Academic Matters

The University of Durham has a wide range of study options, from Anthropology to Physics to Sports Science to Finance.

Students in their first year also can choose ‘open modules’ either inside or outside their main department. So, for example, a student of Biosciences could take a module in Chinese language or Middle Eastern history. This is an invaluable opportunity to deepen a particular interest in your own subject, or to learn about something completely different from your main course of study and so widen your general knowledge and culture.   For a list of current ‘open modules’ please see here.

Students at Durham also have the opportunity to study abroad for a year, as the University has links with over 120 universities across the world. To read some testimonials from students who have spent a year abroad, please see this page.

The main university library holds over 1.6 million items and access to over 6 million e-books and e-journals, and in exam season is open 24/7.

Teaching at Durham is within your department rather than your college.

To order the 2020 undergraduate prospectus, please click here.

How to Apply to Durham University

The University of Durham, along with Oxford and Cambridge, is a collegiate university, and has 16 colleges. Applicants apply to a college (or can make an open application, where they are assigned a college). The list of colleges and their codes can be found here.

As with all UK universities, candidates apply through UCAS. On UCAS, candidates upload a letter of motivation (Personal Statement); one of their teachers must also upload a letter of recommendation and provide predicted exam marks for the student. Students may only submit one Personal Statement for all the universities they apply for (maximum of 5 choices). The Personal Statement, no more than 4,000 characters, should explain why students want to study their chosen course, what aspects particularly interest them, what steps they have already taken to engage with the subject (reading, conferences, internships etc), and, if possible, what aspects they are looking forward to studying.

International students will also need to send a scan of their qualifications, including English language tests, to the Recruitment and Admissions Office, along with their UCAS personal identification number and date of birth. Evidence of a recognised standardised English language proficiency test may include the IELTS or the TOEFL.

For the specific requirements of your choice of degree programme, please visit the course page of your chosen course.

Can I visit the university of Durham?

To register your interest to attend an Open Day, click here.

Fees

Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, students from the EU, EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for host fee status or financial support from Student Finance England (more information here).

EU students in 2025/2026 will pay the overseas fee for the duration of their course.

When taking into account the cost of any university, you should also consider the cost of living.

Durham provides an estimate for the cost of living, which can be found on its website. Students should plan to budget between £1,000 and £1,600 for each month of living and studying in Durham. This amount should be budgeted for 6-9 months of the year, depending on whether you will stay at Durham during the holidays.

From this, you might predict an annual average budget of around £10,000 per year, including accommodation, transport, personal expenses etc.

Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law is one of America’s most well-known law schools, where students benefit from its ideal location in downtown Manhattan.

Students interested in pursuing an LL.M. degree have a choice of 3 different specialized degrees as well as an LL.M. in General Studies that offers its own range of optional concentrations. Particularly well known for its programs in Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property, Cardozo provides its students a mix of in-class and experiential learning as well as significant administrative support as they navigate their career both as students and beyond.

Cardozo’s LL.M. Degree in a Few Words 

Cardozo students have the option of completing the LL.M. degree either full-time over the course of 2 semesters or part-time over a period of up to 3 years. Its class of approximately 75 students represents over 2 dozen different countries, with graduates pursuing a range of careers from practicing attorneys to legal academics. 

The school provides its students a combination of academic, professional, and social support to ensure that each one—particularly those coming from abroad—have the tools they need to succeed at an American law school. For international students, Cardozo offers both an introductory class on the American legal system as well as an intensive seminar on legal writing and research. 

Academics

Cardozo has 4 different LL.M. programs: Comparative Legal Thought, Dispute Resolution and Advocacy, Intellectual Property, and General Studies. Furthermore, students in the General Studies program have the option to specialize in fields such as Corporate Law, Fashion, Arts, Media, and Entertainment (FAME) Law, Real Estate, and several other concentrations.

The LL.M. degree requires students to take a minimum of 24 credit-hours, which they complete through classes, clinics, externships, or even via writing a thesis. The program in Comparative Legal Thought prepares its students to pursue an academic legal career through a required thesis, and the degree in Dispute Resolution ensures its students complete an experiential component as part of their studies (though students in any program are welcome to pursue these opportunities as well!).

Students are invited to participate in the school’s many in-house and external clinics. These include in-house opportunities in fields such as Immigrant Justice and even a unique clinic in legal issues pertaining to Indie Film, as well as a variety of placements at public legal clinics and externships within the private sector.

One of the school’s greatest strengths is its extensive faculty advising. LL.M. students have access to a Dean who assists them with both course selection and the academic support they need throughout their time at Cardozo. Furthermore, counselors in its Career Services Office can help students navigate the countless professional opportunities that its location in New York City affords them.

In 2020, U.S. News & World Report ranked Cardozo School of Law the #6 Best Dispute Resolution Program in the Country (and #1 in New York), and LL.M. Guide includes Cardozo in its Top 10 lists for both Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property Law.

How Do I Apply?

Applicants to Cardozo’s LL.M. program are encouraged to use the Law School Admission Council LL.M. Credential Assembly Service (LSAC LL.M. CAS) website, but may also apply via a physical application mailed to its admissions office. Students seeking to begin during the Fall Semester may apply from September 1st until June 15th, and for the Spring Semester from June 1st until December 1st. Note that international applicants must either already hold a degree in law or be licensed to practice in their country with prior professional experience.

There are 5 parts to Cardozo’s LL.M. application. First, applicants must submit a current resumé or CV. They also must write a personal statement (maximum 2 double-spaced pages) detailing their motivations for enrolling in Cardozo’s LL.M. program. Applicants will also submit at least 1 letter of recommendation. Additionally, applicants must send official transcripts from their previous higher education experience, ideally having been verified by the LL.M. CAS International Transcript Authentication and Evaluation Service.

International applicants whose prior degree was not taught primarily in English must also submit their TOEFL or IELTS

The Application

• Resumé/CV
• Personal Statement
• Minimum 1 Letter of Recommendation
• Official Transcripts
• TOEFL or IELTS

When do you have to start preparing for Cardozo?

Cardozo makes application decisions on a rolling basis. Applicants should be sure to begin preparing their materials at least 1 month before they intend to submit their application. Be sure that your personal statement clearly describes why you are pursuing an LL.M. degree at Cardozo, and that the writer of your recommendation letter can speak to your academic and legal abilities!

Affording Cardozo

The cost of tuition and fees for the LL.M. program is $62,408. In addition to the cost of tuition, Cardozo estimates that students will spend a further $28,664 on room and board as well as transportation, health insurance, and other incidental costs.

Cardozo provides multiple competitive merit-based scholarships to its top LL.M. students. Applicants interested in these scholarships do not need to submit any additional application or essay to be considered for these awards. Unfortunately, Cardozo does not offer any other forms of financial aid for its students, but does provide them with resources for seeking outside aid.

Article written by Ryan Buggy, November 2019

Located in an American capital well-known for its student population, Boston University (BU) is not to be missed if you’re interested in pursuing an LL.M. degree in the U.S.

Students at BU can specialize their LL.M. degree in one of 5 different fields, including its highly-ranked programs in Tax Law and Banking & Finance Law. Although students typically complete their LL.M. degree over the course of two semesters, BU also offers a 3-semester program and a 2-year program for students who seek to increase their English proficiency while they pursue their LL.M. Furthermore, the school allows students to obtain an Executive LL.M. in International Business Law or an LL.M. in Tax Law either entirely online or via a partial-residency option.

Boston University’s LL.M. Degree in a Few Words 

The roughly 330 students pursuing LL.M. degrees at BU come from all over the world to enroll in one of the university’s 5 different LL.M. programs over the course of 2 semesters. Certain students instead choose to complete the degree over 3 or 4 semesters while simultaneously taking classes through BU’s Legal English Certificate Program, a great option for international students who desire additional language support. 

Through a combination of in-class and experiential learning, BU students master their subject area while also taking advantage of the university’s dynamic social and professional programming. The LLM Discovery Series, a program designed especially for international students, takes students on visits to law firms and government offices where BU alumni work, allowing them to learn more about the American legal system and expand their professional networks.

Academics

BU is home to 5 different LL.M. programs: American Law (designed for international students), Banking & Financial Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Business Law, and Taxation. Each of these programs can be completed in 2 semesters full-time or over the course of up to 2 years for students interested in taking English classes alongside their law classes. Additionally, the degrees in Taxation and International Business Law may be completed either online or in partial residency for students who are unable to live in Boston.

Something that sets BU’s LL.M. programs apart from their peers is the potential they offer students to further concentrate within a field. For example, students in the Taxation LL.M. program can choose to specialize in Financial Services, and those in the International Business program can concentration in International Environmental and Energy Law. The American Law LL.M. even includes a built-in internship opportunity, the American Law Internship Program, where they work with a group of advisors to select a placement in a legal career at a business, non-profit, or government office located in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., or California.

To supplement their learning during the academic year, students may choose to complete one of BU’s summer programs. These include a program in Financial Services Fundamentals, specifically designed for students interested in financial law but who lack significant prior financial training; Legal English & Foundations of the US Legal System, which helps foreign students familiarize themselves with the language and foundations of the American legal system; and US Business Law for the International Lawyer, which is particularly helpful for foreign lawyers who handle international business dealings.

In 2020, U.S. News & World Report placed Boston University School of Law in its Top 25 Best Law Schools the Country! LL.M. Guide included the school in its Top 10 lists for U.S. Tax Law, Banking/Finance Law, and Online LL.M. Programs. Impressively, the National Law Journal names its Taxation program the second-best in the country!

How Do I Apply?

To be eligible for one of BU’s LL.M. programs, international applicants usually must hold a law degree from their home country, although certain students may be able to apply if they are practicing lawyers who do not hold a degree in law. BU accepts applications via the Law Student Admissions Council (LSAC) online application system. The deadline for international students seeking to begin during the Fall Semester is April 15th, and for the Spring Semester the deadline is October 31st. BU makes its decisions on a rolling basis, with candidates generally receiving a decision 3-4 weeks after they submit their complete application.

There are 6 parts to BU’s LL.M. application. First, applicants must submit transcripts detailing their prior higher education experience. They also must submit at least 2 (maximum of 4) recommendation letters (in English, or with an official translation) from academic or professional references. Applicants will also submit a personal statement explaining why they seek to pursue an LL.M. at BU, describing their academic interests, and sharing their professional ambitions. Applicants also need to include an updated resumé or CV.

International applicants need to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores unless their prior law degree was earned at an institution teaching primarily in English. Finally, students must also complete BU’S International Student Data Form, which deals with their financial situations and is necessary for immigration purposes.

The Application

• Transcripts
• 2-4 Recommendation Letters
• Personal Statement
• Resumé/CV
• TOEFL or IELTS
• International Student Data Form

Affording Boston University

The cost of tuition and fees for the LL.M. program is $56,982. In addition to the cost of tuition, BU estimates that students will spend a further $19,800 on room and board as well as transportation, health insurance, and other incidental costs.

BU provides multiple merit-based scholarships to its top LL.M. students. The majority of these scholarships do not require any additional application to be considered. Furthermore, BU has partnerships with several international universities, including Sorbonne Université and Université Paris II – Panthéon-Assas; students at these universities may be eligible for additional scholarship money. 

Article Written by Ryan Buggy for Your Dream School, November 2019

When do you have to start preparing for Boston?

BU makes application decisions on a rolling basis. Given how competitive BU is, students should prepare their application no later than 1 month before they intend to submit it! It is important that an applicant’s personal statement clearly represent their motivations and ambitions, and that their recommendation letters offer a positive depiction of their capabilities as a law student.