The UCLA School of Law has opened its Master of Laws (LL.M.)
program to those with American law degrees this year, expanding a
program that was formerly limited to international law school
graduates.
The Master of Laws program is a nine-month program that provides
Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) graduates
additional training in law, with the choice of focusing on certain
optional concentrations such as business law, international law,
and entertainment and media law and policy.
Though initially created so that international law school
graduates could learn about the U.S. judicial system, the program
is now being opened to domestic law school graduates who wish to
further their studies.
The law school began with a small international Master of Laws
program that has gradually grown over the past 20 years.
As the program became better known, domestic law graduates
requested that it be opened to both international and domestic
students, said Michael Schill, dean of the School of Law.
“What the law school has been really successful in doing
in the last 10 years is establishing high-quality specialization
programs in different fields of law. We expected a lot of domestic
J.D. graduates would like to learn more about those particular
areas,” Schill said.
Last year, 12 master’s students enrolled at the School of
Law, and enrollment expanded to 20 students this year.
Schill said that in two years he expects to have about 20 to 30
international students and an additional 20 to 30 domestic
master’s students.
While the program is being expanded, the enrollment in the
program will still be kept relatively small, Schill said.
“We want an elite LL.M. program. We’re not going to
be admitting hundreds of people,” he said.
For the upcoming year, the program will accept up to 50
students, half from domestic law schools and half from
international law schools.
International law graduates, having received their J.D. or LL.B.
degree outside of the United States, will benefit from being
exposed to U.S. law and its system, said Lara Stemple, director of
graduate studies at UCLA School of Law.
She said domestic law graduates will still find attaining a
Master of Laws degree useful for one of three reasons: changing
their career, learning more about a certain field of interest, or
taking a reprieve from the legal profession.
“For some students, it will help them change their
direction (of study) or career,” Stemple said.
Those who wish to change their area of expertise may have
focused in one field but later decided that they want to change to
another.
Holders of law degrees who want to continue pursuing their
interest in a certain field of law can do so through the
master’s program, allowing them to further develop their
expertise before dealing in the legal system. Students are
encouraged to develop a thesis and publish in a legal journal.
While students may opt to explore the three concentrations
offered by the program, they also are able to continue to study
general law or to design their own concentrations in areas such as
public interest law and policy, environmental law, or real estate
law, Stemple said.
The expansion of the master’s program is part of School of
Law’s mission to provide high-quality legal education, said
Philip Little, director of communications at the law school.
“We’ve always had inquiries of accepting graduates
of American law schools,” Little said.
The opening of enrollment in the school to domestic law school
graduates expands the college’s mission of working towards
students’ interests, he said.
“We’re really excited about it. The new students
will be a great addition,” Stemple said.