Application Procedures and Instructions
Thank you for your interest in the Executive LL.M. in International Business Law Program. Please contact us with any questions you may have about the program or the application process. We look forward to hearing from you!
While there are no formal application deadlines, the following are suggested deadlines that should be taken into account by applicants. We strongly encourage applications be submitted well before these dates. Please note that no decisions on application files are made until all necessary documents are received. Applicants who wish to complete consecutive sessions should submit applications by the earliest day applicable to the sessions in which they wish to enroll. Applications submitted after these dates may have to be considered for the next, or other subsequent, sessions:
For applicants wishing to begin the Program in the 2014 Spring Session, applications should be received by December 10, 2013.
For applicants wishing to begin the Program in the 2013 Summer Sessions, applications should be received by April 17, 2013.
For applicants wishing to begin the Program in the 2013 Fall Session (online tax courses only), applications should be received by July 31, 2013.
To begin your online application click on the To Apply link below and create a BU web account. Instructions on how to create a BU web account are found under the 'NEW USERS: SETUP A BOSTON UNIVERSITY WEB ACCOUNT' section at the bottom of the page. Once you have created your BU web account you may complete the remaining online application detailed below.
Eligibility to Apply
Candidates to the Executive LL.M. in International Business Law Program are expected to hold, at a minimum, a degree in law and demonstrate a high level of English proficiency. Admission is competitive, and it is expected that successful applicants will have a record of outstanding academic achievement in previous studies as well as notable professional experience and accomplishments. Candidates without a degree in law will be admitted under exceptional circumstances. Such candidates must complete the standard online application but submit three letters of recommendation, and should be prepared to address their reasons for desiring admission to the Executive LL.M. Program in their personal statement.
Application Instructions
Candidates for admission must use our online application form. We encourage applicants to submit multiple pieces of documentation via courier service to complete their application as quickly as possible. A complete application will include the following elements:
Online application form
An online application form must be completed in order to begin the application process. Please note that the Executive LL.M. Program does not offer a paper form.
Application fee
Payment of a non refundable application fee of U.S. $75 must accompany the application, payable by credit card. No other forms of payment are accepted.
Official, Sealed Academic Records
Complete official transcripts, certified transcripts, or notarized, full-sized copies of transcripts from all colleges, universities and graduate schools from which you have received a degree must be submitted, along with an official certification of the law degree received. You should print and fill out the identifying information at the top of the transcript request form included online and send a copy to the registrar's office of each college or university from whom you require a transcript. Schools should send copies of your transcripts directly to us.
The official transcript, or accompanying report, must contain your class standing or an official approximation of class standing, together with a description of the school's grading system. All transcripts or other academic records must be official documents bearing the registrar's signature and/or the institution's seal. If these records are not in English, a certified English translation must be submitted.
We recommend that applicants register with LSAC's LL.M. Credential Assembly Service. For more information, please consult https://llm.lsac.org or consult this Web site.
To view and print the transcript request form please see the link below.
Transcript Request Form
Letters of Recommendation
You must submit at least two, but no more than three, letters of recommendation in support of your application, from individuals who are well acquainted with your academic or professional abilities. As this is an Executive LL.M. program, at least one of these letters must be from an employment supervisor or someone who can address your professional qualifications or accomplishments. Please note that you may submit your application online prior to receipt of your recommendation letters, but your file will not be deemed complete until they are received by the Admissions Office.
You have the option to either print out the letter or recommendation form for you recommenders or have your recommenders submit their letter of recommendation online. If you choose to print the letters of recommendation form, you should complete the top part of the recommendation form and distribute the form to your recommender, who should send the letter and form directly to our office.
To view the letter of recommendation form please see the link below.
Letter of Recommendation Form
Personal Statement of Interest
A detailed personal statement of interest is an integral part of the application. You should discuss your personal and professional reasons for pursuing the Executive LL.M. degree, namely how this program corresponds to your previous areas of study, employment experiences, and your career goals and objectives.
Curriculum Vitae
Please include a detailed curriculum vitae, or resume, with your application. This should not be seen as a substitute for your Personal Statement of Interest.
Proof of English language proficiency
If your native language is not English, you must show proof of English language proficiency. LL.M. students, in order to succeed in the rigorous academic environment of our program, must possess a high degree of proficiency in speaking, reading, writing and listening comprehension in the English language. If your native language is not English, but you have obtained a degree from a college or university whose language of instruction was in English, you may be exempted from showing further proof of proficiency. To request a waiver, please email execllm@bu.edu a short paragraph describing briefly how and what context you learned English, and how you currently use English in your personal or professional life.
If you are not a native English speaker, nor have completed a degree-granting program in English, you must submit test scores for the ILEC (International Legal English Certificate), TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. The exam must have been taken within two years of application date. While all three exams are accepted, we find ILEC particularly useful as a gauge of proficiency given the exam’s emphasis on legal English.
If taking the ILEC exam, a minimum level of proficiency will be indicated by a score of B2. Candidates who obtain as score of B1 may apply, but can only be accepted provisionally (see below). No scores below B1 will be considered.
If taking the TOEFL, you must achieve a minimum score of 600 on the paper-based TOEFL, 250 on the computer-based TOEFL, or 100 on the internet-based TOEFL. For the iTOEFL, minimum scores on the individual sections are a 25 (reading), 25 (listening), 25 (writing), and 23 (speaking). You must arrange for an official report of your TOEFL score to be sent to us from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Scores that fall closely below these minimums will not automatically preclude admission, but such applicants can only be admitted provisionally (see below).
Information on TOEFL may be obtained from www.toefl.org.
When submitting score report requests for either TOEFL or ILEC, please used 9627 as the "Institution Code". The code will be named "Boston University School of Law LL.M. Programs". Please enter Department Code 03 (for law schools). You must also indicate that your scores be sent to:
Boston University School of Law
LL.M. Admissions Office, Executive LL.M. Program
765 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
For the ILEC, please visit the Verification of Results site, fill in the provided form, and then click the submit button to have your official ILEC scores sent directly to the LL.M. Admissions Office at Boston University School of Law.
For the IELTS, please notify us of your test score which we will then officially verify directly with IELTS. A minimum level of proficiency will be indicated by a score of 7 or better (out of 9). For more information visit http://www.ielts.org/default.aspx
Provisional Acceptance: Candidates whose scores fall slightly below these TOEFL minimums, who obtain a score of B1 on ILEC, or below a 7 of the IELTS can only be provisionally accepted. A provisional acceptance requires the applicant to successfully complete an intensive English language program prior to commencement of the LL.M. program, such as the CELOP program. If you are provisionally accepted, you will be sent information on applicable programs.
Law School Admissions Test
If you have taken the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), you must list on the application form each time you took the test and the scores you received. The LSAT test is not required of foreign-trained applicants.
Interview
All promising applicants will be interviewed by the program director, typically by telephone. We will contact you if a telephone interview is requested by our office.
Please note, because students will have a part-time status, candidates are not required to complete the International Student or International Cover Sheet section of the application.
Application Deadlines
Due to the flexible nature of the Executive Program's course schedule, applications are processed as received. There are enrollment deadlines for each module, about which you will be notified if accepted into the Program.