Core Requirements
All LL.M. students who do not already possess a U.S. or Canadian J.D. are required to take two core courses during their first semester.
- Fundamentals of U.S. Law
Students study the sources of U.S. law and the structure of the U.S. court system. Students also learn the fundamentals of the case method of legal education and statutory construction, and study how cases progress through the American court system. The course will also explore topics of judicial review, federalism, separation of powers, and the practical and political limitations of these concepts. Students will then use case analysis skills to examine landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases.
Students with a U.S. or Canadian J.D. are not required to take Fundamentals of U.S. Law, though they have the option to do so. If you are deciding whether to enroll in Fundamentals, we recommend that you reach out to our office in advance of the semester for guidance.
- Legal Research & Writing
In this class, each student researches and writes a 15- to 20-page research memorandum addressing a compelling issue in contemporary law. Through this writing exercise students learn predictive legal reasoning. Students also complete other, shorter assignments throughout the term, including an introduction to Bluebook citation. Research instruction is integrated into the writing assignments, and includes mainly online but also a few traditional book-based resources. Students receive extensive written comments and attend one-on-one conferences on their papers.
Students may request to take the Legal Research and Writing waiver exam if they meet one of the following criteria: (1) earned a law degree from a university in which the course of study involved common law principles and was taught in English (documented by a transcript); (2) completed a course in common law legal writing, taught in English (documented by a transcript, certificate, or official written proof of successful course completion from the institution); or (3) completed work experience of at least one year that involved frequent common law legal writing in English (documented by a letter from a supervisor). Those students who are granted a waiver for Legal Research and Writing must fulfill the Capstone Writing Requirement by completing a paper of a minimum 15 pages in length in any class or through an independent study (Law 299), and submit an LL.M. Capstone Writing Requirement Fulfillment form to the Registrar’s office prior to the spring semester Add/Drop Deadline. Students who plan to take a Bar Exam should be aware that the Legal Research and Writing class may be required to register for the bar in certain states.
Instructions on the waiver request process for the LL.M. traditional track will be provided during LL.M. Orientation.
Please be sure to refer to the academic rules for your degree track for all other graduation requirements.
Academic Planning
How you choose to organize your classes beyond those requirements is largely up to you! Given the number of choices we have at Berkeley Law, deciding how to structure your year can be daunting. However, there are a number of resources available to help you when making decisions about your course selection. Please keep these in mind:
- Review the Schedule of Classes and the Two Year Curriculum Plan (Cal Net ID required), so that you can see when classes are offered and how you might organize your schedule to take the classes that interest you.
- Consider whether you intend to pursue a certificate of specialization, and review the pertinent list of classes required for your certificate of interest.
- Consider whether you want to be eligible for a U.S. bar exam, and what (if any) coursework requirements are needed for eligibility.
- Set up an individual advising appointment with one of your LL.M. advisors to discuss your schedule. Our team will be available for group advising and drop-in appointments prior to the start of your program, and students can book individual advising appointments through their LL.M. Advising bCourses page after orientation.
- Make sure that you are leaving time to get the most out of each of your classes AND pursue extracurricular opportunities that are important to you!
- Speak to practitioners about what courses they felt were valuable during law school.
Class Attendance
You will receive a syllabus at the beginning of each class (typically available on the bCourses site for each class). Be sure to carefully review each instructor’s attendance policy. Class attendance and participation is typically a component of the grade and attendance is expected.
The instructor has the authority to refuse permission for you to take the final examination if you fail to attend class regularly.
Final Examination Schedule
Each semester, students can view their final exam schedule (Cal Net ID required). Students will also be sent a detailed email about exam procedures during the semester.That email is important, so make sure to review it carefully!
Each semester, students are reminded of the limitations on examination rescheduling. Exams are not rescheduled to accommodate travel plans, employment, or other personal obligations. An in-class final exam will be rescheduled only if a student has: 1) two in-class final exams scheduled for the same exam period; 2) two in-class final exams scheduled for two consecutive exam periods (e.g., two exams on the same day, or one exam in the afternoon and another the following morning); or 3) three in-class final exams scheduled on three consecutive days. Although students may indicate a preference as to which exam is rescheduled, rescheduling decisions will be made at the discretion of the Dean of Students and the Director of Student Services. Rescheduled exams will not be given earlier than the original exam date.
As exam schedules may change up until the day before the exam, students are encouraged to check the exam schedule the day before any exam to make sure the time has not changed.
Dean’s List Honors
Berkeley Law grades on a Pass/Honors/High Honors system; we encourage you to read more about our grading policy. Dean’s List is awarded to the top 10% of each graduating class of Berkeley Law’s LL.M. students as determined by their grade point average, which is calculated internally and not publicly disclosed.
Seventy percent of the total credits needed to graduate must be in graded law courses to be considered for inclusion in the Dean’s List. This means that students in the traditional track LL.M. must take a minimum of 15 graded units, and students in the executive track LL.M. must take a minimum of 17 graded units.