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Law Center

Master of Laws Degree

Admissions

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 and information law, international law, and tax law. The program for foreign attorneys, in effect, offers a general comparative law degree.

Applicants for admission to the program must be graduates of an ABA accredited law school or 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 paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or 100 on the Internet-based test. (TOEFL test scores should be sent to institution code #6870, department code #03.)

Candidates for the LL.M. degree who have earned their law 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 (Feb. 1 for foreign applicants) for fall admissions and October 1 for spring. An application for the LL.M. program should include the following:

  1. A completed application form.

  2. $70 application fee (payable to "University of Houston Law Center").

  3. For foreign-educated attorneys, an additional $75 application fee (payable to "International Admissions").

  4. TOEFL report

  5. Completed letter of financial backing and statement of understanding (available online).

  6. 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 LL.M. program office.

  7. A personal statement of 300 or more words describing the reasons for pursuing an LL.M. degree in the area selected for concentration. The statement 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.

  8. Two letters of reference in support of the application are required, at least one of which should be from an academic source.

  9. Resume or Curriculum Vita.

  10. Two 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 non-refundable enrollment fee.

Please address all inquiries and applications to:

Peggy Fortner
Administrative Director, LL.M. Program
University of Houston Law Center
100 Law Center
Houston, Texas 77204-6060

E-mail: llm@uh.edu or call (713) 743-2890