Law

About the Program

The UC Berkeley School of Law offers a broad, three-year curriculum leading to the Juris Doctor (JD) degree. Berkeley Law educates students not only for the practice of law but also for all the varied roles lawyers perform in modern society. The law school provides an intellectually challenging course of study that imparts the theoretical and practical skills necessary for effective, creative, and responsible legal counseling and advocacy. To this end, Berkeley Law's curriculum is continually evolving and offers hundreds of courses, including dozens in its top-ranked Intellectual Property, International Law, Social Justice, and Environmental Law programs.

The school is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is accredited by the American Bar Association. Its graduates are qualified to become applicants for admission to practice in any state of the United States.

Berkeley Law does not require or even recommend a specific pre-law major. To prepare for law school, students should take courses that help them develop written and oral communication skills; increase analytical and problem-solving skills; obtain broad exposure to the humanities and social sciences in order to understand the social context within which legal problems arise; and acquire a general understanding of economics, because many legal problems relate to the economic functioning of society.

In selecting specific courses, consultation with an undergraduate advisor may be desirable. Berkeley Law seeks a student body with a broad set of interests, backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives.

The school also offers programs, mainly for foreign-educated attorneys, that lead to the degree of Master of Laws (LLM) or the degree of Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD).

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Master's Degree Requirements (LLM) - Traditional Track

General Requirements

1. A minimum of 21 units of Law coursework 

2. All students must enroll in courses for two academic year semesters. 

3. All program requirements and coursework must be completed within three years of starting the program. 

4. All students must take a minimum of 10 units and a maximum of 16 units per semester. Students may submit an Academic Rules Petition to take an overload of 17 units or an underload of 9 units per semester. 

5. Students may earn up to four units of credit for non-law/non-classroom coursework subject to  the following limitations: 

a. A maximum of two units for participating in a maximum of one independent  research and writing project (Law 299); 

b. A maximum of two units for participation in a maximum of one group research  and writing project (Law 298); 

c. A maximum of two units for participation in a maximum of one individual  research or research assistant project (Law 297); 

d. A maximum of one unit for participation in one journal course (e.g. Law 295.1A, Law 295.1G, Law 295.1J, Law 295.1S etc.); 

e. A maximum of two units for participation in one advocacy competition (e.g. Law 295.3A, Law 295.3J, etc.); 

f. A maximum of four units for graduate-level academic coursework at another U.C.  Berkeley program such as Haas Business School or Goldman School of Public  Policy as approved by the Dean of Students; 

g. A maximum of four units for participation in a Judicial Externship or Field  Placement (e.g. Law 295.6A, Law 295.6J, Law 295.8B, etc.);  

6. Students may not count teaching and pedagogy coursework (e.g. Law 300 or Law 375P)  toward the degree. 

Required Coursework for Foreign-Trained LL.M. Students with a first degree  earned outside the U.S. or Canada 

1. Complete the 3-unit Fundamentals of U.S. Law class (fall semester) 

a. Law 208.9 Fundamentals of U.S. Law

b. Course description available at 
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/courses/course_catalog.php

2. Complete the 2-unit Legal Research and Writing class (fall semester) 

a. Law 206.4A Legal Research and Writing for LL.M. Students 

b. Course description available at
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/courses/course_catalog.php

Required Coursework for U.S. or Canadian-trained Students with a J.D. in Common Law 

1. LL.M. Capstone Writing Requirement - Complete a paper of a minimum 15 pages in length in any class or through an independent study (Law 299). 

a. Student must submit an LL.M. Capstone Writing Requirement Fulfillment form to the Registrar’s office prior to the spring semester Add/Drop Deadline. 

b. Law classes that may satisfy this requirement include:

- Law 203.2 Private Law Theory (3 units)
- Law 206.4A Legal Research and Writing for LL.M. Students (2 units)
- Law 206C Note Publishing Workshop (1 unit)
- Law 207.5 Advanced Legal Writing (3 units)
- Law 208.8 Foundation Seminar in the Sociology of Law (3 units)
- Law 210.2A Workshop in Law, Philosophy & Political Theory  (3 units)
- Law 210.2B Workshop in Law, Philosophy & Political Theory (3 units)
- Law 212 Critical Theory and Social Science Method (3 units)
- Law 212.8 Anti-Blackness and the Law (3 units)
- Law 215.4 Foundations of Moral Philosophy (3 units)
- Law 215.42 Foundations of Legal Philosophy (3 units)
- Law 215.9 Legal Theory Seminar (3 units)
- Law 217.12 Law and Economics Foundation Seminar (3 units)
- Law 220A Marijuana Law and Policy (1 unit)
- Law 220.43 Constitutional Interpretation (1 unit)
- Law 223.1 Election Law (3 units)
- Law 223.8 California Constitutional Law (3 units)
- Law 224.22 Mental Health and the Law (2 units)
- Law 224.3 Social Justice Issues in Entertainment and Media Law (3 units)
- Law 234.2 Criminal Justice Theory (3 units)
- Law 243 Appellate Advocacy (3 units)
- Law 244.41 Post Conviction Remedies (3 units)
- Law 244.61 Multidistrict Litigation: The New Reality of Class Actions and Mass Torts (1 unit)
- Law 244.8 Mediation (3 units)
- Law 245 Negotiations (3 units)
- Law 245.9 International Business Negotiations (3 units)
- Law 246.3 Depositions (3 units)
- Law 248.52 M&A On the Ground (1 unit)
- Law 249.4 Financial Management of Non-Profits (1 unit)
- Law 251.21 Business Strategy in the Global Political Economy (2 units)
- Law 251.7 Business in Society (3 units)
- Law 251.73 Being General Counsel (3 units)
- Law 251.75 Climate Change and Corporate Governance Reform (1 unit)
- Law 253.4 Taxation of Modern Financial Products (1 unit)
- Law 255.61 Evolving Topics in Sports Law (1 unit)
- Law 256 Transactional Drafting for LL.M. Students (1 unit)
- Law 256.2 Transactional Drafting (1 unit)
- Law 260.1 Tax Policy and Public Finance (2 units)
- Law 262.65 Human Rights and Social Justice Writing Workshop (3 units)
- Law 262.66 Forced Migration (2 units)
- Law 262.68 Human Rights and War Crimes Investigations (2 units)
- Law 263.1 Advanced Topics in Corporate Governance: Comparative Analysis of the U.S and Asia (1 unit)
- Law 264.1 Ocean and Coastal Law (3 units)
- Law 264.6 Health and Human Rights (3 units)
- Law 267.4 Law & History Foundation Seminar (3 units)
- Law 271.2 Biodiversity Law (3 units)
- Law 271.5 Environmental Law Writing Seminar (2 units)
- Law 271.51 Environmental Law Writing Seminar II (1 unit)
- Law 272.35 Case Studies in Environmental Litigation (2 units)
- Law 275.65 Transnational Intellectual Property Law (3 units)
- Law 276.46 IP and Human Creativity in the AI Age (2 units)
- Law 276.47 IP Protection for Industrial and Product Design (1 unit)
- Law 277.3 Patent Litigation II (3 units)
- Law 277.7 Art and Cultural Property Law (1 unit)
- Law 280A Law and Technology Writing Workshop (3 units)
- Law 282.1 Domestic Violence Law Seminar (3 units)
- Law 283.4 Advanced Civil Rights (2 units)
- Law 285.62 Animal Law (2 units)
- Law 287 Disability Rights (2 units)
- Law 299 Independent Research and Writing (1-2 units)

Master's Degree Requirements (LLM) - Executive Track [Remote + Summer]

General Requirements

1. A minimum of 24 units of Law coursework 

2. Three consecutive terms of enrollment: spring, summer, and fall in the same calendar year.  

3. At least eight units of coursework must be completed online including:

a. six units in the spring semester, and

b. two units, including a mandatory one-unit Capstone course, in the fall.

4. The student’s remaining units must be completed in the summer and fall terms.

5. During the summer term, students must take a minimum of 10 units and a maximum of 16 units.  

a. Students may submit an Academic Rules Petition to take an overload of 17 units or an underload of 9 units for the summer term. 

6. All program requirements and coursework must be completed within three years of starting the program. 

Required Coursework for Foreign-Trained LL.M. Students with a first degree earned outside the U.S. or Canada 

1. Complete the 3-unit Fundamentals of U.S. Law class (spring semester, online)

a. Law W208.9 Fundamentals of U.S. Law (3 units)

2. Complete either 3-units of Intellectual Property or 3-units of Business Associations  (spring semester, online) 

a. Law W275.3 Intellectual Property Law (3 units)

b. Law W250 Business Associations (3 units)

3. Complete 3-units of Legal Research and Writing for LL.M.s and the Capstone project in the following sequence:

a. Law W206.4 LL.M. Legal Research and Writing (1 unit, spring semester, online) )

b. Law 206.5S LL.M. Legal Research and Writing (1 unit, summer term)

c. Law W206.6 Capstone Writing Workshop (1 unit, fall semester, online)

Required Coursework for U.S. or Canadian-trained Students with a J.D. in  Common Law 

1. Complete a minimum of 6 units of online courses during the spring semester 

a. Law W208.9 Fundamentals of U.S. Law (3 units); and

b. Law W206.4 Legal Research and Writing for LL.M.s (1 unit); and

c. Law W275.3 Intellectual Property Law (3 units); or  

d. Law W250 Business Associations (3 units);

e. U.S. or Canadian-trained Students with a J.D. in Common Law may petition to waive Fundamentals of U.S. Law and enroll simultaneously in both Intellectual Property Law and Business Associations during the spring semester.

f. U.S. or Canadian-trained Students with a J.D. in Common Law may petition to waive Legal Research and Writing for LL.M.s and enroll instead in Law 206.51S Advanced Writing Project (2 units, summer)

 2. Complete at least one unit of legal research and writing (summer term)

          a. Law 206.5S LLM Legal Research and Writing (1 unit);  or

 b. Law 206.51S LRW: Advanced Scholarship (2 units, if student successfully petitioned to waive Law W206.4 Legal Research and Writing for LL.M.s); 

3. Complete the 1-unit Capstone Project (fall semester, online) 

a. Law W206.6 Capstone Writing Workshop (1 unit)

Master's Degree Requirements (LLM) - Executive Track [Two Summers]

General Requirements

1. A minimum of 24 units of Law coursework

2. Two consecutive summers of enrollment.

a. Students are not eligible to enroll in law courses during the academic year.

3. Students must take a minimum of 10 units and a maximum of 16 units each summer.

a. Students may submit an Academic Rules Petition to take an overload of 17 units or an underload of 9 units for the summer term.

4. All program requirements and coursework must be completed within three years of
starting the program.

Required Coursework for Foreign-Trained LL.M. Students with a first degree earned outside the U.S. or Canada

1. Complete the 3-unit Fundamentals of U.S. Law class during their first summer

a. Law 208.9S Fundamentals of U.S. Law (3 units)

2. Complete the Capstone Writing Requirement by completing 2-units of Legal Research
and Writing for LL.M.s during their first summer

a. Law 206.5S LLM Legal Research and Writing (2 units)

Required Coursework for U.S. or Canadian-trained Students with a J.D. in Common Law

1. Students may request a waiver of the requirement to take Fundamentals of U.S. Law.

a. Law 208.9 Fundamentals of U.S. Law (3 units)

2. Students must complete the Capstone Writing Requirement by completing 2-units of legal research and writing coursework during their first summer. This can be fulfilled in one of two ways:

a. Law 206.5S LLM Legal Research and Writing (2 units)

OR

b. Students may request a waiver of the requirement to take Law 206.5S, and enroll instead in Law 206.51S Advanced Writing Project (2 units)

Juris Doctor Requirements (JD)

Earning the Juris Doctor (J.D.) requires:

• 85 units
• Completion of required first year courses (www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/jd/first-year-curriculum/)

• Residence for 6 semesters
• Completion of moot court (included in 1st year required courses)

- Law 202.1B Written and Oral Advocacy  (2 units) – Spring semester of first year

• Completion of Law 220.6 Constitutional Law  (4 units)
• Completion of a course in Professional Responsibility
• Completion of 6 units of Experiential courses
• Completion of one or more race and law course(s) totaling at least two units (class of 2026 and beyond) from a menu of classes that substantially focus on how laws and legal institutions shape and are shaped by racism and other forms of systemic inequality;

• Completion of the Writing Requirement during the third, fourth, or fifth semester

Doctoral Degree Requirements (JSD)

1. Completion of Law 206.76 J.S.D. Legal Scholarship Seminar (1 unit, fall semester):

The seminar will provide students with a foundation for conducting in-depth legal research and support the students with developing their proposed dissertation project. It will explore the following: different types of research, how to plan a research project, research methodology, and review available organizational tools. Students will also gain a better understanding of what research resources are available on their chosen topics. Students will have opportunities to discuss their research projects and ideas with the group and participate in constructive discussion and feedback. At the end of the seminar, students will have made progress on developing an outline/prospectus on their proposed dissertation project. By Academic Rules Petition submitted within the first two weeks of classes and for good cause shown, a student may be permitted to substitute another similar seminar for this one.

2. Completion of the following required courses during the first year:

• One unit of Law 206.76 J.S.D. Legal Scholarship Seminar (described above);
• At least 12 units per semester of independent study (Law 299A in the fall and Law 299B in the spring) to be devoted to the student’s own research.

Any additional coursework must be approved by the student’s faculty adviser and the J.S.D. Program Faculty Director.

With prior approval from the J.S.D. Program Faculty Director, a student may be permitted to enroll in fewer than 12 units of independent study in a given semester in order to allow them to take a teaching pedagogy course in addition to one other course.

3. Submission of Fall and Spring Semester Progress Report and Course Approval forms:

During every semester of the J.S.D. program (including the first year), a student must complete and submit a “Progress Report and Course Approval” form to the ADP Office by the CalCentral Add/Drop deadline in Fall and Spring semesters. Each semester’s form must  detail:

1. The progress the student has made toward the goals set out in his/her last report (explaining deviations from these goals, if any)
2. Goals for the upcoming term, including a timetable for completion of those goals
3. Course enrollment for the semester.

The form must be signed by the student’s faculty adviser. It must also be signed by the J.S.D. Faculty Director to approve any coursework beyond independent study. Timely submission of Progress Report and Course Approval forms is required to maintain a student’s good standing in the J.S.D. program. Late submission puts a student’s status at risk.

4. Formation of Committees:

By the Spring semester of the first year, in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser, the student must identify 4 faculty members to serve on their Qualifying Exam (QE) committee and 3 faculty members to serve on their dissertation committee. Each committee must have a Chair, an Academic Senate Representative (ASR), and one or more additional member(s). The chair of the dissertation committee must be the student’s primary faculty adviser; the chair of the oral exam committee must be a faculty member from the law school other than the student’s primary adviser. All committee members must be members of the UC Berkeley Academic Senate (i.e., tenured or tenure-track faculty) unless an exception is granted by the Graduate Division.

5. Qualifying Examination:

The Qualifying Examination for J.S.D. candidacy should take place in the Spring semester or summer of the first year (and no later than Fall semester of the second year). The focus of the examination will be on the student’s proposed dissertation project. Successful passage of the QE is required before advancement to candidacy. At least three weeks before the QE is to take place, students must apply to take the exam by submitting the Higher Degree Committees/Qualifying Exam eForm in CalCentral. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange a date and time for the exam that works for all committee members.

6. Submission of Abstract/Prospectus:

Two weeks prior to taking the QE, the student must submit to the QE committee a substantial piece of writing outlining a proposed dissertation project, in either of the following forms:

1. A short abstract (one page), plus a table-of-contents-like outline of the dissertation as a whole, plus one chapter of minimum 20 pages, OR
2. A minimum 20-page prospectus of the dissertation, providing a detailed discussion of the questions to be addressed, relevant literature and arguments surrounding the topic, and proposed research strategy for addressing the topic.

Where the student plans to write multiple shorter papers instead of a single long paper, he or
she should submit either:

1. A 20-page draft of one of the papers plus short paragraph abstracts of the other two; or
2. Multiple shorter prospectus-like summaries of each paper, of a minimum of six pages each.

7. Application for Candidacy:

A student will be eligible for J.S.D. candidacy once the student has passed the oral examination and successfully completed all required coursework. The student must submit the Higher Degree Committees/Advancement to Candidacy eForm by the end of the semester in which the student completes candidacy requirements. If a student will be working with human subjects or animals, then the student must also complete training in human subjects research by taking and passing the online CITI Program, a basic course in the Protection of Human Research Subjects. Before beginning research, students must obtain approval for their research protocol from the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects.

8. Continuous Enrollment:

Once advanced to candidacy, students must maintain their student registration by enrolling in 12 units of independent study per semester for the duration of the program. Upon advancing to candidacy, a J.S.D. candidate must focus primarily on the research and writing of the dissertation.

9. Duration of Program

All program requirements including coursework and the dissertation are to be completed within three years. Extensions of time will be considered on a case-by-case basis; if granted, students must enroll only in independent study and may not take additional coursework. Extensions of time will not include an extension of the nonresident tuition waiver (if applicable) or any financial support from the law school, if previously awarded. After five years, candidacy will lapse and may not be reinstated except in extremely extenuating circumstances.

10. Filing of Dissertation

An electronic copy of the dissertation must be filed with the Graduate Division no later than the last day of the semester in which the student intends to graduate. A copy of the Receipt of Filing must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office within one week of filing. The dissertation must consist of original work in the form of a monograph or three shorter papers suitable for publication, and constitute a substantial contribution to learning in the field of research. Publishable papers and article-length essays are acceptable only if incorporated into a larger argument that binds together the dissertation as a whole. Inclusion of a student’s already-published work in the dissertation requires advance approval by the Graduate Division (for details, see http://grad.berkeley.edu/academic progress/dissertation/). All student dissertations will be archived at the University Library.