Financial Aid for LL.M. Students

What Aid Is Available?

A very limited amount of financial aid is available to academic year program LL.M. students through the Advanced Law Degree Programs Office.  (Please note:  Services from Berkeley Law's Financial Aid Office are generally limited to students who are eligible for federal loans — see below for guidelines on who is eligible for federal student loans.  Students who do not meet these guidelines should apply for financial aid directly through the Advanced Law Degree Programs Office, or use the resources listed under “Aid for International Students” below.)

Because LL.M. program financial aid funds are extremely limited at this time, only partial awards (in the form of grants or tuition waivers) can be offered to a few students each year, based on need.  No full fellowships are available.

There is currently no financial aid available through the Advanced Degree Programs Office for students in the accelerated summer LL.M. program or in the J.S.D. program.  However, students who are eligible for federal student loans may may be able to borrow from the program during the summer (see below).  J.S.D. students are eligible to apply for financial assistance through the Graduate Division.

 

How do I Apply for Financial Aid through the Advanced Degree Program Office?

Academic year LL.M. financial aid applications should be submitted along with applications for admission during the admissions cycle prior to the student’s first semester.  The LL.M. financial aid form is accessible online in the supplementary forms section of the electronic application.  Financial aid applications are not reviewed until after admissions decisions have been made.  Admitted applicants will be notified of financial aid decisions along with their letters of admission.

 

Students Eligible for Federal Student Loans

U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens may submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You are an eligible non-citizen if you are:

  • A permanent U.S. resident with a Permanent Resident Card (I-551);

  • A conditional permanent resident (I-551C); or

  • The holder of an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the Department of Homeland Security showing any of the following designations: “Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” “Parolee” (I-94 confirms paroled for a minimum of one year and status has not expired), “Victim of human trafficking,” T-Visa holder (T-1, T-2, T-3, etc.) or “Cuban-Haitian Entrant.”

The FAFSA may be completed online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.  Be certain to list “UC Berkeley” as the school applied to, and include the school code #001312.

Academic-year LL.M. and J.S.D. applicants should submit the FAFSA by March 2 for federal student loan eligibility.

Summer LL.M. students may be eligible to apply for federal Direct Loans to assist them with paying for their summer program costs.  To determine eligibility for the federal loan program, students must file the FAFSA by June 30 for each summer term.  FAFSA-eligible summer LL.M. students may be able to borrow a combined maximum of $20,500 (depending on whether you already borrowed from the program during the prior academic year) in subsidized and unsubsidized loans and Graduate Plus loan up to the balance of cost of education for the summer.  For a detailed description of the federal Direct Loan program, please refer to the Berkeley Law Financial aid web site at www.law.berkeley.edu/193.htm.

Students eligible for federal student loans may also contact the Financial Aid office by e-mail at financial-aid@law.berkeley.edu or calling 510-642-1563.  Information about the Financial Aid office can be found online at http://www.law.berkeley.edu/58.htm

U.S. citizens may also be eligible for the scholarships listed on the following pages:

 

What Aid Is Available for International Students?

In addition to the financial aid described above, international students are encouraged to see the Berkeley International Office financial aid page (http://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/multiple_use/financial_aid.php), and to take advantage of the resources it provides, especially the following searchable library and web resources:

 

Other Possible Funding Resources for International Students:

 

All Students

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Advanced Degree Programs Office by email at llm@law.berkeley.edu, or by phone at 510-642-1476.