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Posted Jan. 7, 2018

Top 10 LLM Programs in Jurisprudence in the United States

LLM in JurisprudenceAn LLM concentrating on Jurisprudence is often the choice for those planning on a career in the academic study of the law.

Jurisprudence Course Search

What is Jurisprudence?

In different legal contexts and different countries, Jurisprudence has slightly different meanings. For example, in the United States, Jurisprudence is generally accepted as the study of the philosophy of the law and so also a study of the institutions of the law. There are many different approaches to Jurisprudence in the US including schools of Naturalist Jurisprudence and Feminist Jurisprudence. Jurisprudence can include other topics such as those in the social sciences or moral reasoning and how judges come to their decisions. In the United Kingdom, Jurisprudence is often studied alongside Legal Theory and this concentrates on many academic areas of the law including abstract moral judgements that have to be made in legal cases.

Why study Jurisprudence?

Jurisprudence is an intensely intellectual study of the law and the moral and philosophical debates around it. Understanding your own opinions about the different philosophical approaches to Jurisprudence will make you a better lawyer, as you will understand the root of the law and why it is the way that it is. During your time at law school as a postgraduate student, you will be able to meet new contacts and people who may be able to help you once you graduate. For those students who are considering a PhD in the Law, an LLM in Jurisprudence is often a stepping-stone to studying a PhD.

Which careers are helped by studying Jurisprudence?

Any legal career can be helped by studying Jurisprudence and all law students will study the subject at some point in their academic life. To study it at postgraduate level will allow you to fully understand the law and will allow you to continue to advise on all aspects of the law, especially in new, developing and untested areas of the law. If you are considering an academic career in the law, then the intensive intellectual nature of Jurisprudence will test and flex those academic muscles.

What are the options to study Jurisprudence at PG level?

In the United States there are two types of postgraduate programs in Jurisprudence. Some LLMs focus on or specialise in Jurisprudence and then there is a Masters of Jurisprudence. A Masters of Jurisprudence is aimed at those students who do not have a law undergraduate degree and don't want to become lawyers. Most law schools offering an LLM in the US will offer some form of module on Jurisprudence, but researching while choosing a course to apply to is key to finding the perfect course. Outside of the States, you will have to study an LLM or graduate entry to an undergraduate law degree to study Jurisprudence.

Where can you study Jurisprudence?

Some institutions in the US offer LLMs with a prescribed speciality of Jurisprudence and others take a free approach allowing students to create a focus on Jurisprudence themselves through either selecting modules on Legal Theory and Jurisprudence or by independent research. There are also some LLMs that are only suitable for foreign-trained students as they are an introduction to the US legal system with an in-depth study into selected areas and would be repetitive for those with a US undergraduate Law degree. There are lots of funding options available so don't let the tuition fees put you off. 

Here are ten of the best LLM programs in the United States that have a focus on Jurisprudence*.

LLM – Yale Law School

Duration: 1 year full time.
Cost: $59,920 for all students. 
What You Will Study: The Yale Law School LLM is a highly rated, highly sought after and highly selective course. The course is completely customisable and students can study Jurisprudence with some of the top Law academics in the world.

LLM – Harvard Law School

Duration: 1 year full time.
Cost: $61,650 for all students. 
What You Will Study: Students at Harvard Law School are able to pursue their own areas of interest in the law but all students are encouraged to study Legal Theory and Jurisprudence. 

LLM – University of Chicago

Duration: 1 year full time.
Cost: $61,626 for all students. 
What You Will Study: Students at the University of Chicago Law School are free to study any combination of modules and most study at least one in Jurisprudence or Legal Theory. Jurisprudence modules include Feminist Philosophy and Jurisprudence I: Theories of Law and Adjudication.

LLM – Columbia Law School

Duration: 1 year full time. 
Cost: $65,252 for all students. 
What You Will Study: There are a huge number of modules at Columbia Law School that students can select including Jurisprudence and Biblical Jurisprudence covering issues such as the difference between law and morality. 

LLM in Legal Theory – New York University

Duration: 1 year full time. 
Cost: $51,012 for all students. 
What You Will Study: LLM students at NYU are able to shape their studies within the large selection of courses in Legal Theory and can participate fully in all the Law School's groups including the Jurisprudence and Philosophy Group.

LLM – University of Pennsylvania

Duration: 1 year full time.
Cost: $59,382 for all students. 
What You Will Study: Students at Penn Law are free to study the whole range of courses available at the University of Pennsylvania Law School or produce a thesis of independent research. There are a number of academics who are experts in the area of Jurisprudence along with courses such as Jurisprudence in Sport.

LLM – University of Virginia School of Law

Duration: 1 year full time. 
Cost: $58,300 for in-state students / $61,300 for out-of-state and international students. 
What You Will Study: This course allows students to take modules across the whole school. Modules available include Jurisprudence and Constitutionalism: History and Jurisprudence. 

LLM – Duke University Law School

Duration: 1 year full time. 
Cost: $61,000 for all students. 
What You Will Study: This LLM is designed for foreign-trained lawyers with a few years experience working for well-regarded law firms. Students are able to take any course from across Duke University including those on Legal Theory and Jurisprudence. 

LLM – Northwestern University Pritzker Law School

Duration: 9 months full time.
Cost: $61,784 for all students. 
What You Will Study: This LLM at Northwestern Pritzker Law School is an introduction to the US Legal system and students can study modules such as Jurisprudence, American Jurisprudence, Feminist Jurisprudence.

LLM – University of California Berkeley School of Law

Duration: 1 year full time. 
Cost: $49,363 for in-state students / $53,314 for out-of-state and international students. 
What You Will Study: The course at Berkeley Law allows for complete flexibility and students can study the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program.

*SOURCE: US NEWS BEST GRADUATE LAW SCHOOLS

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