J.D./LL.M. with Honors in International and Comparative Law

Cornell J.D. students may apply to be admitted to the joint degree program upon initial application to the Law School or after matriculation, provided application is made before completion of their first year.  You may apply for the program any time after the completion of your first year of law school by completing a request for admission to the J.D./LL.M. program.  

The J.D./LL.M. program requires 20 upper-class credits in international and comparative law (the “20 required credits”), in addition to the credits required for the J.D. degree.   This means that students must complete 104 total credits, rather than the 84 required for the J.D.

• Two specifically designated “Group 1” courses*
• One specifically designated comparative law course that is general in scope and includes instruction in civil law systems. The course may have a regional focus. Students may satisfy this requirement by taking Comparative Law: Civil Legal Traditions or one of the other “Group 2” courses listed below. 1
• Completion of additional elective credits from the electives list provided in this document.

*With the approval of the Assistant Dean for External Education, a course in the Law School’s Semester Abroad Program may be taken as a substitute for one of the required Group 1 or Group 2 courses.  The course must be at least two credits. In the case of a proposed substitute for Public International Law or Conflict of Laws, the course must be substantially similar to the course that would have been taken at Cornell. In the case of a Comparative Law course, it must meet the criteria for such courses set out above.

• Participation in the Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute which is strongly encouraged. (students must receive at least four credits)
• A thesis option, which requires satisfactory completion of a five-credit thesis;
• Graduate courses that are taken–in accordance with the law school’s rules and regulations and if related to international, comparative, or foreign law–in other divisions of Cornell University, including its area studies programs (East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Institute for African Development, Latin American Studies and the Institute for European Studies) (with approval of the Assistant Dean for External Education);
• Supervised writing courses in International or Comparative Law (with approval of the Assistant Dean for External Education);
• Up to 2 credits for serving as a teaching assistant for an international or comparative law class taught at Cornell Law School (with approval of the Assistant Dean for External Education);
• Approved courses that are taken by participants in the law school’s Semester Abroad Program, in which J.D.-LL.M. students may earn up to sixteen credits for study at an approved foreign law school or faculty;
• All courses listed in Groups 1, 2 or 3 on this document. Group 3 represents elective courses that will count towards receiving honors in International and Comparative Law for the LLM degree.

• Students must maintain an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 to be awarded the LL.M. degree at graduation. 
• In no event may a J.D./LL.M. student receive a total of more than 12 credits toward the required 20 credits from summer/winter intersession courses, including credits earned from the Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute.
• Students in the program must comply with the credit hour and degree requirements for the Cornell J.D. degree in addition to completing an additional 20 credit hours for the LL.M. degree as set out above.
•  J.D./LL.M students will be allowed to take a maximum of 21 credits per semester during the second and third years. No exceptions can be made to the 21-credit maximum.

Students interested in the J.D.-LL.M. Program will have the following courses to choose from during the 2023-24 academic year. The Director for International Programs, in consultation with the Chair of the International Committee and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, will update the courses in Groups 2 and 3 annually, in advance of the fall pre-registration period. Students are encouraged to speak with the Director for International Programs to discuss course selection before doing their pre-registration.

Review these courses in the Course Catalog.

Group 1:

• 6191 Conflict of Laws
• 6561 International Human Rights
• 6791 Public International Law

Group 2 (one of the following courses is required)

One of the following courses is required:

• 6161 Comparative Law: Civil Law Traditions
• 7440 Law and Social Change: Comparative Law in Africa

*The Comparative Law requirement also may be satisfied by taking 6177 at the Cornell-Paris 1 Summer Institute, together with a supervised writing on a comparative law topic during the following Fall semester.

Group 3: (Electives)

Semester	Course Number	Title	Credits	Professor
Fall	6193	The Practice of International Arbitration	3	Hay/Ziyaeva
Fall	6632	Transnational Corruption and the Law	3	Alonso
Fall	6344	International Labor Law	3	LeClercq
Fall	6451	Federal Indian Law	3	Porter
Spring	6465	Global M&A Practice	1	Kihira
Fall	6514	Foreign, Comparative, and International Legal Research	2	Shea
Fall	6584	International Trade Law – Short Course	1	Lee
Spring	6625	Law and Society in North Korea	1	Hong
Spring	6661	Constitutional Law of the European Union	3	Lasser
Spring	6681	International Law and Foreign Direct Investment	3	Ndulo
Fall	6745	Middle East Business Law and Practice	3	Elsaman
Fall	7018	Advanced Topics in Transnational Labor Law	3	Blackett
Fall	7267	Comparative Contract Law	1	Cerchia
Spring	7282	Gender and International Human Rights	3	Babcock/ Greenfield
Spring	7295	Global Labor and Employment Law	3	Sander
Fall	7311	Immigration and Refugee Law	2	Yale-Loehr
Spring	7321	International Criminal Law	3	Ndulo
Spring	7358	International Environmental Law	3	Chatrchyan
Fall	7360	International Financial Regulation	2	Emmenegger/ Zulauf
Fall	7589	Seminar in National Security Issues & Policy	3	Pepper
Fall	7785	Law of Genocide and War Crimes Trials	3	Rosensaft
Spring	7801	Asylum and Convention Against Torture Appellate Clinic	4	McKee/Yale-Loehr
Fall/Spring	7805	Advanced Labor Law Clinic	3	Cornell
Fall/Spring	7814	Advanced Transnational Disputes Clinic	6	Kysel
Fall	7832	Externship – Full Time*	12	Azemi
Fall	7834	Externship – Part Time*	4	Azemi
Fall/Spring	7842	Immigration Law and Advocacy Clinic II	2	Kelley-Widmer
Fall/Spring	7843	Immigration Law and Advocacy Clinic III	4	Kelley-Widmer
Fall	7855	International Human Rights: Litigation and Advocacy Clinic I	4	Babcock
Fall/Spring	7857	Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic I	4	Lyon
Fall/Spring	7858	Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic II	2	Lyon
Fall/Spring	7859	Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic III	2	Lyon
Spring	7860	International Human Rights: Litigation and Advocacy Clinic II	4	Babcock
Fall/Spring	7864	Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic IV	2	Lyon
Fall	7871	Labor Law Clinic	4	Cornell
Fall/ Spring	7878	International Human Rights: Litigation and Advocacy Clinic III	4	Babcock
Fall	7914	Gender Justice Clinic I	4	Brundige/Lee
Fall/Spring	7915	Gender Justice Clinic II	4	Brundige/Lee
Fall/Spring	7916	Gender Justice Clinic III	4	Brundige/Lee
Fall/Spring	7917	Gender Justice Clinic IV	4	Brundige/Lee
Fall/Spring	7959	Transnational Disputes Clinic	6	Kysel

*If externship is outside the U.S. or with an international organization in the U.S. or a domestic organization in the U.S. practicing international law.

Please complete this form to start the process to receive a degree credit review, change your program, or withdraw from a program.

If you have any questions, please contact us at international.law@cornell.edu.