Harvard Law School
Cambridge, United States of America
Master of Laws (LLM), one year
<p><strong>Admissions</strong></p><p>online application by 1 December, preferably before 15 November, fee of $90, with no LSAT or GRE. Personal statement of no more than 1,500 words, half of it analysing a legal problem; two to three letters, transcripts and diplomas translated by a third-party translator, submission through LSAC optional. TOEFL only, the IELTS being refused: 100 points with 25 per section before 21 January 2026, then 5.5 overall with 5.0 in writing and speaking; waiver very rare after two years of study in English. No interview. Decisions at the end of March.</p><p><strong>Who it is for</strong></p><p>the lawyer holding a first law degree from a foreign law faculty, or an American JD, who intends to return to their country to contribute to teaching, the judiciary, government, international organisations or practice. The school only rarely accepts a holder of an LLM from another American law school. About 1,600 applicants for 180 places each year, most of them fully qualified. The programme is general, freely built from the course catalogue, with an optional written thesis.</p><p><strong>Fees (2025-26, latest published year)</strong></p><p>tuition of $80,760, insurance and health fees of $6,108, activities $450, budget of at least $121,800 with $18,900 for housing, $6,334 for meals and $1,700 for books. Need-based aid only, scholarships and loans, applied for with the application by 1 December; a request submitted after admission generally obtains only loans. The average scholarship covers about half of tuition; a few students with the most acute need receive full tuition and part of living costs.</p><p><strong>Careers</strong></p><p>teaching and research, the judiciary, ministries and regulatory authorities, international organisations, corporate law firms and in-house legal departments, most often in the home country. Bar: through the choice of courses, the Harvard LLM allows a lawyer from the civil-law tradition to assemble the 24 credits required by New York Rule 520.6, after prior evaluation; California admits any lawyer admitted elsewhere. Gateway to the SJD through the 50-page thesis. 12-month OPT.</p>
Juris Doctor (JD), three years
<p><strong>Admissions (autumn 2025 intake)</strong></p><p>8,872 applications, 816 offers, or 9.2%, 483 enrolled from the cycle and 96 deferred admissions, for 579 entrants. Median LSAT of 174, median GPA of 3.96. LSAT or GRE as preferred, no TOEFL required, foreign transcripts evaluated by LSAC. Application through the Credential Assembly Service until 15 February, fee of $85, personal statement, at least two letters. The school is one of the few to conduct interviews, by video, by invitation. Rolling admission from October to April.</p><p><strong>Who it is for</strong></p><p>the holder of a bachelor's degree, in any discipline, aiming for national law firms, the judiciary, senior civil service, teaching or public interest. The Juris Doctor is the professional degree of the American bar. With nearly 560 students per class, the school offers the widest choice of courses, clinics and joint programmes in the country, with the Kennedy School and the Business School. Admission is open with no nationality requirement and a foreign-trained lawyer applies to the first year, with no exemption.</p><p><strong>Fees (2026-27)</strong></p><p>tuition of $84,400, mandatory health fees of $1,944, making $86,344 in direct costs, and cost of attendance of $126,650 with $4,954 for health insurance, $18,900 for housing and $6,760 for meals. Need-based aid only, open to international students by the same method: the school covers by scholarship the part of the budget exceeding family resources and a threshold of $58,500, up to the amount of tuition. About 40% of students receive a scholarship. The Opportunity Fund waives tuition for all three years for the students of most modest means.</p><p><strong>Careers</strong></p><p>national and international corporate law firms, federal judicial clerkships, prosecution and federal agencies, public interest organisations, teaching, companies and investment funds. The Low Income Protection Plan, open to international graduates, covers the repayments of low-paid graduates in any sector. Bar exam open in every state. 12-month OPT after graduation.</p>
Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)
<p><strong>Admissions</strong></p><p>online application by 1 April for entry the following autumn, fee of $85, decisions in early June. Documents: personal statement, LLM thesis and its summary, doctoral research proposal, transcripts, at least two letters, including one from the thesis supervisor and one from the Harvard faculty member expected to supervise the dissertation, submitted by 15 April. TOEFL at the LLM threshold, with a waiver after studies in English in the previous three years. A Harvard LLM student may waive the LLM degree so that their tuition counts.</p><p><strong>Who it is for</strong></p><p>the future law professor and researcher already holding the Harvard LLM, who wrote the 50-page LLM thesis with a very strong record and obtained their law degrees with distinction. The school admits about 10 to 12 candidates a year and states that candidates without an LLM or JD from Harvard or another leading American law school are practically never admitted, and those with an outside LLM only rarely: the usual route is to take the Harvard LLM first, with no guarantee of admission.</p><p><strong>Fees (2025-26)</strong></p><p>first year at $80,760 in tuition, reduced to $500 for the student who waives the Harvard LLM degree, their LLM tuition then counting as the year of full tuition the university requires for any degree; living costs of about $41,540, plus $16,000 for a spouse and $8,400 per child. Need-based aid, scholarships and loans, with the school stating that no admitted student has ever had to decline for lack of resources; aid is refused in the first year to anyone who could have waived the LLM and did not.</p><p><strong>Careers</strong></p><p>higher education and research in the home country and at universities worldwide, the judiciary, international organisations, expert work for constitutional courts and governments. Harvard doctors are among the law teachers at faculties in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The SJD does not change bar access, which depends on the first degree and the LLM; for a civil-law lawyer, New York Rule 520.6 is assessed on the LLM credits. The doctorate opens 12 months of OPT, to be planned with the F-1 visa.</p>
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