Master of Legal Studies (MLS)
October 3, 2026 2026-10-03 13:11Master of Legal Studies (MLS)
Barclay School of Law offers the Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree, which is designed for students with bachelor's degrees, their equivalent, or other advanced degrees other than a law degree. The program requires 24 semester credit hours and usually takes one year for completion. Thesis requirements for the MLS and LLM are the same, but students may elect to work on a specialized project. Students work on specialized projects or research projects for each course, which support the students' area of expertise.
Master of Legal Studies (MLS)
24 Semester Credits
1 Year
1 Year
24 Credits
Required
Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent
A Master's Degree in Legal Studies for Non-Lawyers
Designed for students with bachelor's degrees, their equivalent, or other advanced degrees other than a law degree.
Barclay School of Law offers the Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree, which is designed for students with bachelor's degrees, their equivalent, or other advanced degrees other than a law degree. The program requires 24 semester credit hours and usually takes one year for completion.
Thesis requirements for the MLS and LLM are the same, but students may elect to work on a specialized project. Students work on specialized projects or research projects for each course, which support the students' area of expertise. Students are required to stay in close contact with their faculty mentor(s). Defense of thesis is required. Students also have the option to select courses from the Juris Doctor program for their Master of Law degree program.
All graduate students with LLM or MLS are eligible to enroll in the Doctor of Science in Law degree (JSD) program. Students can also enroll in the programs concurrently. Students enrolled in the concurrent LL.M/JSD will have the 24 semester credits of the LLM program count towards the 65 credits semester hours required for the JSD.
Master of Legal Studies (MLS)
1 Year
24 Semester Credits
Bachelor's Degree, its equivalent, or another advanced degree other than a law degree
Required Courses
The Master of Legal Studies requires 24 semester credit hours.
| Course No. | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LLM 8000 | Foundation of Graduate Studies | 1 |
| LLM 8010 | Qualitative Reasoning and Analysis I | 5 |
| LLM 8020 | Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis II | 5 |
| LLM 8030 | Advanced Mixed-Methods Reasoning and Analysis | 5 |
| LLM 8040 | Practice/Practicum | 3 |
| LLM 8850 | Thesis | 5 |
| Total Credits | 24 | |
Thesis and Faculty Mentorship
Students complete specialized projects or research projects for each course that support their area of expertise, and they are required to stay in close contact with their faculty mentor(s). Defense of thesis is required.
Concurrent LLM/JSD Enrollment
All graduate students with LLM or MLS are eligible to enroll in the Doctor of Science in Law degree (JSD) program. Students can also enroll in the programs concurrently. Students enrolled in the concurrent LL.M/JSD will have the 24 semester credits of the LLM program count towards the 65 credits semester hours required for the JSD.
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