Admission to the LL.M Program

LL.M. Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the LL.M. Program in Dispute Resolution, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Applicants must have completed the first degree in law (J.D., LL.B. or equivalent) required for law practice or law teaching in the country in which law studies were pursued. Note: U.S. applicants must have satisfied the J.D. requirements of an ABA-accredited law school. In exceptional cases, U.S. applicants may be admitted if they have satisfied the J.D. requirements of a non-ABA-accredited law school.
• Applicants may be admitted without a J.D. degree if they have a bachelor’s degree and substantial experience in dispute resolution.
• Applicants must possess a minimum 2.5 (A = 4.0) grade point average in their law program, and a 3.0 GPA for work completed in any additional graduate or advanced degree program.
• Applicants must be able to start the program in the fall semester (which begins in mid-August). New students are not admitted in the spring or summer semesters.

Application deadline

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis as space is available.

LL.M. Admission Policy

The LL.M. Admissions Committee reviews the total application package and selects qualified applicants who would best benefit from and contribute to the LL.M. Program. These are complex judgments based on factors including but not limited to the following:

• The Committee is especially interested how applicants plan to combine their prior experiences with our LL.M. education to advance a career in dispute resolution. Applicants' statements of purpose should address this as specifically as possible.
• The Committee looks for indications that applicants have the ability to do the rigorous academic work in the Program. The LL.M. Program is not primarily a training program. Although the Program includes practical skills courses, a majority of the work is theoretical and involves a substantial amount of reading, research, and writing. The Committee reviews applicants' transcripts from law school and other educational programs but applicants may demonstrate academic ability in other ways, especially if a significant period has elapsed since the applicants were in school.
• The Committee prefers applicants with significant prior legal experience. Applicants without significant prior legal experience are considered more favorably if they have other relevant full-time work experience or accomplishments and/or a demonstrated interest in dispute resolution.
• Applicants whose native language is not English must be able to read, write, understand, and speak English sufficiently well to participate in and contribute well to the class experience.
• The Committee tries to select a group of students with a combination of experiences that provides some relevant diversity as well as shared experiences to make for a rich class experience.

LL.M. Application Materials

Note: All application materials can be sent directly to the Graduate Admissions Office; however, some materials are only needed by the LL.M. Program and so they can be sent directly to the LL.M. Program Office.

The following items should be submitted directly to the Graduate Admission Office:

Graduate Admissions
210 Jesse Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: (800) 877-6312; (573) 884-8488

• Graduate School application (available online or by download)
• Nonrefundable application fee of $55 for U.S. citizens and $75 for international students (the international application fee is higher due to the higher cost of processing these applications)

• Official transcripts from undergraduate institutions, law schools and any other institutions of higher education attended; transcripts from schools outside the United States must be translated into English. Transcripts must be mailed directly from the institution to the Graduate Admissions Office.
• Official TOEFL score report (International applicants only), sent directly to the Graduate Admissions Office. The internet-based TOEFL (IBT) is the preferred test of the LL.M. Program. The IELTS is acceptable only in those situations where the TOEFL IBT is unavailable. See English Language Proficiency Policy on the Graduate School web site for more information about the University’s English language test score requirements.

• Professional resume and statement of purpose can be uploaded to the online system. The applicant can opt to mail a hard copy directly to the LL.M. Program instead (details below).

Note: LL.M. Program applicants are NOT required to submit GRE scores.

The following items can be submitted directly to the LL.M. Program if not sent with the other materials going to the Graduate School:

LL.M. Program - MU School of Law
206 Hulston Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: (573) 882-2020; Fax: (573) 882-3343

• Professional resume (if not uploaded to the online application system or mailed to the Graduate School with other materials)
• Statement of purpose (300-500 words stating reasons for pursuing this degree)
  (if not uploaded to the online application system or mailed to the Graduate School with other materials)
• Two letters of recommendation: one from an academic source and one from a professional source. (The person making the recommendation must send these letters directly to the LL.M. Program.) Recommendation forms can be downloaded (PDF).
• Financial support application form (if applicable).

For more information on financial support options for LL.M. students, see Financial Information.