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Master of Laws Degree Application Process

The Master of Laws program is designed to allow U.S. attorneys an opportunity to return to an academic setting to obtain specialized training and up-to-date knowledge about developments in selected areas of law. The LL.M. is also available to attorneys from other countries who desire exposure to the U.S. legal system.

Graduates of U.S. law schools may specialize in five selected areas in which the Law Center has established substantial teaching and research expertise: energy, environment and natural resources law, health law, intellectual property law, international economic law, and taxation law. The program for foreign attorneys, in effect, offers a general comparative law degree.

Applicants for admission to the program must be graduates of a law school or if a foreign lawyer, of a foreign law school of equivalent stature, or admitted to practice before the highest court in their jurisdiction. Applicants must present evidence of their ability to perform satisfactory graduate work through high grade point average or class standing at the undergraduate law level. Applicants from non-English-speaking countries must score at least 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). (TOEFL test scores should be sent to institution code #6870, department code #03.)

Candidates for the LL.M. degree who have earned the first degree in the U.S. will be admitted for the fall or spring semester. Foreign applicants are admitted during the fall semester only. To ensure full consideration, completed applications for admission to the entering class must be received no later than March 1 for fall admissions and October 15 for spring. An application for the LL.M. program should include the following:

1. $50 application fee (payable to University of Houston Law Center).
   
2. A completed application form.
   
3. Official law school transcript indicating academic performance and award of J.D. degree or foreign law degree (official translation if applicable), sent directly to the LLM program office.
   
4. For foreign attorneys an additional $75 application fee (payable to University of Houston), TOEFL results, and a completed letter of financial backing.
   
5. A letter stating reasons for pursuing an LL.M. degree in the area selected for concentration. The letter should also indicate any special circumstances that the Graduate Studies Committee should consider in reviewing the application and should describe the applicant's professional career since graduation from law school.
   
6. Two letters of reference in support of the application are required, at least one of which should be from an academic source.
   
7. Resume or Curriculum Vita is requested.
   
8. Four typed self-addressed labels.
   All applications are reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee, with admission granted on a competitive basis. (Applicants who are accepted to the program and who intend to enroll will be required to submit a nonrefundable $100 enrollment fee.)

Please address all inquiries and applications to:

Law Center
Attn: Program Coordinator
LL.M. Program
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 7204-6370
(713) 743-2081

E-mail: llm@www.law.uh.edu