LLM Learning and Working (LAW) Program

The LLM Learning and Working (LAW) Program

Earn your LLM while getting hands-on experience

Many international students want to gain some practical experience in the US legal system while they're earning their LLM degree. The Maurer School of Law's new LAW (learning and working) LLM program does just that.

The LAW program gives you hands-on, real-life experience while you're studying the law. Depending on your interests and qualifications (including visa status), you could earn law school credit by participating in unpaid experiential opportunities, such as:

  • An internship in a local law firm or company, a global NGO or agency, or a nonprofit law office that provides free civil legal assistance to students and low-income individuals
  • A semester-long clinical course in one of the school's legal clinics, which help real clients with legal problems, from family law to business issues to intellectual property matters;
  • A research assistantship with a member of the Law School faculty, where you'll assist a professor with research on a variety of cutting-edge topics on the forefront of legal scholarship;
  • The opportunity to complete job shadowing and informational interviews with local attorneys, nonprofit organizations, or judges, which will help you develop your understanding of legal practice and build your professional network.

The LAW program is among the first of its kind anywhere in the United States, and it's backed by the Maurer School of Law's LLM program, which brings more than a century of experience to the classroom.

LAW Program application process

Students interested in applying to the LAW program must first be admitted to the LL.M. program at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Click here for LL.M. application information. Once admitted to the LL.M. program, students will be invited to apply to the LAW program by completing the online LAW Program Application no more than 10 days after their initial admission to the LL.M. degree program.

Program requirements

The LAW LL.M. program requirements include the following: 

Fall Semester
  • Orientation and Welcome Session
  • Introduction to U.S. Law, no credit/audit, pre-semester, online asynchronous
  • Legal Discourse and Writing, 2 credits, Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:00-12:55 pm
  • The Legal Profession I, no credit/audit, Thursdays, 2:30-3:45 pm
  • LAW LL.M. Staff Meetings, monthly
  • 8-10 credits of electives/specialization course requirements
Spring Semester
  • American Constitutional Law for Foreign Lawyers, 2 credits, Fridays, 9:50-11:50 am
  • Graduate Practicum, 1-3 credits or audit, bi-weekly meetings
  • Experiential Opportunity Placement, 8 hours per week
  • Exit Session
  • 8-10 credits of electives/specialization course requirements

Bold items are general requirements for all LL.M. students. Italic items are additional LAW LL.M. requirements.