LL.M. Curriculum
Thurgood Marshall School of Law offers an LL.M. Program concentrated on Immigration
and Nationality Law. This LL.M. Program is the first of its kind in the United States.
The mission of the LL.M. Program is to further the law school’s commitment to excellence
by providing specialized academic and practical training for law graduates, to equip
them with an array of skills required to effectively practice, identify and solve
complex problems and participate in policy making in the field of Immigration and
Nationality Law.
The LL.M. Degree is a natural complement to Thurgood Marshall School of Law's Juris
Doctor (J.D. Program which is heralded for its institutional reputation for expertise
in the field, including the continual success of its Institute for International and
Immigration Law. TMSL maximizes its reputation such that the law school impacts and
influences the practice of law.
Course of Study
Students enrolled in the Master of Laws (LL.M.) Immigration and Nationality Law Program are required to take 24 credit hours of immigration law courses for graduation. However, LL.M. students may opt to take additional courses to satisfy Rule 13 of the Supreme Court of Texas Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Texas. Both the 24 credit hours of required immigration law courses and the elective Texas Bar examination required courses must be completed within two academic years (24 months) from the date of matriculation in the LL.M. Program.
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Law550 | Advanced Immigration Law | 3 |
| Law551 | Advanced Immigration Practice | 3 |
| Law552 | Advanced Practice 1-140’s | 3 |
| Law553 | Immigration Externship | 4 |
| Law554 | Employment Visas Professionals | 3 |
| Law555 | Employment Visas Executive | 3 |
| Law556 | Non Traditional Immigration/Nonimmigrant Visas | 3 |
| Law557 | Employment Perm Resident Prof. | 3 |
| Law558 | Immigration Law Practice Management | 3 |
| Law560 | Immigration Law Research and Writing | 3 |
| Law561 | Crimes and Immigration Laws | 3 |
| Law562 | Consular Practice-Visa denials, Bars and Hardship Waivers | 3 |
| Law563 | Immigration and Naturalization | 3 |
| Law564 | Family Based Immigration | 3 |
| Law565 | Asylum and Refugee Law | 3 |
| Law755 | Immigration Law | 3 |
| Law762 | International Human Rights | 3 |
| Law764 | Immigration Law | 3 |
| Law779 | Immigration and Nationality Law (Survey) | 3 |
| Law971 | Appeals in Immigration | 3 |
LL.M. students may be permitted to enroll in the following J.D. courses to satisfy the 24 credit hours immigration law graduation requirement. The enrollment is subject to the approval of the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the J.D. priority registration rule.
| Course Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Law760 | International Law | 3 |
| Law760 | International Criminal Law | 3 |
| Law760 | Sem: Human Rights | 3 |
| Law933 & Law934 | Administrative Law Clinic: Immigration | 6 |
Supreme Court of Texas Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Texas
Refer to Rule 13, Page 20: https://ble.texas.gov/txrulebook
Foreign Students Intending to take the Texas Bar Exam:
Note: Exemption of law student for foreign applicants to the Texas Bar:
The Texas Board of Bar Examiners Rule 13, LLM Curricular Criteria, §8 (Applicants from other Jurisdictions) is strictly followed. Under the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Texas, an applicant must satisfy the law study requirement by graduation with a J.D. degree or its equivalent from an approved law school. (Rule III a). However, one of the exemption to this rule for the foreign applicant is that if they: (1) completed a coursework in an accredited foreign law school; (2) authorized to practice law in the foreign jurisdiction; and (3) completed an LL.M. degree that meets the curricular requirements of §9 at an approved U.S. law school. (Rule 8, §3-4).
The following is a summary of the LL.M. Criteria §9, (a) (Rule 2-8) Minimum of 24 semester credit hours:
- Minimum of 700 minutes of instruction time per 1 credit hour given
- Two semesters of 13 calendar weeks each
- Not exclusively summer semesters, but maximum of 4 credits may be earned during summer.
- Must finish program within 24 months of matriculation
- All coursework to be completed on campus, unless Law school petition to the Board for an exception
- Must include at least:
- 2 credit hours of professional responsibility
- 2 credit hours in legal research, writing, and analysis
- 2 credit hours in course designed for introduction to fundamental U.S. Law
- 6 credit hours in subjects tested on Texas Bar Exam.
- May include, toward satisfaction of 24 credits requirement:
- Up to 4 credits of clinical coursework
- Up to 6 credits of other coursework related to the law or legal training taught in conjunction with a joint degree program by a member of the law school faculty
- All coursework for the program must be completed at the U.S. campus of, or through synchronous online instruction offered by, an approved law school.
Presently foreign students seeking this exemption under our program must complete the Texas exemption courses in addition to the required courses for the completion of the Immigration and Nationality LL.M.
Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law is fully accredited by
the American Bar Association, website: https://www.americanbar.org/
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions
in the Southern states. Website: https://sacscoc.org/about-sacscoc/