LL.M. in Human Rights and Social Justice

The new LL.M. in Human Rights and Social Justice at UConn School of Law will offer students with a prior law degree a unique opportunity to pursue a course of study that integrates the international and domestic dimensions of social justice lawyering.

In keeping with the growing trend in the business, non-profit and public policy worlds to blend international and domestic human rights, the program will provide students with the opportunity for in-depth study of the international human rights and U.S. civil rights movements. Graduates will gain the specialized credentials and skills needed in the global business environment, for social policy work, and to meet the pressing need for access to justice for the poor and middle class in America and worldwide.

The flexible program, built on the extensive expertise of the UConn Law faculty, will provide a rigorous and cohesive grounding in the norms and methods of the human rights and civil rights movements. Students will also have the opportunity to take courses through the Human Rights Institute, a leading center of innovation in interdisciplinary human rights research and teaching, on the university's main campus in Storrs.

UConn School of Law is in the residential West End of Hartford, Connecticut, on a lovely Gothic-style campus that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Cultural and recreational opportunities abound in the area, which is just two hours from New York and Boston.

Degree Requirements

Students enrolled in the Human Rights & Social Justice LL.M. program at UConn School of Law must:

• Complete a minimum of 24 credits,
• Complete a 2- or 3-credit writing requirement, and
• Maintain a C+ grade point average.

International students enrolled in the LL.M. program on a visa can complete the program in two or (with permission) three consecutive semesters of full-time study beginning in the fall term in late August or in the spring term in mid-January. U.S. students can enroll either full-time or part-time with the expectation that they will graduate within five years.

The Law School courses preapproved for the LL.M. are listed below. Students may also petition for the inclusion of other courses, subject to the approval of the Director. All courses are open to LL.M. candidates as well as J.D. candidates, and only a few courses have prerequisites. LL.M. students can participate in the Asylum and Human Rights Clinic and are allowed to take up to 6 credits of graduate courses offered on the Certificate in Human Rights at the Storrs and Greater Hartford campuses. At registration, each student formulates a curricular plan of study to be approved by the director of the LL.M. program.

• 7838 Advanced Constitutional Law: Individual Rights
• 7810 American Indian Law
• 7850 Capital Punishment
• 7885 Children and the Law
• 7831 Comparative Constitutional Law
• 7825 Consumer Protection Law and Debt Collection
• 7645 Criminal Procedure
• 7696 Crisis in American Labor Law
• 7767 Critical Identity Theory
• 7909 Domestic Violence Law in Practice
• 7901 Elder Law
• 7655 Employment Discrimination Law
• 7587 Ethics of Public Health
• 7653 European Human Rights
• 7657 Family Law
• 7592 Health and Human Rights
• 7883 Human Rights and Post Conflict Justice
• 7609 Asylum & Human Rights Clinic
• 7672 Immigration Law
• 7878 International Human Rights
• 7879 International Humanitarian Law
• 7679 International Law
• 7766 Labor Law: Organizing and Collective Bargaining
• 7872 Latin American Law
• 7893 Law and Global Health
• 7697 Law and Public Education
• 7593 Law and Public Health
• 7927 Law and the Welfare State
• 7900 Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• 7763 Mental Health Law
• 7759 The Nuremberg Trials
• 7814 Refugee Law
• 7925 Sexuality, Gender, and the Law
• 7671 Tax-Exempt Organizations
• 7820 Tribal Justice Systems
• 7815 Workers’ Rights in a Global Economy

How to Apply

Applications are considered on a rolling basis. International student applications should generally be received by June 15 for fall enrollment, or November 15 for spring enrollment. Applications received before these dates will be given priority consideration. Admissions decisions will generally be made within several weeks of receipt of a completed application.

The admissions committee considers the applicant’s academic performance, intellectual curiosity, and professional experience. Admission is selective and limited to those who demonstrate academic excellence.

Eligibility to Apply

Applicants are required to hold or expect to receive a degree from an ABA-approved law school or from a recognized law faculty outside the United States before matriculating in the LL.M. program at UConn School of Law and must also meet the school’s English fluency standards.

There are a few exceptions to the degree requirements that create additional flexibility in admissions. Students who are enrolled in the first degree in law that is a five-year program may apply to the LL.M. program while in the fourth or fifth year of the first degree. Students who are enrolled in an integrated masters and Ph.D. program in law may apply to the LL.M. program when all their coursework is complete. Finally, students in a four-year first degree in law program may apply for admission in their fourth year with permission of their home institutions. The UConn School of Law LL.M. degree would be awarded after confirmation that the home institution awarded the student a first degree in law.

Important Dates

June 15, 2016 – Application Deadline for Fall Semester 2016 November 1, 2016 – Application Deadline for Spring Semester 2016 August 18, 2016 – Fall Semester Orientation