PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

• Credits
• Core Courses
• Transfer Credits
• Grading

Twenty-four (24) units of credit are required to obtain the LL.M. degree. Full-time students may enroll in a minimum of nine (9) and a maximum of fourteen (14) units per semester. To receive financial aid, a student must be enrolled in a minimum of five (5) units per semester. Degree requirements must be completed within four (4) years.

Core Courses

Each emphasis area requires completion of two or three required core courses. Introduction to American Law, a two credit course taught at before the beginning of each fall semester, is required of all foreign lawyers with a degree from a non-common law jurisdiction or law school.

In addition, all LL.M. students are expected to complete a substantial writing project, and recommended to consider completing this requirement through Directed Research. Students also are strongly encouraged to pursue experiential learning opportunities, either through enrollment in an externship for credit (normally 3 to 5 cr.), or through other volunteer or paid employment.

Transfer Credits

In some circumstances, student may receive credits toward the LL.M. degree for courses taken before matriculation into the LL.M. Program, and for courses taken at another law school or in Chapman University School of Law's J.D. curriculum after matriculation into the Program. The grades in such courses are ignored in determining whether the student's grade point average satisfies the LL.M. degree requirements.

A student may petition to receive up to six (6) credits toward the degree for certain LL.M. level courses or advanced J.D. level courses taken at any ABA-accredited law school during the three academic years preceding matriculation into the Program and within five years of completing the Program, provided in the case of each course that (1) the course is determined to be equivalent to a course or courses currently included in the LL.M. curriculum and (2) the student received at least a grade of "B" or the equivalent in the course. Applicants requesting such credit should so indicate when applying for admission and provide a syllabus or other description of the material covered in the course for which such transfer credit is sought. In no case will credit be given for extension or correspondence courses. In unusual cases, a student may petition the Director of the Program in order to request additional transfer credits.

With the approval of the Director, a student may petition to receive up to twelve (12) credits toward the degree for LL.M. level courses or advanced J.D. level courses equivalent to courses currently in the LL.M. curriculum taken at Chapman University School of Law during the three academic years preceding matriculation into the Program and within five years of completing the Program, provided the student received at least a grade of "B" in the course for which credit is sought.

With the prior approval of the Director and for good causes shown, a matriculated student may receive up to six (6) credits in the aggregate for LL.M. level courses taken at another ABA-accredited law school and courses taken in the Chapman University School of Law J.D. curriculum, provided the student receives at least a grade of "B" or the equivalent in each such course.

Grading

There is no mandatory grading curve for LL.M. courses. Instructors in courses with both J.D. and LL.M. students will be asked to grade the two groups of students separately unless granted a waiver of the J.D. mandatory grading curve by the Associate Dean in accordance with existing rules.

ADMISSION

Admission to the Program will be open to graduates of ABA-accredited American law schools or foreign equivalents. An application must include law school and college transcripts, a resume or c.v., two (2) letters of recommendation, and a personal statement outlining the student's preparation, interests, and goals for graduate study.

An applicant will only be admitted if the applicant's record, viewed as a whole, indicates that the applicant is likely to complete the Program successfully. The applicant's academic record (at the undergraduate, graduate, and law level) and relevant experience are the primary factors considered.

At this time, the curriculum design and schedule assume that students will begin the Program in the fall semester (except for those foreign lawyers who begin with the summer course). Thus, no applications will be accepted for spring entry.

The priority deadline for admissions is March 1, with a final deadline of June 1. Foreign lawyers are especially encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible, in order to ensure enough time for the processing of student F-1 visas.

For Foreign Lawyers:
Foreign students who have not studied or received a degree at either an English language law school or university must complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a score of 600 on the paper-based test, 250 on the computer-based test, or 100 on the Internet-based test.

In addition, those students who do not possess a J.D. or LL.M. degree from either an American, Canadian, or other common law jurisdiction law school will be required to take a two-week summer course, Introduction to American Law, designed exclusively for LL.M. students and taught by the Director of Graduate Studies, supplemented by the participation of other Chapman faculty and staff. This course will include a substantial component on legal research and writing in the American context, and would begin in early August, leading directly into the Law School's two-day orientation program in mid-August.