J.D./LL.M. with Customized Study Concentration
Loyola College of Law students have the option of completing a joint J.D./LL.M. in seven semesters. Students must apply to and be accepted into both programs by the beginning of their last semester in the J.D. program. Scholarships and financial aid are available.
3Ls and 4Ls graduating in May of any year must apply by April 15 of that year to be eligible. Joint degree students will complete their requirements for the J.D. in the spring semester and may sit for a bar examination in the summer before returning to complete the LL.M. semester.
Students graduating with a J.D. from the Loyola College of Law may apply up to nine (9) credit hours in qualifying courses from the J.D. program of study to the LL.M. program of study, allowing them to complete the LL.M. program in one semester.
All of the required credit hours may be taken from among any courses in the College of Law’s course catalog, except courses that are associated with service on our law journals or clinic.
- The J.D./LL.M. degree includes a writing requirement which may be fulfilled by taking a two-credit hour law school seminar or a two-credit independent legal research paper (LAW L898) under the supervision of a faculty member. An LL.M. student may be able to substitute the two-credit independent legal research paper by completing a more extensive thesis (LAW L898) under faculty supervision for up to a total of six (6) credit hours.
- Up to four (4) credit hours may be earned through a pass / fail externship with a law firm, court, or government agency. The College of Law does not promise that an externship will be available to the potential LL.M. candidate, but we will make our best efforts to assist.
J.D./LL.M. with Health Law and Administration Concentration
Loyola’s LL.M. with a Concentration in Health Law and Administration degree requires the completion of 24 semester credit hours and a thesis paper of publishable quality. The thesis requirement may be completed as part of a health law course or by undertaking an Independent Study Legal Research Supervised Paper (LAW L898).
Students intending to complete the joint J.D./LL.M. must apply to and be accepted into the LL.M. program by the beginning of their last semester in the J.D. program. Students graduating with a J.D. from Loyola College of Law may apply up to nine (9) credit hours in qualifying courses from the J.D. program of study to the LL.M. program of study, allowing them to complete the LL.M. program in one semester. Students are cautioned to confirm that the necessary required courses are offered in the semester in which they plan to complete the program.
**Please note: not all courses are offered every academic year.**
Required Core Courses (11-12 hours total)
LAW L807 Introduction to Health Law (3 hrs)
LAW L912 Health Law II: Access, Regulation, Compliance, and Strategy (3 hrs)
LAW L898 Legal Research / Other Course (thesis paper - see above) (2-3 hrs)
Plus one of the following:
LAW L844 Administrative Law (3 hrs)
LAW L847 Legislation and Regulation (3 hrs)
LAW L940 Risk and the Administrative State (3 hrs)
Elective Courses: Law (9-13 hours total)
LAW L746 Business Organizations I (3 hrs)
LAW L747 Business Organizations II (3 hrs)
LAW L781 Law and Poverty (2 hrs)
LAW L800 Health Care Privacy and Security (3 hrs)
LAW L801 Intellectual Property Law (3 hrs)
LAW L817 Mediation and Arbitration (3 hrs)
LAW L822 Bioethics and the Law (3 hrs)
LAW L825 Medical Malpractice (2 or 3 hrs)
LAW L830 Comparative Reproductive Bioethics and the Law (1 hr)
LAW L834 Environmental Justice (2 or 3 hrs)
LAW L854 Insurance Law (3 hrs)
LAW L855 Children and the Law (3 hrs)
LAW L896 Professional Seminar: Medicare Law (2 hrs)
LAW L900 Approved Health-Related Academic Externship (1-3 hrs)
LAW L902 Elder and Disabled Law (2 hrs)
LAW L914 Health Care Compliance (3 hrs)
LAW L915 Healthcare Fraud and Abuse (3 hrs)
LAW L916 Disability and the Law (3 hrs)
LAW L917 Public Health Law (3 hrs)
LAW L937 Selected Topics in Immigration (2 hrs)
LAW L938 Health in Immigration and Citizenship Law (1-2 hrs)
LAWM L705 U.S. Law and Legal Analysis (1 credit)
LAWM L710 Graduate Seminar in Health and Environmental Law (3 hrs)
Elective Courses: Non-Law (0-3 hours)
MGT B700 Organizational Behavior and Leadership (3 Credits)
MGT B705 Strategic Communication (3 Credits)
MGT B710 Operations and Process Management (3 Credits)
MGT B725 Quality and Performance Excellence (3 Credits)
MGT B740 Business of Healthcare (3 Credits)
For more information, please contact Nicole Tuchinda, Academic Director for the Health Law Program.
J.D./LL.M. with Environmental Law Concentration
Loyola's LL.M. with a Concentration in Environmental Law requires students to complete 24 semester credit hours; which includes at least one experiential course, or other pre-approved equivalent course, work, or other experience. Also, as part of the total credit hours, students must complete a “Capstone” project on an approved topic of choice, which can take the form of an academic article of publishable quality, a policy “white paper,” meeting professional standards, or a similar undertaking.
Students intending to complete the joint J.D./LL.M. must apply to and be accepted into the LL.M. program by the beginning of their last semester in the J.D. program. Students graduating with a J.D. from Loyola College of Law may apply up to nine (9) credit hours in qualifying courses from the J.D. program of study to the LL.M. program of study, allowing them to complete the LL.M. program in one semester. Students are cautioned to confirm that the necessary required courses are offered in the semester in which they plan to complete the program.
**Please note: not all courses are offered every academic year.**
Required Core Courses (15 credits total)
- LAW L835 Natural Resources Law* (3 credits)
- LAW L844 Administrative Law OR LAW L847 Legislation and Regulation* (3 credits)
- LAW L858 Environmental Law* (3 credits)
- Capstone project (3 credits)
- One experiential offering, or other pre-approved equivalent offering or experience, including:
- LAW L900 Approved Academic Environmental Law Externship (3 credits)
- LAW L974 Advanced Legal Research: Community-Based Research Lab (3 credits)
- LAW L976 Environmental Law and Policy Lab (3 credits)
- LAW L976 S50 Environmental Law and Policy: Florida Keys (3 credits)
- LAW L977 Environmental Litigation: Theory and Practice (3 credits)
- Any other experiential opportunity (including work experience) with approval
For the remaining credit hours necessary for the LL.M. degree, students may choose from an array of courses from law, environmental, non-law, and non-environmental offerings, (Note: generally, non-environmental and/or non-law courses are capped at six credits that apply toward the degree, unless otherwise pre-approved).
Elective Courses: Environment and Law (9 credits total) (no more than 6 hours combined non-environmental and non-law)
- LAW L817 Mediation and Arbitration (3 credits)
- LAW L819 Construction Industry & Sustainability Seminar (2 credits)
- LAW L822 Bioethics and the Law (3 credits)
- LAW L834 Environmental Justice (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L837 Property and Land Use Seminar (1-3 credits)
- LAW L838 Oil and Gas Law (3 credits)
- LAW L856 State and Local Government Law (2 credits)
- LAW L864 Admiralty 1 (3 credits)
- LAW L879 Admiralty Seminar: Marine Pollution OR Intro to International Law of the Sea (1-3 credits)
- LAW L886 Environmental Law Seminar (2 credits) (may take more than one), including:
- Law and the Climate Crisis;
- Environmental Enforcement and Compliance;
- Hot Topics in Environmental Law
- LAW L896 Professional Seminars (2 credits) (may take more than one), including:
- Green Building
- LAW L900 Approved Academic Environmental Law Externship (3 credits)
- LAW L911 Introduction to American Indian Law: Overlapping Jurisdictions (3 credits)
- LAW L913 Disaster Law and Policy (2 credits)
- LAW L922 Toxic Torts (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L929 Energy and the Environment in International Law (2 credits)
- LAW L974 Advanced Legal Research: Community-Based Research Lab (3 credits)
- LAW L975 Energy Law and Policy (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L976 S50 Environmental Law and Policy: Florida Keys (May Term, 3 credits, in Florida)
- LAW L976 Environmental Law and Policy Lab (3 credits)
- LAW L977 Environmental Litigation: Theory and Practice (3 credits)
Non-Law Elective Courses (no more than 6 hours combined non-environmental and non-law)
- RELS V265 Eco-Feminist Theologies
- PHIL W245 Environmental Ethics
- PHIL U243 Environmental Philosophy
- SOCI A355 Environmental Sociology
- ENVA A105 Foundations in Environmental Studies
- SOCI X236 Global Environmental Crisis
- HIST Q234 Technology, Nature and the West
For a fuller list of possible courses, review the topics below in the undergraduate bulletin:
Environmental courses
Food Studies courses
Business, Decision Science and Entrepreneurship
Political Science courses
Sociology courses
For more information, please contact Marianne Cufone, Director of the Environmental Law Program.
J.D./LL.M. with Concentration in Immigration and Citizenship Law
Loyola's LL.M. with a Concentration in Immigration and Citizenship Law offers practicing attorneys or students who have earned a law degree in the U.S. the opportunity to explore in-depth the United States law of migration and citizenship, within the international framework. The LL.M. program explores issues of migration through the lens of human rights, including the rights of persons who are members of racial and ethnic minorities, the rights of women and gender-diverse persons, and social and economic justice. Students are encouraged to think of migration in its global context as one of many interrelated forces, like climate change, economic stability, and political stability that pose continuing challenges for the United States in the 21st century. The program emphasizes experiential learning, focusing on the work of attorneys in practice, whether in nonprofit, private or government practice. The program offers students opportunities to develop more specialized knowledge through scholarship or projects primarily the result of the students’ design.
LL.M. students complete 24 hours of coursework in immigration and citizenship law and related courses. As part of their required course of study, students choose to author an academic research paper of high professional quality concerning immigration or citizenship law, or complete a capstone project.
Students intending to complete the joint J.D./LL.M. must apply to and be accepted into the LL.M. program by the beginning of their last semester in the J.D. program. Students graduating with a J.D. from Loyola College of Law may apply up to nine (9) credit hours in qualifying courses from the J.D. program of study to the LL.M. program of study, allowing them to complete the LL.M. program in one semester. Students are cautioned to confirm that the necessary required courses are offered in the semester in which they plan to complete the program.
**Please note: not all courses are offered every academic year.**
Required Courses (14 credit hours total)
- LAW L832 Immigration and Citizenship Law (3 credit hours)
- LAW L933 Asylum and Refugee Law (3 credit hours)
- LAW L898 Independent Study (thesis or capstone - see below) (2-6 credits)***
The remaining required credit hours are to be selected from the following courses:*
- LAW L897 Immigration Clinic – one semester (5 credits)
- LAW L932 Immigration Law Seminar (1-3 credits) (may be taken more than once)
- LAW L934 Detention and Removal Defense (2 credits)
- LAW L936 Immigration Justice: Practice, Policy & Process: Selected Problems (2 credits)
- LAW L937 Selected Topics in Immigration (2 credits)
- LAW L938 Health in Immigration and Citizenship Law (1-2 credits)
*Courses listed above are also available to complete the elective credit requirements, if they are not used to satisfy the required course credits.
Elective Courses (10 credit hour minimum)*
- LAW L781 Law and Poverty (2 credits)
- LAW L805 Law of the European Union (3 credits)
- LAW L816 Comparative Law Seminar (1, 2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L820 Employment Discrimination (3 credits)
- LAW L823 First Amendment (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L834 Environmental Justice (3 credits)
- LAW L840 Employment Law (3 credits)
- LAW L842 Courts in a Federal System (3 credits)
- LAW L844 Administrative Law (3 credits)
- LAW L847 Legislation and Regulation Law (3 credits)
- LAW L877 Constitutional Law Seminar (1-3 credits)
- LAW L878 International Law (3 credits)
- LAW L884 International Law Seminar (1-3 credits)
- LAW L885 Gender Law in Practice (3 credits)
- LAW L886 Environmental Law Seminar: Law and the Climate Crisis (2 credits)
- LAW L897 Immigration Clinic – one semester (5 credits)
- LAW L900 Academic Externship (up to 3 credits) (Academic externships must be approved by program faculty)
- LAW L911 Introduction to American Indian Law: Overlapping Jurisdictions (3 credits)
- LAW L912 Health Law II – Access, Regulation, Compliance and Strategy (3 credits)
- LAW L913 Disaster Law and Policy (2 credits)
- LAW L924 Human Rights Advocacy Project (3 credits)
- LAW L955 Advanced Constitutional Law: 14th Amendment (3 credits)
- LCOM L800 Family Law (3 credits)
*** Independent Study: LL.M. Thesis or Capstone Project
- LL.M. Thesis (2 to 6 Independent Study credits)
Students who choose the thesis option must complete an academic research paper of high professional quality concerning immigration or citizenship law. Students fulfill this requirement in conjunction with one of the program’s required or elective courses and an independent study of two to six credits, under the supervision of program faculty. The thesis paper is presented to program faculty and the law school community, and is advised or co-advised by program faculty. Advance approval of the topic is required.
- Capstone Project (2 to 6 Independent Study credits)
Students may opt to complete a capstone project instead of a written thesis. The project may take various forms including a performance essay, a case study, a data-generating research project, surveys, or a product, and/or the presentation of a thesis or data through alternative media including film, cartoons, photographic series, posters, or other types of presentations. Projects may be undertaken in conjunction with an immigration and citizenship course under the supervision of the faculty member teaching the course, and through independent study of two to six credits under the supervision of program faculty. Capstone projects are presented at the end of the course of study to program faculty and to the law school community.