Credit Hours
In order to receive an LL.M. in Bankruptcy degree, students will be
required to complete thirty credit hours composed of twenty-four
credit hours of substantive courses and two "Advanced Research
Seminars" (three credits each) in connection with which the student
will prepare a major publishable thesis. See Courses of
Instruction, page 5 for an analysis of individual course offerings.
A minimum 3.0 GPA is required for graduation.
Thesis Preparation
The Advanced Research Seminar will meet periodically during the
semester to review the student’s progress in the research and
writing of the thesis and to provide feedback. Students attending
each seminar will be required to comment on, question and
understand the complexities of each other’s work. Additional
sessions devoted to American research and writing techniques may be
scheduled for students who did not receive their first law degree
from a United States law school or who otherwise are not familiar
with American research and writing. Between sessions of the
seminar, students will meet individually with the thesis professor
to review progress in the thesis. Drafts of the thesis will be
reviewed by a mentor who is an expert in the discrete area covered
by the thesis. Students will be required to defend the thesis
orally before bankruptcy experts. Each thesis will be a minimum of
50 typewritten pages including footnotes. Students are expected to
complete and defend the thesis by the end of the term in which they
complete twenty-four substantive course credits. Students failing
to meet this requirement will be required to enroll in a third
research seminar for completion of the thesis in the term following
completion of twenty-four substantive course credits.
Except in extraordinary circumstances, students will not be
permitted to extend the completion of the program further.
Length of Program
Full-time students will complete the program in one year. Part-time
students will complete the program in two to three years, and in
extraordinary circumstances, four years.
Prerequisite
Most students will have taken the basic Bankruptcy or Creditors’
Rights Course as part of their J.D. curriculum. However, students
who have not taken the basic course in preparation for the J.D.
degree will be required to take the Creditors’ Rights course at St.
John’s either before or during the LL.M. program. Waiver of this
requirement may be granted based upon the student’s experience in
the field.
Required Courses
Students who have taken a required or elective course, or a similar
course, in preparation for the J.D. degree, may not take such a
course in connection with the LL.M. program. A required course may
be waived for students with significant experience in the subject
matter of a particular course. Where a required course is not
taken, a suitable substitute elective will be selected by the
student subject to approval by the faculty.