Law
J.D./LL.M.
As a student in the J.D./LL.M. joint degree program, you complete both your J.D. degree and your LL.M. degree in Bankruptcy or Real Estate in as little as seven semesters.
The J.D./LL.M. Option
By counting courses in Bankruptcy Law taken while earning a J.D., St. John's students can earn both the J.D. and Bankruptcy LL.M. degree in as few as seven semesters. Earning the Bankruptcy LL.M. adds a competitive advantage in the job market with just a single additional semester of coursework. Many Bankruptcy LL.M. students are hired as federal bankruptcy court interns or law clerks, whether during their final semester or after completion of the degree.
Up to 15 credits of Bankruptcy coursework taken while enrolled as a J.D. can be counted towards the 24 credits required for the LL.M. degree.
A Flexible Option
The joint J.D./LL.M. degree program is designed to be as flexible as possible. The program is open to both St. John’s students and J.D. candidates at any ABA-accredited law school. While we strongly recommend that you apply to and be admitted into the J.D./LL.M. program before taking any LL.M. in real estate courses, LL.M. courses completed before you apply may count toward your LL.M. degree if you are later admitted into the LL.M. program. Indeed, as long as you are admitted into the LL.M. program within two years after graduating from the J.D. program, any LL.M. courses you completed as a J.D. student will count toward the requirements for your LL.M. degree. Thus, you may apply before you take any LL.M. courses, while you are taking LL.M. courses, or within two years after your J.D. graduation. However, the program is selective and admission is not guaranteed regardless of how many LL.M. courses you completed as a J.D. student. Thus, you must be accepted into the LL.M. program before taking.
- Degree Type
- JD/LLM
- Area of Interest
- Law, Policy & Government
- Associated Colleges or Schools
- Program Location
- Queens Campus
- Required Credit Hours
- 24
Admission
J.D./LL.M. Admission Standards
The J.D./LL.M. option is available to St. John’s law students and to students attending other ABA-accredited law schools (subject to the consent of the home school’s Dean). Our program is small and we are looking for strong students who have the character and intelligence needed to flourish in a rigorous academic program. Acceptance will be based on your academic record, recommendations, published and unpublished written work, interest in bankruptcy and other relevant factors.
Students From Other Schools
Under ABA rules, our LL.M. courses may be applied as transfer credits to satisfy the J.D. requirements of other ABA-accredited law schools. You may obtain the full benefit of the joint degree program by spending your final semester of law school as a visiting student at St. John’s, taking courses for J.D. credit while completing half of your LL.M. degree requirements. (Alternatively, if you attend a nearby law school, you may enroll on a visiting student basis in one or more specific LL.M. courses while taking other J.D. courses at your home school.) Your home school is not required to accept transfer credits. Thus, before enrolling at St. John’s you must obtain a letter from your Dean stating that our credits will be accepted for transfer for your J.D. degree. You will receive your J.D. degree from your home school, but will already have completed much of the work on your St. John’s LL.M. in Bankruptcy degree.
Application Process
You may apply for admission to the joint degree program at any time after you have completed 54 J.D. credit hours (the equivalent of two years of J.D. coursework), including at least one introductory course in bankruptcy or real estate. Applications may be obtained from the LL.M.office or the program website (listed below). There is no deadline and your application will be processed as soon as it is complete. However, if you attend a school other than St. John’s, please apply well in advance of the semester you wish to matriculate so that there will be time to obtain necessary approvals from your Dean and make any necessary student loan and housing arrangements. If you are not a St. John’s student, you must also submit a letter from your Dean stating that our credits will be accepted for transfer for your J.D. degree.
Additional Information
Financial Aid
The joint degree option has the effect of a half-tuition LL.M. scholarship since you may double-count up to half of the credits needed for the LL.M. degree. In addition, several LL.M. scholarships are available for exceptional students. However, LL.M. scholarship aid will be applied only to the credit hours you take in the LL.M. program after completion of your J.D. degree (and thus is not available for the J.D. portion of the joint-degree program). If you attend a school other than St. John’s University, we can arrange a consortium agreement (if your home school agrees) so that your student loans will be available for credits taken at St. John’s before you receive your J.D. degree. Various student loan and work-study programs are available for your post-J.D. work in the LL.M. program.
Courses
Courses
What Do I Take?
The joint degree program is flexible so you can take as few or as many LL.M. courses as you like—and you can take them whenever you like. The only limitations are that you must have the appropriate pre-requisites (typically Creditors’ Rights) and that no more than 12 credits can count toward the LL.M. degree (although you may take more than 12 LL.M. credits as a J.D. student).
Special Course Considerations
Our curriculum is rich and interdisciplinary. In addition to more than two dozen specialized LL.M. in Bankruptcy courses, the full range of J.D. courses plus many M.B.A. courses are available as electives, subject to the Director’s approval. Special rules apply to J.D. and M.B.A. elective courses taken by joint degree students. Contact the Director if you want to apply these credits to your LL.M. degree requirements.
Required and Elective Courses
All required and elective courses for our Bankruptcy LL.M. program can be found on our Bankruptcy LL.M. webpage. For all courses and their descriptions, visit our course catalog.
Courses
What Do I Take?
In completing the 24 credits of coursework required for the Real Estate LL.M., you may choose from a diverse roster of courses in the Law School and the Peter J. Tobin College of Business, subject only to the following requirements:
- You must take two Required Courses, comprising a total of five credits: Real Estate Transactions (in your first semester of study) and Advanced Topics in Real Estate Law (in your final semester of study).
- You must take Real Estate Elective Courses that, together with the Required Courses, aggregate at least 15 credits.
- You may take Designated Elective Courses (provided that you have not taken a similar course in seeking their J.D. degree and meet any necessary pre-requisites).
- You may take Designated Tobin Elective Courses and may apply up to 6 credits of such courses to the Real Estate LL.M. degree.
- You may take other courses at the Law School or the Peter J. Tobin College of Business with permission where the course is necessary in connection with your particular area of study or contemplated area of expertise.
Required and Elective Courses
All required and elective courses for our Real Estate LL.M. program can be found on our Real Estate LL.M. web page. For all courses and their descriptions, visit our course catalog.
