University of Iowa LLM program Degree Requirements

Degree Requirements at the University of Iowa LLM program for Foreign Lawyers

To earn the LLM degree, each student must successfully complete a course of a minimum of 24 hours of academic credit, as approved by his or her faculty adviser. These 24 credit hours are to be earned from the law school's general course offerings, with the exception of LLM-specific courses noted below.

1. The legal practice track: This track is open to foreign trained lawyers who do not have a US JD. For this track, LLM students must take the LLM orientation course to the US legal system (two credits in August before the start of the fall semester), a course in professional legal writing specially designed for foreign-trained lawyers (two credits), a course in professional responsibility (three credits), and at least six credits of other basic bar exam courses, such as contracts, torts, or constitutional law. This track is designed to qualify the student to take the bar examination in states like New York, Wisconsin, California, and Texas that allow certain foreign lawyers to sit for the bar exam.
2. The research track: This track is open to both foreign trained with a JD and students holding a US JD degree.  LLM students without a JD degree must take the LLM orientation course to the US legal system (two credits in August before the start of the fall semester). All LLM students in this track take LLM Seminar, a research and writing course during which they will write a research paper qualifying for at least one credit on a topic they choose with the approval of their advisor. This track is especially suitable for those seeking to enter into an academic career or one involving primarily policy formulation or research.

For more information on this excellent http://law.uiowa.edu/degrees/master-laws-llm