LLM Degree Requirements

The LLM in International Legal Studies program provides in-depth coverage of specialized areas of international and comparative law.

To earn the LLM in International Legal Studies degree, students must complete 24 units. Classes are offered during the day as well as during the evening to accommodate working professionals. Students may attend full-time and complete the program in as few as two semesters. Alternatively, students may attend part-time. All students must finish the degree requirements within four years of matriculation.

LLM students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale each semester. The grade scale is:

Scale
Grades	A	A-	B	B-	C	C-	D	F
Points	4.0	3.5	3.0	2.5	2.0	1.5	1.0	0

A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 is required to complete the program. Students who complete the program with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above graduate with honors. LLM students earn at least 6 credits by taking courses from at least two of the five core areas listed below.

Core Areas
International Law
International Law (3 Units) International Organizations (3 Units) Law of International Armed Conflicts (3 Units)
Private International Law/Conflict of Laws
Private International Law/Conflict of Laws (3 Units)
Comparative Legal Systems
Comparative Legal Systems (3 Units)
International Economic Law
International Business Transactions(3Units) International Investment Law (3Units) International Trade Regulation (3 Units)
International Dispute Resolution
International Dispute Resolution (3 Units) Pacific Settlement of Disputes Between States (3 Units) Alternative Dispute Resolution (3 Units)

LLM students earn the remaining units by completing additional courses selected from the LLM in International Legal Studies curriculum. Other courses offered by Golden Gate University School of Law, but not listed in the International Legal Studies curriculum, may be applied toward the LLM requirements with the approval of the program director.

Click here for descriptions of courses in the LLM in International Legal Studies curriculum. To complete the LLM program, each student is required to take at least one seminar that entails the satisfactory completion of a substantial paper.

LLM students may choose to earn up to 6 elective units for the successful completion of a thesis prepared under faculty supervision.