LL.M. Program

The Queen's Master of Laws Degree

Graduate Seminar in Legal Theory and Perspectives with Professor Phil Goldman.

The Queen's Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree attracts law students from around the world seeking to deepen their legal knowledge and research skills with a view to further studies at the doctoral level and/or careers in teaching, research, policy work or legal practice. The LL.M. program begins in September (or possibly May for students taking courses in the Global Law Program at the "Castle"), and it usually takes between 9 and 12 months to complete.

We welcome applications from students with a broad range of legal interests. For more information on areas of supervision and teaching, please see Areas of Graduate Study. For detailed information concerning the research interests and scholarly achievements of Queen's law faculty members, please go to Faculty Profiles and Faculty Research.

Who may apply?

Since it began almost 40 years ago, the Queen's LL.M. program has attracted law students from around the world-from Albania to Zambia-and from all parts of Canada too. The LL.M. is an advanced degree in law, and so candidates should have obtained high standing in an undergraduate or first law degree (LL.B., J.D. or equivalent). In exceptional circumstances we will accept highly qualified candidates without a first law degree who have an advanced degree in another discipline, a superior record of academic achievement, and a special research interest in law. For more information please go to Admissions and Application Procedures and Deadlines.

Is there financial support?

Most of our LL.M. students receive at least some financial support to assist with the expense of doing graduate work. Merit-based grants are available and, in many cases, more than cover tuition and associated university fees. Please go to Tuition and Financial Support for more information.

What are the program requirements?

Students have considerable freedom to design a course of study that meets their needs and aspirations. Subject to approval by their supervisor and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, students may choose a balance between research and writing and course work which suits them.

All LL.M. students are required to take two graduate seminars, Legal Theory & Perspectives and Legal Research & Writing, and complete a research project under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Flexibility exists as to the length of the research project and the number of other courses taken in addition to the two mandatory graduate seminars.

Eric Metcalfe LL.M. '94 “The LL.M. program at Queen's was the best graduate experience I could have wished for: academically rigorous, intellectually stimulating and in a great setting. In particular, I found the thesis-based approach was the ideal preparation for doctoral study.”   Dr. Metcalfe is now a barrister working in London as the director of human rights policy at JUSTICE, the U.K. law reform and human rights organisation. He completed his B.A. and LL.B. at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, his LL.M. at Queen's in 1993-94, and his doctorate in law at Oxford.

The three basic options are:

• Thesis option: two mandatory graduate seminars plus one additional course and a master's thesis of 90-130 pages that must be defended orally before an examination committee.
• Mini-Thesis option: two mandatory graduate seminars plus three additional courses and a substantial graduate research project (or "mini-thesis") of 50-70 pages.
• Course-Paper option: two mandatory graduate seminars plus five additional courses and a graduate paper of 35-40 pages.

Aside from the mandatory graduate seminars, graduate courses are offered in conjunction with J.D. courses in the law school (though methods of assessment differ). Please go to Graduate Law Courses for more information about course options.

Students pursuing the LL.M. full-time are required to be at Queen's for two academic terms. Admission on a part-time basis is limited. Degree requirements for part-time students vary slightly from those for full-time students.

For more information concerning the rules and regulations for the LL.M. degree, please contact the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies & Research) in the Faculty of Law.

Queen's University has a European campus: the impressive fifteenth-century Herstmonceux Castle located in East Sussex about one-hour south of London, England. The law faculty offers a Global Law Program at the Castle during an eight-week spring term each year. J.D. and LL.M. students may enrol in one of three streams-International Business Law, International Public Law, or Comparative Law-each of which consists of three courses. The term runs from early May to late June and involves a mid-term field trip to various international organizations and courts in such places as The Hague, Geneva, Brussels and Paris.

LL.M. students in the Global Law Program may therefore complete three courses at the Castle before arriving at Queen's to complete the requirements for the LL.M. degree, in which case they commence their graduate work in May rather than September and finish as early as December. For more details please go to The Queen's LL.M. and the Global Law Program in England.

Please note that obtaining an LL.M. in Canada does not qualify students who do not have an LL.B. or J.D. from a Canadian university to practice law in Canada. International students who are interested in practising law in Canada should contact the National Committee on Accreditation.