Curriculum Apply Now

As approved by the University of Notre Dame and the American Bar Association, all LL.M. students enroll for one academic year, during which they must complete 24 credit hours of course work. Courses are assigned from 1 to 4 hours of credit depending upon the number of hours scheduled each week for the course. The following specific courses are required of students pursuing the LL.M. in International Human Rights Law in the fall semester:

Fall Semester (7 required credit hours)

• International Law (3 credits)
• Introduction to Human Rights Research and Writing (1 credit)
• Universal Protection of Human Rights (3 credit hours)

While not required, LL.M. students are generally expected to enroll in the following course in the fall semester:

• Accountability for Gross Human Rights Violations (3 credits)

In addition to the required and recommended curriculum listed above, students may design their own concentration of fall semester study from a wide range of courses both within the Law School and in other University departments, including:

• Civil Rights Law (3 Credits)
• International Environmental Law (3 credits)
• Catholic Social Thought (2 credits)
• Globalization and Multinational Corporate Responsibility (2 credits)
• International Migration and Human Rights (3 credits)
• Gender and Violence (3 credits)
• Ethnic Conflict Peace Process (3 credits)
• International Labor Law (3 credits)

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For the spring semester, there are only two required classes:

Spring Semester (7 required credit hours)

• Regional Protection of Human Rights (3 credit hours)
• LL.M. Thesis: an independent study to write a thesis under the supervision of a selected member of the Law School faculty (4 credit hours).

In addition, barring compelling reasons to the contrary, LL.M. students are expected to enroll in two additional classes:

• Human Rights Practice (3 credits)
• International Criminal Justice, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (3 credits)

There are fewer opportunities for electives in the spring semester as students spend a great deal of time researching and writing their LL.M. theses (60-80 pages in length).