The Columbus School of Law of The Catholic University of America (CUA) offers a course of studies leading to the LL.M. degree.  The Program is co-managed in Poland by the Jagiellonian University.

The LL.M. is an internationally recognized professional and academic postgraduate law degree. The CUA LL.M. can be obtained through courses taken in one summer in residence in Cracow, Poland, a series of one and two-week courses offered in the following academic year, and a summer in residence at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Many lawyers in international law firms and other organizations hold LL.M. degrees from American universities. As the world becomes increasingly global, knowledge of American law is important for every lawyer. American business regulations have major impact on the law of the European countries. A sojourn in Washington affords unique opportunities to establish professional contacts.

LL.M. students come to the U.S. on J-1 visas. The required academic training in the U.S. lasts about two months. American immigration law permits the holder of a J-1 visa to spend equivalent time in the U.S. for paid or unpaid practical training.

Residence in the U.S. is not required until the second summer of the program and is of limited duration. In the course of the academic year, American professors from CUA come to Cracow to teach one or two week intensive courses. In comparison to programs requiring a year of U.S. residence, this significantly lowers the cost of participation and permits the harmonization of this program with the candidate’s professional employment.

Jagiellonian University also conducts Schools of German, French, and Austrian law, thereby allowing students and foreign lecturers of all programs to meet and establish contacts.

Since the CUA LL.M. Program is conducted both in Cracow and Washington, the costs of participation are significantly lower than those of programs requiring a full years residency in the U.S.

The LL.M. Program: The Catholic University of America (CUA) LL.M. in American Law, offered in cooperation with Jagiellonian University, requires successful completion of 22 credits in three components. Normally students must earn at least six credits in the CUA International Business and Trade Summer Program (IBSTP), at least nine credits in the American Law Program (ALP) offered at Jagiellonian University in the academic year, and at least six credits in the CUA summer session in Washington D.C. Students have the opportunity to earn more than the minimum credits in each of these components.

General requirements: Generally the program is open to students with a first degree in law from a country other than the U.S. or Canada. Applications are due at the beginning of May, although students are encouraged to apply earlier. Normally students are notified no later than the end of May, begin course work with the IBSTP in June, continue in the academic year with the ALP, and complete with the CUA summer session in the following summer. It is possible to vary the order in which these components with approval of the program directors.

Special opportunity for Jagiellonian students: Jagiellonian students, who take the IBSTP or ALP during their JU studies, as well as students from other Polish law schools who take the IBSTP while a student, have the opportunity to obtain credit for coursework taken while earning the first degree in law.

Application of five credits counted toward the magister degree: A student who received credit toward the first law degree from courses taken in the CUA IBTSP or the ALP can count up to five “CUA credits” toward the LL.M. (The term “CUA credits” is used because the counting of credits toward the first law degree may be a different number from the credit CUA would award for the same work. A one-week course in the American Law Program is one CUA credit. A two-week course is two CUA credits.) This is a total of five credits from both programs. The student may elect which courses and grades comprising these five credits will appear on the student’s LL.M. transcript toward the degree. Normally a student would have to earn the other four credits necessary to reach the minimum of nine in the ALP in a subsequent offering of the ALP in another academic year.

A student cannot take the same course she has taken before, unless the content is substantially different. Usually the ALP offers enough different courses from year to year to allow a student to get four credits in courses not taken before. In some instances, a course title is the same, but the substance of the course, when given by another teacher, is sufficiently different that the student could take the course without it being a repeat. The LL.M. Directors will review a student’s proposed course of study to counsel the student on what would meet the requirements.

Students who took the IBSTP or ALP who did not receive credit toward the magister degree: A student who completed IBTSP or ALP courses successfully but did not receive credit got such courses toward their magister degree may count all those credits toward the LL.M. degree. A student in this category also may elect to take additional courses in the ALP in a subsequent year at no additional cost, and such courses would be included on the LL.M. transcript.

Maximum duration: Once a student has matriculated in the LL.M. program, the maximum duration of coursework for completion is 27 months. Matriculated means that the student’s application has been accepted, the student’s first tuition payment has been made, and the student has commenced courses in one of the three components of the program. Normally students are admitted in May; the first tuition payment is due in June; the International Business and Trade Summer Program (IBTSP) starts in the third week of June. Thus a student who matriculated in June 2009 must complete all three components of the program by September 2011.

For a student counting credits taken before matriculating in the program, the commencement of the program is still matriculation in the LL.M., not the date the courses were taken. For example, assume a student took the ALP in the fourth year at JU in 2008-09 and received credit toward the magister for those courses. This student decided in the summer of 2009 to apply for the LL.M. If that student was accepted, the student could receive credit for the LL.M. for five weeks of courses taken in the ALP in 2008-09. The student would work with program Directors to identify four additional weeks of courses to take in 2009-2010. Assume the student was admitted, paid tuition, and began taking new courses in the ALP in October 2009. The student will take the IBSTP in summer 2010 and the CUA summer program in summer 2011. The 27 month duration period commenced with October 2009 and was satisfied by completion of coursework in July 2011. As described in the next section, this student also would satisfy the requirement of receiving the JU magister before award of the LL.M.

“Old” Credits. The total duration from the date first credit counted toward the LL.M. was taken and the completion of the last course work must be no more than seven years. Thus, students who took the ALP for credit this year (2008-09) could count five of those credits in an LL.M. program fully completed at any time up to the 2014-15 academic year. As stated above, the student would have to complete the IBTSP, the CUA summer, and the four additional credits in the ALP within 27 months of matriculating in the LL.M. program. Conversely a student who took the ALP for credit in the past could be admitted in May 2009 for the LL.M. graduating class of 2010 and count up to five past credits taken in the ALP or IBSTP so long as the courses were taken no earlier than October 2003.

Award of first degree in law before award of LL.M.: LL.M. candidates have to obtain their first law degree in the home country before they obtain the LL.M. degree. A student may take courses toward the degree prior to obtaining the first degree, but the first degree must be awarded before the LL.M. is conferred. With the example above, the JU student took coursework toward the ALP before receiving the first degree, but the first degree must be conferred (as would normally happen in June) before the LL.M. degree is conferred in October. For example a JU student could take the ALP this year in their fourth year of study (2008-09), take the IBSTP next summer (2009), and take the summer in Washington in 2010. The JU student must provide proof of graduation from JU in the summer before conferral of the LL.M., by the date specified by CUA.

Application: LL.M. applicants who already have achieved a first degree in law will have an advantage over a current JU student, if their records are otherwise comparable. A well-qualified student pursuing the JU magister degree, however, will be competitive for consideration to the LL.M. program.

Web site of the LL.M. Program: http://llm.law.edu.