A Message from the Office of Graduate Legal Studies
Welcome to Columbia Law School’s Graduate Legal Studies Program.
Our Graduate Legal Studies (GLS) Program consists of the Master of Laws (LL.M.) and the Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) degree programs, as well as the Special Student program for attorneys who wish to continue their legal education without pursuing a degree. These programs are administered by the Office of Graduate Legal Studies. The Office of Graduate Legal Studies also oversees the admissions process for the Associates-in-Law program.
Every year the Law School enrolls approximately 210 graduate students from more than 50 countries with experience spanning all areas of the legal profession—including academia, the judiciary, public service, civil rights and human rights advocacy, NGOs, international organizations, and private practice. This remarkable community of individuals, when embraced by the Law School’s longstanding commitment to excellence, makes Columbia an especially dynamic and vibrant community in which to study law.
Our graduate students choose Columbia Law School for its pre-eminence in many areas, including corporate law, law and economics, international and comparative law, jurisprudence, human rights, constitutionalism and intellectual property, to name just a few; for its world-renowned faculty, many of whose works our students have read prior to coming to Columbia; for the breadth and depth of its academic program and co-curricular offerings; and for its incomparable location - in short, for the Law School's unequalled global reputation. Once here, our students discover the many other advantages Columbia Law School has to offer, including the openness and accessibility of our faculty and the flexibility of our programs.
Our graduate students are a vital component of the Law School community. They are active in many co-curricular activities—including the student senate, journals, moot courts and student organizations—and organize and speak at conferences, workshops and colloquia on current legal issues.
The Office of Graduate Legal Studies works closely with our faculty and other administrative departments to ensure that each student’s year at Columbia is as rich and rewarding—both personally and intellectually—as possible. We provide individual support to each LL.M. student throughout every step of their Law School experience, from application to degree conferral. In addition, through our comprehensive Orientation program, we offer LL.M. candidates strong support in transitioning to life in New York City as well as adjusting to the teaching methods and systems of an American educational institution. Socially, we emphasize building a cohort among our graduate students by hosting frequent academic and social events so that our students can network with one another and form relationships.
The result of these features of the Graduate Legal Studies Program is that Columbia is a place where students interact with unrivaled faculty and highly accomplished students; work very hard; are treated exceptionally well; and obtain a degree that represents the best that U.S. legal education can offer.
In putting together this Web site we have tried to give you as complete as possible a picture of our Law School and Graduate Legal Studies Program. We hope you will take the time to visit the rest of the site, and hope you will find the information provided interesting and helpful. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Welcome to Columbia Law School’s Graduate Legal Studies Program.