I. Basic requirements
1. academic background requirements
LLM (Master of Law) has clear requirements for undergraduate education, and you must obtain a bachelor's degree in law before you can apply for LLM.
2. Language requirements
The standardized test LLM needs to provide is TOEFL or IELTS score. Due to the characteristics of the major itself, the minimum TOEFL admission requirement for most LLM majors is 100 (some schools also have individual requirements), and IELTS score is above 7. TOP 14 law school average admission score 105+. LLM does not require applicants to provide LSAT scores.
3.GPA requirements
In addition, GPA is another quantitative criterion for admission. Applicants are generally required to have a GPA of around 3.5, while the average GPA of many top law schools is between 3.6 and 3.8, and the competition is very fierce.
4.LSAT test scores
LSAT is a law school entrance exam. Most law schools require JD applicants to submit LSAT scores, and some schools will indicate that the LSAT test must be conducted before 1 1 or 65438+2 months. In order to get good grades, students are advised to prepare LSAT one year in advance. LSAT has a limited number of exams every year. There are six exams in the United States and only three exams in Chinese mainland. Candidates can take the LSAT exam at the beginning of the year first, and then take the exam in June if they fail to achieve ideal results. In order not to affect the application progress, candidates should achieve ideal results in the exam in June+10, 5438 at the latest.
5. Software background requirements
In addition to standardized scores and GPA, American law schools are more inclined to apply for applicants with rich and diverse backgrounds. Therefore, it is suggested that students enrich their legal practice experience, such as court and law firm internships, legal debates and related volunteer activities, which can add points to the application.
6. Internship \ Scientific Research Achievements
As these two items are too similar, we will discuss them together. In these two evaluations, the most important criterion is that if you can't have a better experience than other applicants, then you will only be better than nothing. Since most American universities do not require internship/research experience, applicants must provide such experience to improve their competitive advantage. Therefore, it is often more effective to provide a unique experience.
7. Institution \ Referee
Similarly, American universities have only three kinds of evaluations of American graduate institutions: domestic famous universities, leading universities in professional disciplines and unknown universities. The evaluation of referees is simpler: those who know and those who don't know. Of course, this does not mean that all applicants for graduate studies in the United States must have letters of recommendation from professionals, but it is really helpful to apply if they have a close relationship with relevant academic celebrities.
Second, the application conditions of American university law schools
1. Yale Law School
Yale Law School has been rated as "the best law school in America" by various rankings for many years, with several programs, besides JD, LLM and JSD, MSL and doctoral programs. LLM is a general program, which only accepts doctors of law or graduates of law. JSD only accepts graduates from Yale LLM program. MSL stands for Master of Laws. For one year, it is open to people who have no legal background but are interested in law. Applicants are required to be journalists who have graduated from doctoral degree or worked for many years. The doctoral program lasts for three years and requires applicants to have a doctorate in law from an American university.
Yale Law School Admission Requirements:
When applying to Yale Law School, the TOEFL total score is required to be no less than 100, and there is no single grade requirement. In addition, the application must pass LSAC, requiring the applicant to graduate with a bachelor's degree, have a legal background, and have passed the LASC CAS certification.
2. Stanford University Law School
Stanford Law School has five law programs: Doctor of Law, Master of Law, JSD, JSM and Master of Law. LLM project has four research directions: environmental law and policy, international economic law and business and policy. Applicants in these four directions need to have more than 2 years of work experience. JSM is provided by Stanford International Legal Studies Program (SPILS), and the application for this program is independent of LLM, so international students can apply for both JSM and LLM programs.
Stanford University Law School Admission Requirements:
TOEFL:100;
IELTS: No admission;
GPA: 3.0.
When applying for Stanford University Law School, the TOEFL total score is required to be no less than 65,438+000, no individual scores are required, IELTS scores are not accepted, and GPA is above 3.0. Like other graduate applications, they are all applied through LSAC, and transcripts must be submitted through CAS certification. LSAT scores are not required, but personal statements, letters of recommendation and other application materials must be submitted.
3. Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in America. There are * * * law degrees: JD, LLM, JSD, and many double-degree programs in cooperation with other colleges, such as JD/MPP and JD/MPH. Among them, domestic students in JD and LLM programs can apply directly, while JSD is the highest degree program provided by Harvard Law School, and only 10- 12 students are enrolled every year. The average applicant needs to have an LLM degree from Harvard Law School or other top American law schools to apply. In fact, it is difficult for students who are not graduates of Harvard Law School to be admitted to the JSD program. Harvard LLM project has many directions to choose from, such as criminal justice, law and government, law and business.
Harvard Law School Admission Requirements:
TOEFL:104;
IELTS: 7.0;
GPA: no requirement.