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Columbia University

 

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Location: New York

 

 

Study Programs and general Academic Information:

 

The university is known for specializing in Commercial Law, International Law and Human Rights Law. 

Columbia offers a general LL.M Program in which every student can build his own program to fit his goals and preferences- from a general one, to one focused on a specific field of law. The curriculum is very vast and includes courses on many subjects, including:

• Commercial Law and Transactions

• Gender and Sexuality Legal Studies

• Environmental Law

• Family Law

And more.

The LL.M Program is 1-year long and cannot be done part-time. Though it isn’t a requirement, it is highly recommended that students obtain at least one year of full-time, post-law school work experience prior to applying to the program. Work experience can greatly increase an applicant’s chances of getting accepted.

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Recommended Lecturers and Courses:​

• Law and Development

• United Nations Externship

• Judicial Interpretation

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• Prof. Sarah Cleveland

• Prof. Katharina Pistor

 

Admission information:

 

Admission usually ends mid-December. If a students manages to complete all the admission requirements early (before November 1st) he can apply for early admission, though the only advantage in that is having your admission request reviewed earlier and getting an earlier response. As always, it is recommended to check the university website for the current updated information on this matter.

 

For admission a student must provide:

• Transcripts and diplomas

• TOEFL score

• Resume

• 2 letters of recommendation, preferably 1 from law-school professors and 1 from past employers in the relevant field.

• Personal statement- a 2-3-pages long essay which includes experience in the legal field, professional goals and how the LL.M Degree could help you benefit your goal.

• A Statement of Rank, if your Law Degree diploma doesn’t state it. If the university doesn’t provide class ranking, an official university statement that the university doesn’t issue such ranking is required.

• Application for Financial Aid (Optional) – For those interested in seeking financial aid from Columbia, it is required to fill the relevant section in the application process. It is not possible to request financial aid after the application process. For other scholarships (stated purpose fellowships and external scholarships) see Financial Aid section.

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Admission fee- 85$

 

Note that it is Mandatory to use the LSAC service for transferring all documents and letters of recommendations to Columbia.

Also note that all transcripts and diplomas and letters of recommendation must be translated to English by a certified translator if not already written in English, and submitted with the original-language versions.

 

Scholarships and Financial Aid:

 

Tuition, together with other university charges is about 70,000$ a year. together with accommodation and personal expenses one should expect about 95,000$ all in all. Therefor it is highly recommended to apply for different scholarships. Columbia currently offers several different scholarships aimed towards different programs, such as the Human Rights LL.M Fellowship and the Jagdish Bhagwati Fellowship (for students who wish to specialize in international trade law and similar subjects). To apply for these fellowships a student needs to supply a short essay (about 2 pages) and attach it to his application request through the LSAC. Instructions for the essays can be found on the Columbia website for each of the fellowships.

 

Housing, living expenses and other student life information: 

 

Columbia offers a selection of off-campus housing options. The average rent is around 1300$ for a room in a shared apartment, and can go higher for studio apartments and complete apartments (1-2 bedrooms). Some of the housing options are aimed towards certain groups such as Law-School housings and even a kosher apartment building for Jewish students.  

Living expenses are high, regarding both transportation, food, and recreational activities. For those keeping kosher- the general area around Columbia has many kosher shops and restaurants.