Master of Laws (LLM) for Foreign-Trained Lawyers

The Master of Laws (LLM) degree provides foreign law graduates with critical training in the common law legal tradition and the U.S. legal system during an academic year at the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh's vibrant Oakland neighborhood.

Pitt Law’s LLM program provides lawyers who have completed their law degree outside the United States with an opportunity to study the common law legal tradition and the U.S. legal system in the United States.

Structure

Students must complete a minimum of 24 credits to graduate. The program is completed in one academic year from August to May. Part-time admission is considered on a case-by-case basis. The CILE Academic Director, Executive Director and Program Administrator take an active role in personally counseling each LLM student on their course choices, helping you to plan a course of study that is uniquely tailored to your personal needs.

Required Courses

• Introduction to American Law (3 credits)
• U.S. Legal Analysis And Writing (2 credits each semester; 2 semesters required)
• LLM Colloquium (1 credit)

Electives

For electives, choose from the wide range of courses offered to Pitt Law JD students.

Writing Requirement - Choose one of the following:

• Independent Study (2 credits)
• Seminar Courses (Usually 3 credits-various courses are offered each semester)

Personalized support

With a relatively small class (averaging 15 to 25 LLM students each year), we provide each student with individual advice, guidance, and support.

Full integration with the JD student body

Other than two required LLM-only classes, you will take all of your coursework in the same classes and seminars as our U.S. JD students.

World-class instruction

Our faculty is a close-knit community of accomplished and energetic scholars who are at the forefront of domestic and international legal research and scholarship.

Moot competitions

Try out for our LLM commercial arbitration team, which in March 2016 bested LLM teams from across the US, including American, Georgetown and Penn, to win the LLM International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Washington, DC.

Internship opportunities

CILE works with LLM students who wish to stay in Pittsburgh for the summer after graduation and intern at a law firm or other organization. We work with each student to assist them in finding an internship provider that best suits his or her field of interest.

Activities outside the classroom

Activities for each year’s class of LLM students include:

• An orientation week trip to Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Fallingwater house in the neighboring Laurel Highlands.
• Receptions at Pitt Law and at faculty homes.
• A traditional Thanksgiving dinner at a faculty or staff member’s house.
• A multi-day trip to Washington DC to visit the Supreme Court, the White House and other historic sites.