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Academic Policies and Procedures

This website provides an overview of the procedures and policies for the LL.M. program. The full information is available in the Code of Academic Regulations. This summary is for convenience only.

Learning Objectives

These are the program learning objectives for the LL.M. degree program:

      • Graduates of the LL.M. degree program will be able to demonstrate a proficiency of substantive, fundamental legal doctrine, including statutes and case law, legal concepts, and legal principles.
      • Graduates of the LL.M. degree program will be able to demonstrate self-directed learning practices for life-long learning.
      • Graduates of the LL.M. degree program will be able to demonstrate a proficiency and competence in problem-solving, legal analysis and legal reasoning.
      • Graduates of the LL.M. degree program will be able to demonstrate a proficiency in communicating legal concepts and analysis in written and oral form.
      • Graduates of the LL.M. degree program will be able to demonstrate a proficiency and competence in performing entry-level lawyering tasks.

Academic Regulations

All NSU Law students, including those in the LL.M. program, must follow the Code of Academic Regulations. LL.M. students should pay particular attention to Appendix J., which provides additional information for LL.M. students. Except as provided in Appendix J, students matriculated into the LL.M. program are governed by the policies of Nova Southeastern University for its enrolled students and the Code of Academic Regulations for College of Law Students. Students must abide by Nova Southeastern University’s and the College of Law’s codes of conduct. 

These are a few of the key policies to keep in mind:

      • Students must remain in good standing with Nova Southeastern University.
      • Students must remain in good standing with the Bursar's office.
      • Students must maintain a GPA of at least 2.25.
      • Students must comply with the legal and ethical standards of the institution. Academic and non-academic dishonesty and/or misconduct will result in disciplinary action.

Eligibility Requirements

      • To be eligible for admission, an applicant must have earned a first degree in law at an accredited university.
      • Applicants who have earned a J.D. degree from the NSU Shepard Broad College of Law must have completed two or more years of professional experience.
      • For attorneys who earned a first law degree outside the United States, the degree must allow the recipient to practice law in that country.
      • Applicants who are not native English speakers or do not hold a law degree sufficient to enable the applicant to practice law in that jurisdiction from an institution at which English is the primary language of instruction will be required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
      • To be eligible for admission to the College of Law, attorneys who earned a first law degree outside the United States must meet the eligibility requirements to matriculate in the J.D. program of study, and are subject to the admissions criteria for the J.D. program.
      • Upon admission, each attorney who earned a first law degree outside the United States shall elect whether to pursue either a J.D. or LL.M. degree.

Course and Registration Requirements

      • LL.M. students do not have priority for course registration, which is based on the number of credit hours previously completed.
      • LL.M. students may not earn credit for a course for which the student has earned academic credit at another institution or at NSU Law. Although the LL.M. student should consult with the student’s academic advisor or Dean of Students before registration, the responsibility to avoid duplication of courses remains with the student, and a student may be disenrolled from a course at any time rather than earn credit for a course substantially the same as one previously completed.
      • LL.M. students may not earn credit for Student Activity Credits by participation in publications, competitions, or advocacy board activities.
      • Except as otherwise provided in the Code of Academic Regulations or in an individual course’s description or syllabus, courses offered to J.D. and LL.M. students are available to J.D. and LL.M. students. If enrollment in a course exceeds the enrollment cap, preference will be given to J.D. students. LL.M. students are eligible to enroll in undergraduate courses or Master of Science courses only with the permission of the Dean of Students, who shall approve such requests only in exceptional circumstances.
      • LL.M. students are not included in the calculation of class rank for J.D. students.
      • LL.M. students are not ranked.

Graduation Requirements

      • Required Number of Credits: LL.M. students must earn at least 30 credits. Except as provided in this appendix, minimum requirements for course credits and limitations for online course credits do not apply to LL.M. students.
      • Common Core Curriculum: To graduate with a LL.M. degree, students who did not graduate from an ABA-approved law school must complete Legal Research and Writing I and Legal Research and Writing II. LL.M. students who graduated from an ABA-approved law school must complete the upper-level writing requirement.
      • LL.M. students are not required to complete the additional course requirements specified for J.D. students.
      • LL.M. students are eligible to earn any concentration offered by the College of Law, provided the student satisfies all obligations for the concentration.
      • Except as provided as part of a concentration requirement, LL.M. students are not required to complete the J.D. Mandatory Community Service and Professionalism Requirement.
      • All program requirements must be completed within five years from the first term enrolled unless a shorter time is designated. Leaves of absence taken during the course of the program, even for medical reasons, do not extend the five-year time limit.

Goodwin Concentration in Law, Technology, & Effective Public Policy (Goodwin Concentration) Completion Requirements

      • To graduate with a Goodwin Concentration, students must complete the following courses: Administrative Law; Advanced Legal Research; Technology for Legal Practice; Electronic Discovery, Digital Evidence, and Information Governance Workshop; Master’s Thesis Research & Writing: Introduction or a Seminar Course; Master’s Thesis Research & Writing: Advanced.
      • In addition, students must complete three additional courses from among the offerings in the Health Law Concentration; Intellectual Property, Technology, and Cybersecurity Law Concentration; and/or Environmental Law course offerings. Courses not listed in a Concentration must be approved by either the program director or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
      • Students must also complete 30-hours of community service.

Concentration for U.S. Law Study by Foreign Lawyers (Foreign Lawyers Concentration) additional requirements.

      • The LL.M. candidate is solely responsible for compliance with the eligibility requirements of any state where that student seeks eligibility to sit for admission to the bar. The eligibility requirements vary by state and change without notice.
      • No statement or guidance from the College of Law can be relied upon or substituted for the candidate's own determination of the requirements and adherence to the required procedural steps.
      • Students in this concentration must complete their degree and be awarded their LL.M. degree within 24 months of matriculation.
      • Students must enroll in Fall and Winter courses. At least 20 students’ 30 credits must be earned during Fall and Winter terms.
      • Students must complete all coursework within the United States.
      • Because New York and other jurisdictions may require 24 rather than 30 credits to complete the LL.M. program, students may elect to take credits beyond the state-required 24 credits in the College of Law in online courses. Students are solely responsible for their decision to enroll in such courses and their potential to make them ineligible for bar admission in a particular jurisdiction even though they have met the state’s requirement of 24 credits of in-person instruction.
      • To graduate with a Foreign Lawyers Concentration, students must complete the following courses: Legal Research and Writing I; Legal Research and Writing II; Professional Responsibility; American Legal Studies (which can be satisfied by successful completion of Constitutional Law I, Civil Procedure, or another course designated by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs as satisfying this course requirement).
      • In addition to the required courses, a graduate with a Foreign Lawyers Concentration, students must complete at least nine credits in bar-tested subjects (for example, Contracts, Torts, Civil Procedure, Real Property, Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Business Entities, and Family Law).

 



Satisfactory Academic Progress

Nova Southeastern University maintains a system of records that includes forms, letters of recommendations, application material, and transcripts from student's previous academic work. These records are available for review by the individual upon written request to the department. The original/official documents must be maintained by the university while the student is enrolled in the program.

NSU offers a 15% tuition discount for members of the military who have been fully accepted into the program. The student must contact NSU's Department of Veteran Affairs to complete all required documentation prior to receiving the discount on tuition.

Standards of Progress
A student receiving veterans' benefits must maintain satisfactory progress. Students will be considered to be making satisfactory progress as long as they meet the academic standards set by their school for retention in their degree programs.

A student who, at the end of any evaluation period, has not attained and maintained satisfactory progress will be certified, in a probationary status, for only one additional evaluation period. Should this student not attain and maintain satisfactory progress by the end of the probationary period (one evaluation period), the student's VA educational benefits will be terminated for unsatisfactory progress.

A student whose VA educational benefits have been terminated for unsatisfactory progress may petition the school to be re-certified after one evaluation period has elapsed. The school may re-certify the student for VA educational benefits only if there is a reasonable likelihood that the student will be able to attain and maintain satisfactory progress for the remainder of the program.

For VA payment of benefits purposes, an "I" (Incomplete) designation for a course must be converted to a credit grade counting toward graduation, or a failing grade, by the end of one calendar year unless permission for a delay is granted by the Academic Dean for that program. An "NG" (NO GRADE) designation for a course must be converted to a credit grade counting toward graduation, of a failing grade, by the end of one regular semester unless permission for a delay is granted by the Academic Dean for that program.

Grade/Progress Reports
Each VA student will be provided a grade/progress report at the end of every evaluation period (e.g. term, semester). A copy of each report will be placed in the student's permanent file maintained by the school. The university periodically furnishes each student with a working transcript that shows current status of grades and earned semester hours for all courses completed and/or attempted, plus grades for courses in which the student is currently enrolled.

Credit for Prior Training (CPT)
Nova Southeastern University complies with federal regulations for veterans' training that it is mandatory for all veteran’s benefit recipients to report either prior education and/or training. A student receiving veterans' benefits that has previous post-secondary educational training/experience must request official transcript(s) be sent to the school. If the transcript has not been received prior to the end of the student's second term here at Nova Southeastern University, the student cannot be certified for veterans' benefits for the upcoming term. The student can be certified for veterans' benefits after the transcript has been received.

The school will evaluate the student's previous training and/or experience and grant credit as appropriate. Should credit(s) be accepted and/or granted, the student's tuition and training time will be reduced proportionately, with the veteran and VA so notified.

Student Conduct
All students are expected to comply with the legal and ethical standards of this institution.

Academic dishonesty and/or non-academic misconduct will result in disciplinary action. Specific instances of misconduct include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, knowingly furnishing false information to the institution, and forging or altering institution documents and/or academic credentials.

The institution reserves the right to require a student to withdraw at any time for misconduct as described above. It also reserves the right to impose probation or suspension on a student whose conduct is determined to be unsatisfactory.

Students who feel their rights have been denied are entitled to due process. For additional information, please visit NSU's Department of Veterans Affairs.

  • Complete the Military Alliance Discount Form
  • Submit a copy of their Certificate of Release Form: DD-214 
    • The Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty is issued by the respective branch of the military when an individual completes a period of active duty. This document provides specific information on that period of service”
  • If the Veteran is on Active Duty then they should supply a letter from their Education Service Officer.

For tuition reimbursement documentation, please contact Nova Southeastern University’s Bursar’s Office at 1-800-541-6682, extension 25200.

To request student accommodations, please contact Nova Southeastern University’s Office of Student Disability Services at 1-800-541-6682, extension 27185 or disabilityservices@nova.edu
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