Admission Requirements
Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program
Applicants for admission to the Master of Laws LL.M. program must have completed a regular curriculum at an accredited college and/or law school, and must hold a professional degree from a law school by the time they begin the LL.M. program at Berkeley Law. Degrees which meet this requirement include J.D., LL.B., and Bachelor of Laws. To see a list of minimum degree requirements by country, visit http://www.lsac.org/LLM/Applying/min-degree-requirements.asp.
Applicants who already hold an LL.M. degree from an American law school will not be considered for admission.
English Language Requirement
Although we do not expect all students who are not native English speakers to be perfectly fluent in English, a student with serious language limitations will have great difficulty coping with the demands of a new cultural, social and academic environment.
The university and the law school require official score reports of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) before admitting an applicant whose primary language is not English. The minimum score required is 100 on the TOEFL Internet-based test, 600 on the TOEFL paper-based test, or 7.0 on the IELTS. For further details on the English language requirement, including how to request a waiver, please see the TOEFL/IELTS page.
J.S.D. applicants are not required to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores.
Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) Program
Applicants for admission to the J.S.D. Program must meet the same requirements as those for admission to the LL.M. Program. In addition, applicants must have earned an LL.M. degree at Berkeley Law or another American law school with a comparable program before applying to the J.S.D. program. Preference is given to applicants who have secured the support of a Berkeley Law faculty member to be the dissertation advisor. J.S.D. applicants must submit a dissertation proposal summary and identify the Berkeley Law faculty member who has agreed to serve as the dissertation advisor.
The J.S.D. Program is severely restricted in size, and admission is normally limited to individuals who are engaged in or are outstanding candidates for academic work or other careers that emphasize legal scholarship. Applicants must demonstrate a high potential for completing a scholarly dissertation of the required quality.
Application for Admission
To apply, please see How to Apply.
