The University
The University of California, Berkeley is the flagship campus of the UC system. Listed at #4 in SJTU’s Academic Ranking of World Universities (making it the top-ranked public institution in the world), Berkeley enrolls over 36,000 students in 130 academic departments. There are 7 Nobel Laureates, 32 MacArthur Fellows, and 4 Pulitzer Prize winners among the current faculty. A National Research Council analysis of U.S. universities concluded that UC Berkeley has the largest number of highly ranked graduate programs in the country: 48 out of Berkeley’s 52 graduate programs rank in the top 10 nationally.
The Law School

Located in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley Law is currently ranked among the top 10 law schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. All of our students are taught by distinguished professors at the top of their fields; we offer a superb education in both established and emerging fields of law.

Our intellectual property program was the first of its kind, and has been number one in the country for 15 of the last 17 years. We were legal pioneers of the Green Movement, creating the nation’s first environmental law program. Our business law curriculum is informed by the innovation of nearby Silicon Valley, and our international law program is ranked fifth in the U.S.

Berkeley Law is distinguished by the extraordinary degree to which our students and faculty partner with people beyond the school: identifying challenges, creating alliances, solving problems, and sparking change, in Berkeley and around the world.
The Program
Our internationally recognized and highly competitive LL.M. program welcomes students from over 50 countries who contribute substantially to our diverse intellectual community. Here, there are two paths to an LL.M. degree: our traditional track, which takes place during the August-May school year, and the professional track, which takes place over the course of two consecutive summers.

PROFESSIONAL TRACK
This track is designed for working attorneys who want the advantages of a professionally-oriented program, including the innovative two-summer schedule and the opportunity to network with other experienced lawyers from around the world. The professional track offers the same degree and the same world-renowned faculty as the traditional track, but with increased flexibility. Each summer students may choose from two start dates based on their own scheduling needs, and will return home between summers to maintain their existing professional and personal commitments.

Professional track students may earn Certificates of Specialization in:
– Business Law
– Law & Technology (Intellectual Property Law)
– Public Law & Regulation (new in 2015)

Professional Track Courses

Unique among top-tier law schools, the professional track allows students to meet all educational requirements to sit for the California Bar Exam. This focused, rigorous program offers in-depth immersion into the essential concepts of U.S. law.

TRADITIONAL TRACK
Students in our traditional track choose between two study options: coursework and thesis. In both cases, the focus is on customization. Each student taking the coursework option develops a unique curriculum that combines required and elective classes. The thesis options includes a research project component culminating in a thesis paper – this option is appropriate primarily for individuals pursuing academic or other research-focused careers. Traditional track students wishing to specialize in a particular area of law may earn Certificates of Specialization from among five topics:
– Business Law
– Law & Technology
– International Law
– Energy & Clean Technology
– Environmental Law