to the J.D. degree) are admitted to the one-year program leading to the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. Virtually all members of the LL.M. class are from abroad. The Law School also offers the Doctor of Juridical Science degree (S.J.D.), the highest degree in law. Normally, a student is admitted to candidacy for the S.J.D. only after completing the LL.M.

For foreign law graduates, the LL.M. program is designed to provide both a broad introduction to American law and legal theory, and advanced training in specialized areas of the law that are relevant to the individual student’s planned career in private practice, academics, or public service.

The advantages of maintaining a small graduate program in a large, intellectually diversified law school include the ability to tailor each student’s course of study to his or her individual interests and career objectives. The director of graduate studies advises students and approves their course selections and research plans and, together with other faculty members, is available to counsel students as they progress through the program. With the approval of the director, LL.M. candidates may also take up to three of their required credit hours in relevant graduate-level courses in other schools and departments of the University. In appropriate cases, the Graduate Committee may permit additional credit hours to be earned outside the Law School.

GRADUATE STUDIES OFFICE
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-1738

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Telephone: (434) 924-3154
Fax: (434) 924-7536
e-mail: gradadmitlaw@virginia.edu