Program Description

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 2013 application deadline is March 15.

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 upperclass semester in other divisions of the university in areas related to their legal studies).

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.

Bar Examination

The academic year at KoGuan runs from September through June, so students in the LL.M. program must be prepared to stay in Shanghai during that period. This, combined with the thesis requirement, will mean that it will not be possible to prepare for, and take, a U.S. bar examination until the following February. 

Program Administration

(for information and inquiries, contact Laura Spitz)

Laura Spitz
Associate Dean for International Affairs and
Executive Director, Clarke Center for International and Comparative Legal Studies
lms76@cornell.edu

KoGuan

XU Xiaobing
Director/Associate Professor
Room 201, Law School Building
Tel. (+86 21) 3420 5997
Email: xuxiaobing@sjtu.edu.cn

SUN Ping, Dr.
Associate Director/Lecturer
Room 201, Law School Building
Tel. (+86 21) 3420 5997
Email: psun@sjtu.edu.cn

YANG Boyi
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Room 201, Law School Building
Tel. (+86 21) 3420 5997
Email: florasjtu@gmail.com