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J.D./LL.M. Program

The law school offers a combined J.D./LL.M. degree in taxation. The result: a reduction in the minimum time needed to qualify for both degrees from four to three and a half academic years, plus halving the ordinary tuition cost of the LL.M.

The joint J.D./LL.M. degree continues the 12-course LL.M. requirement, except that two advanced J.D. tax courses count among the 12, and up to four graduate tax courses can (but need not) be completed while the student is a J.D. candidate. Accordingly up to four graduate tax courses and two J.D. advanced tax courses double count: that is, their credit hours qualify for both degrees. The result is that half the courses required for the LL.M. degree are covered by regular J.D. tuition, and can be completed during J.D. residency.

The J.D. degree will be awarded at the successful completion of six semesters of full-time study. The LL.M. degree follows when the student finishes the remaining graduate tax courses. Depending on the dedication and industry of the student, it is therefore possible to capture the LL.M. degree in 3 ½ academic years as compared to a minimum of four years under standard procedures.

To optimize the benefits of the program, a J.D. student should apply for the joint degree program before the beginning of his fourth semester J.D. Introduction to Taxation is a prerequisite for the joint degree program. If the joint degree candidate completes that course in her third J.D. semester, she can spread her graduate tax courses over her fourth through sixth J.D. semesters, as well as the graduate tax Summer semester between her fourth and fifth J.D. semesters. While a qualified J.D. student can enter the joint program at a later time, given the existing scheduling array for both J.D. tax courses and graduate tax courses, it is somewhat unlikely that the student could manage to take all four allowable graduate tax courses by the end of the sixth J.D. semester, thereby diminishing somewhat the cost and temporal benefits of the joint program. And, a student enrolled in the joint J.D./LL.M. program cannot simultaneously enroll in any other law school joint degree program.

To qualify for the joint degree program, the student must have an overall 2.5 cumulative GPA for all J.D. courses completed at the time of application. Thereafter, the student must maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA in all J.D. courses.

When the application is accepted, the student will be admitted to the joint degree program. Full matriculation for the LL.M. degree will occur only following the award of the J.D. degree with an acceptable cumulative GPA in all courses taken while a J.D. student.

Upon receipt of the J.D. degree (assuming she has met the 2.5 cumulative GPA requirement), the student matriculates as an LL.M. candidate. At that point, at a minimum the student will have six graduate tax courses remaining. Those six courses can be completed at any time within four years, beginning with the graduate tax Summer semester following J.D. graduation. As a practical matter, students who sit for the Summer bar examination will probably forego graduate tax courses that Summer in order to devote full time to bar examination preparation. Given that, in order to complete the joint program in the shortest overall possible time (3 1/2 academic years), the student would have to take six graduate tax courses in the ensuing Fall semester.

The joint J.D./LL.M. program is not for the undermotivated. At the same time, its cost and time savings enable matriculants to attain an advanced degree in the law in an area that has sustained employment opportunities in the private and public sectors.

Further information is available from the Graduate Tax Office, Mulroney Hall, or email vines@law.villanova.edu.

Summary of J.D./LL.M. Requirements

(Available Only to Villanova School of Law J.D. Students)

1. Cumulative 2.5 GPA in all J.D. courses at the time of application, and thereafter.
    
2. Completed J.D. Introduction to Taxation course.
    
3. Completed no more than two advanced J.D. tax courses.
    
4. Completed no more than four graduate tax courses.
    
5. Completed no less than six graduate tax courses after J.D. degree award.

Advanced J.D. Tax Courses

• Decedents
   
• Employee Benefits
   
• Family Wealth Planning
   
• International Taxation
   
• IRS Externship
   
• Tax Clinic
   
• Taxation of Business Entities (may not be taken simultaneously with Partnership Tax)
   
• Wealth Tax

Application Procedure

1. Before applying, confer about scheduling with Linda Vines, Graduate Tax Program Coordinator. Room 26.
    
2. Submit an application for the joint degree program ($25 LL.M. application fee waived).
    
3. Provide an official transcript of J.D. courses completed to the date of the application.
   

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