A major concern for many applicants, especially from abroad, is how to fund their LL.M. studies. Thus, the question arises: are there any LL.M. scholarships, grants, or bursaries for international students?

The short answer to this question is that, yes, there are LL.M. scholarships and other LL.M. funding opportunities (both need-based and merit-based) but they are relatively rare and very competitive.

The first thing to note is that some law schools offer  ‘internal’ scholarships, some of which are endowed. Sometimes it isn’t even necessary to apply for them separately as it is assumed that an applicant would take the scholarship if one were to be offered. Others require a separate application and may even be open only to applicants that wish to specialize in a certain field of law (for example Human Rights or International Law). However, in any case, these scholarships are both quite rare and highly competitive.

Another alternative are LL.M. scholarships by external funding bodies. These are often country specific, that is they are geared towards applicants that are nationals of or at least reside in a certain country. There is a growing number of these types of LL.M. scholarships, grants, and similar funding, some of which are quite hard to identify. For this reason, we decided to put together a curated list of LL.M. scholarships and grants for international students. Please note that this is a growing, but not complete, list of opportunities, which focuses mostly on substantial funds offered to LL.M. students (or graduate students in general) at universities in the US and UK.

*If you offer LL.M. scholarships or funding instruments, please contact us.

American-Scandinavian Foundation Fellowships and Grants

For applicants from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

Belgian-American Educational Foundation

For Belgian applicants

Chinese University of Hong Kong Master of Laws Global Scholarship

For students from selected countries

DAAD LL.M. Stipendium

For Geman applicants

Finlandia Foundation Post-Secondary Education Scholarship

For applicants with a Finnish background

Frank Boas Scholarship in International Legal Studies at Harvard

For applicants from of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden

Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships

For applicants from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom

Fulbright Scholarships

Eligibility requirements vary by country of citizenship

Fundacion Mexico en Harvard Fund

For Mexican applicants

Fundacao Estudar Scholarship

For Brazilian applicants

Golden Key Scholarships

For applicants from multiple countries

Hodgson LLM Scholarship

For studies at University of Liverpool or Liverpool John Moores University

Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation

For Indian applicants

Instituto Ling LLM Scholarship – Bolsa de Estudo Mestrado em Direito

For Brazilian applicants

Italian Student Loan Fund – Fondo per studenti Italiani

For Italian applicants

Johnston LLM Scholarship

Open to students from any region; for studies at the University of Michigan Law School

Kennedy Memorial Trust

For British applicants

King Abdullah Scholarships Program

For Saudi applicants

Kosciuszko Foundation Tuition Scholarship Program

For Polish applicants

Lionel Murphy Foundation Scholarship

For Australian applicants

Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund

For female applicants from multiple countries

Menzies Foundation Scholarships

For Australian applicants

Narotam Sekhsaria Scholarship Programme

For Indian applicants

Noram (Norway America Association) Scholarships

For Norwegian applicants

Rotary Grants

Eligibility requirements vary by country of citizenship

St. Andrew’s Society Graduate Scholarship

For Scottish applicants

Sweden America Foundation – Sverige Amerika Stiftelsen Scholarships

For Swedish applicants

TOEFL Scholarships

For applicants from multiple countries

White & Case Annual Business Law Scholarship

For French applicants

W.L. Mackenzie King Memorial Scholarships

For Canadian applicants