Graduation Requirements

The University will confer the Master of Laws degree upon students who successfully complete all graduation requirements and maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (A=4.0) for all graduate courses taken at MU. Students must complete 24 credit hours to receive the LLM degree. The credit hours for the courses listed below are in parentheses. The curriculum is subject to change from year to year.

The faculty advisor for all LLM students is Prof. Paul Ladehoff, Director of the LLM Program. Students should consult him about any questions regarding their program or courses, as well as graduation requirements.

The current curricular requirements and a current schedule for the on-campus program are in the Curriculum section of this website. For the online program, visit Mizzou Online. Please note: The curriculum and graduation requirements are subject to change.

LLM in American Law

Required Courses

  • Introduction to U.S. Law (2)
  • Legal Research & Writing (2)
  • Professional Responsibility (2)

Electives

Each student will be able to choose 18 credit hours in electives according to his/her interests and statement of purpose for enrolling in the LLM in American Law program.

LLM in Dispute Resolution Online

LLM in Dispute Resolution On-Campus

Required Courses

  • Dispute System Design (3)
  • A non-binding method course (3)
    Mediation
    Negotiation
  • An arbitration course (3)
    Arbitration
    International Commercial Arbitration

Electives

Each student will be able to choose 15 credit hours in electives according to his/her interests and statement of purpose for enrolling in the LLM in Dispute Resolution program. No more than nine (9) credits may be counted toward the LLM degree for any combination of Practicum, Externship, and Independent Study courses.

An optional academic track would require students to develop and present a substantial research paper on a current topic in dispute resolution. This independent research would be supervised by a faculty member for a minimum of 3 credit hours.

Students may apply to the LLM graduation requirements up to six (6) graduate credits of university or college courses from outside the MU Law School.  See Transfer Credit in the handbook section for details on non-law courses.

Dual degrees may be possible with other units on campus. Interested students should discuss options with the Director of the LLM Program.

Waiver of Graduation Requirements for the LLM in Dispute Resolution

The Director of the LLM Program may waive graduation requirements of taking LLM courses for individual students based on their prior course work, training, and/or dispute resolution experience. Students eligible to waive an LLM in Dispute Resolution graduation requirement normally are encouraged to take our LLM courses because usually there is worthwhile new material in our courses. To apply for a waiver, students must provide documentation of the course work, training, or experience as appropriate. If a graduation requirement is waived, the student would not take the course in our program and would not receive credit for the required course. In other words, the student would still need to complete 24 credits but, in lieu of a required course, the student would take another course.

There are several situations where students would not be eligible to receive transfer credit but where it would be appropriate to waive a requirement. The most common situations include:

  • In a student’s JD program, the student has taken a course that substantially overlaps with one of the required courses in the LLM Program. Under the policy governing transfer credit, students may not receive transfer credit for courses taken in a JD program.
  • A student has taken a course in a non-JD program more than four years before that substantially overlaps with one of the required courses in the LLM Program. Under the policy governing transfer credit, students may not receive transfer credit for courses taken more than four years prior to initial enrollment in the LLM Program.