Cornell Law School JD-LLM in Chinese Law

The Juris Doctor/LL.M. in Chinese Law is a three-year dual degree program in partnership with KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Its focus is on Chinese civil and commercial law. It offers students an excellent opportunity to study Chinese law and legal process and engage in Chinese and comparative law.

Admission to the Program

Cornell Law School students may apply during the Spring semester of the first year, in response to an invitation circulated to the first year class. See the First-Year Application Form. The annual application deadline is in late February.  The exact date will be announced in advance.

First- and Second-Year Curriculum at Cornell Law School

• Students must complete 62 credits of study  
  
• The first year of study is identical to that of regular J.D. students at Cornell Law School, totaling 32 credits  
  
• In the second year of study, students must complete at least 30 credit hours of study, including a professional responsibility course, a skills course and a course satisfying the Law School's writing requirement 
  
• The program includes restrictions to avoid course offerings counting toward the J.D. credit requirements that:
  (1) would be better taken as part of the curriculum of the Master or
  (2) are outside of the regular Law School curriculum (regular J.D. candidates are allowed to take one course in each upper class semester in other divisions of the university in areas related to their legal studies).

The Third Year Curriculum at KoGuan Law School

To qualify for the LL.M. degree, students must:

• ·Successfully complete at least 26 coursework credits
•  Successfully complete 6 credits of independent research and LL.M. thesis writing under the supervision of a KoGuan faculty member within a year
•  Carry a total of no fewer than 12 coursework credits per semester
•  Spend at least two semesters in residence.

For more details on KoGuan’s LL.M., please click here.
Following the award to the students of the Master, Cornell Law School will evaluate their performance and grant an additional 24 credits in advanced standing toward the Juris Doctor degree.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Cornell Law School students pay full Cornell tuition and fees during the first two years of study at Cornell, as well as during the third year in Shanghai, but do not pay tuition to KoGuan Law School. Students continue to be eligible for U.S. student loans during the year in Shanghai.