Requirements

Our LL.M. is a post-graduate academic degree exclusively designed for foreign lawyers. If you are interested in enrolling in our program you need to hold an undergraduate degree in law awarded by a foreign university and be ready to submit your official transcripts for review by our LL.M. Admissions Committee.

FIU Law only accepts applications submitted via the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) website (http://www.lsac.org/llm ) by individuals with a law degree from a foreign institution whose degree has been obtained by regular attendance to scheduled classroom residential sessions or direct faculty instruction as per guidelines from the American Bar Association.

Because all our courses are taught in English, we also require that you demonstrate sufficient knowledge of English by having obtained a minimum score of 90 points in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT®), or 7.0 points in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS®). We do not accept TOEFL® EssentialsTM  nor Duolingo® as proof of English language proficiency.

In order to graduate, you will need to take and approve courses equivalent to 24 credit hours while at FIU.  Most courses offered at FIU Law range between 2 and 4 credit hours, which means that you would be taking between 8 and 12 courses to complete your LL.M.  Our academic program provides a robust foundation in United States law, legal reasoning, research and writing through three mandatory LL.M. courses exclusively designed for foreign lawyers.  The rest of the LL.M. curriculum is customizable, thus allowing you to choose from a broad range of law courses across the 16 different pathways offered at FIU Law, and assemble a study plan that fits your individual goals.  As a full-time student, you should be able to complete our LL.M. program in one academic year (two semesters), which runs from August to May.  Our law school also offers the option of enrolling on a part-time basis to accommodate those who work or have other commitments, but certain limitations apply.

Those students who excel in our LL.M. program and wish to pursue a J.D. degree at FIU Law may apply to the J.D. program as transfer students without having to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) upon meeting the following requirements:

• Have completed 2 semesters of coursework during the LL.M. Program at FIU, and obtained a minimum grade point average (GPA) equivalent to 3.3/B+ in graded (no pass/fail) law courses subject to normalization (i.e. graded on a curve);
• Have demonstrated proficiency in English by obtaining a minimum of 90 points in the TOEFL or its equivalent, or by showing sufficient knowledge of English at the discretion of the Admissions Committee;
• Provide a statement indicating the reason for wishing to be admitted to the JD Program;
• Provide 2 letters of recommendation from FIU COL faculty highlighting their academic strengths, and their potential for success in the JD program including their likelihood to pass the bar exam;
• Submit a JD application form and other relevant documents through the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC); and pay the necessary application fee.

The Admissions Committee will evaluate the entire file submitted by the applicant, and will take into account the individual assessment of the Director of the LL.M. program regarding the applicant’s academic performance during the LL.M. and their likelihood to succeed in the J.D. program, if admitted.