University of Illinois (UIUC) College of Law

The University

Founded in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is consistently ranked among the top public universities in the United States and is a world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. U of I alumni have won 11 Nobel Prizes and 17 Pulitzer Prizes. Nine faculty are Nobel laureates (including two in 2003), and two have won Pulitzers, as well as other esteemed awards in numerous disciplines. The library is the largest public university library in the world. The University enrolls nearly 28,000 undergraduate students and over 9,000 graduate and professional students in more than 100 disciplines. It is among the top five universities in number of earned doctorates awarded annually in the United States.

The Law School

Ranking among the top 10 public law schools and a peer of the nation's private elite, the University of Illinois College of Law has long been a global leader. The scholarship and expertise of its international law faculty influence the legal environment on every continent - a distinction cited by The American Journal of Comparative Law in rating the College of Law second in international comparative law teaching among United States law schools.

Students here are intellectually challenged by faculty renowned in their fields - authors of leading casebooks, texts, articles, and policy papers; whose path-breaking work regularly alters the course of legal reform. They are surrounded by peers of remarkable intelligence, experience, and promise in a learning environment famous for its collegiality and cooperative spirit. Our network of successful alumni is some 10,000 strong, made up of individuals who have found tremendous success in virtually every major U.S. city and over 60 countries worldwide.

The Program

The Illinois LL.M. program is designed to introduce international lawyers to the U.S. legal system while also providing the opportunity for further study in their own area of academic or professional interest. For over 50 years, international lawyers have pursued graduate study at the University of Illinois College of Law and today we host about 50 LL.M. candidates each year. Students enroll in one required class “Introduction to U.S. Law” and take their remaining courses with J.D. students, choosing from the large selection of regular college offerings. The LL.M. degree requires 32 credit hours and is normally completed in one academic year. Many of our LL.M. students choose to obtain a broad overview of law and take courses in a wide variety of subjects during their program. Others concentrate their study in a particular area of specialization in law, such as business, international and comparative, intellectual property, labor and employment, law and economics, taxation, property and environmental, or jurisprudence.

The Faculty

The College's distinguished international specialists include William Davey, the first Director of Legal Affairs of the World Trade Organization; Matthew Finkin, a German and comparative law scholar and labor law expert who is also the general editor of the Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal; Peter Maggs, a noted Soviet law scholar and prolific author who recently advised the governments of Russia and Kazakhstan; Thomas Ulen, a founder of the Law and Economics movement; and Jay Kesan, an intellectual property law scholar.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available.

Location

Vibrant and engaging, the twin cities of Champaign-Urbana are just two hours from Chicago and are home to the University of Illinois. Combining natural Midwestern beauty with cultural resources typically found in larger metropolitan areas, Champaign-Urbana is a “University Town” that retains the charm, safety, and affordability of smaller communities. Our students feel comfortable here very quickly and appreciate their access to world-class theater, galleries, concerts, nightlife, international restaurants and sporting events while enjoying housing, entertainment, and living expenses that are comparatively low.

Student Life

Obviously in law school students spend a lot of time studying. But there are plenty of ways to get involved in activities, which give students lots of chances to be in conversations with their peers. There are over 40 student organizations in the college that students can join. Illinois faculty are famous for keeping their doors open to impromptu conversations, for joining students for lunch, dinner, and at the weekly Peer's Pub, and even for playing in the college softball league. The LL.M. class members participate in all of these activities.

Pre-LLM Course

LL.M. Advantage Program

The mandatory three week LL.M. Advantage program, open only to incoming Illinois LL.M. students, is specifically designed to facilitate the entry of foreign students into the University of Illinois College of Law by introducing aspects of the U.S. legal system and legal education. It was developed in response to requests from incoming LL.M. students who did not feel adequately prepared to begin law classes in English without some orientation to the context in which U.S. law operates and to the teaching method at U.S. law schools.