A stone’s throw away from Silicon Valley and set amongst the lush California landscape sits what some consider to be the new Harvard: Stanford University.

An important part of the university is, of course, Stanford Law School, one of the U.S.’s most iconic and prestigious institutions for legal education.

Like other top law schools, Stanford offers an eminent LL.M. program, but one which is otherwise quite unique. Unlike other schools which tend to focus on general LL.M. programs, Stanford does not offer any general LL.M. programs. Instead it focuses on three highly specialized LL.M programs.

The Stanford LL.M. programs include:

• The LL.M. in Corporate Governance & Practice
• The LL.M. in Law, Science & Technology
• The LL.M. in Environmental Law & Policy

Each Stanford LL.M. program requires candidates to take an introductory course in American law, a practical writing course, a colloquium in the area of specialty, as well as a variety of other courses. Candidates for these programs are generally required to have two years of professional experience before program commencement as well as a law degree from outside the U.S.

For those interested in a career in research, public policy, or teaching, Stanford additionally offers the Stanford Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS) to 12 students per year. The SPILS program leads to a degree of a Master of the Science of Law (JSM) and is used to screen candidates for Stanford’s doctoral program in law, the J.S.D.

One of Stanford’s greatest strengths is the number of specialized centers it boasts. Centers include the CodeX: The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, the Stanford Constitutional Law Center, the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, and the Stanford Human Rights Center. Stanford also offers a number of legal clinics ranging from criminal defense to environmental law to international human rights.

Unlike LL.M. programs at other top schools, Stanford’s LL.M. program is on the smaller side and therefore even more selective than some of its equally elite peers. Still, with its top notch faculty and location, it’s worth applying to Stanford.

 

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