Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law Application Procedures and Instructions
Thank you for your interest in the Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about the program's application procedures. We look forward to hearing from you.
- Contact Us
- Eligibility to Apply
- Admissions Decisions
- Contact Current Students and Alumni
- Application instructions
- Application Deadlines
- Non-Degree Students
- Part-time Students
- Interviews
- Information for International Applicants
- Administrative Policies Relating to Federal Guidelines
Contact Us
Please direct all correspondence and inquiries to:
Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law
Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law
Boston University School of Law
765 Commonwealth Avenue, room 1524
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Phone: 617.353.3023
Toll free (in US): 888.285.7003
Fax: 617.353.2444
E-mail: banklaw@bu.edu
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Eligibility to Apply
Candidates for Admission to the Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law must hold a first degree in law at the time of matriculation at Boston University. If the candidate received his or her legal education in the United States, the candidate must have been conferred a Juris Doctor degree or a Bachelor of Laws degree by an accredited law school. Candidates whose legal education was done outside the United States must hold a first degree in law from a duly accredited or comparably recognized law school or law faculty.
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Admissions Decisions
We accept applications for admission throughout the academic year and make decisions on a "rolling" basis (usually within two weeks after we have received all of the required application materials) and send written notice of the decision to the applicant promptly thereafter. Upon notification of acceptance, a nonrefundable deposit of US $500.00 is required to hold your place in the class. If the deposit is not paid within the specified time, the acceptance will be canceled.
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Contact Current Students and Alumni
We encourage all applicants to talk with current students and alumni to learn about the Graduate Program in Banking & Financial Law. Send an e-mail to the Program at banklaw@bu.edu to get in touch with a current student, or an alum of the program.
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Application Instructions
Candidates for admission may submit their applications either online or by mail. Instructions for online applications are available online. Applicants must submit the following items by the relevant deadline below:
- Completed Application for Admission form
We recommend that you complete the online application form. Alternatively, you may download and complete the application from the Web site listed above, or you may request a Graduate Program in Banking & Financial Law Bulletin which includes an application for admission.
- Application Fee
Payment of a nonrefundable application fee of U.S. $75 must accompany the application. Online applications may pay this fee only by credit card. Other applicants may pay this fee in the form of a money order or check drawn on a U.S. bank and made payable to Boston University.
- Official, Sealed Academic Records
Complete official transcripts or notarized, full-sized copies of all colleges, universities, or graduate schools from which you have received a degree must be submitted along with an official certification of the law degree received. You should fill out the identifying information at the top of the transcript request form included in the application materials and send it (or a copy of it) to the registrar’s office of each college or university you have attended. Schools should mail official transcripts to you to be submitted, unopened, with the application. (If this procedure is against school policy, you should indicate on the application form that your school is mailing the transcripts directly to us.) The official transcript or an 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 together with the originals or copies. We recommend that international applicants register with LSAC's LL.M. Credential Assembly Service. For more information, visit LLM.LSAC.org or read below.
- Two Letters of Recommendation
You must submit two letters of recommendation from individuals who are well acquainted with your academic or professional abilities. At least one must be from a former law professor. The other should be from a law professor, a law school administrator, or an employment supervisor. A recommendation form, which you may photocopy and distribute to your recommenders, is provided with the application materials. You should ask each recommender to enclose the recommendation form and letter in an envelope, seal the envelope, sign it across the seal, and return it to you to be submitted, unopened, with the other application materials. (If a recommender prefers, she or he may mail the recommendation directly to us, and you should indicate on the application form that the recommender is doing so.)
- Personal Statement of Interest
A carefully worded and detailed personal statement of interest is an important part of your application. You should discuss your personal and professional reasons for pursuing the LL.M. degree. You should also include an explanation of your study interests and their relation to your previous study, employment experiences, and professional goals.
- International Student Data Form
If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, you must complete the International Student Data Form, which is included in the application materials, and provide the appropriate financial declaration and documentation as described in the form. Applications cannot be processed unless complete financial documentation is submitted.
- Curriculum Vitae
Please include your curriculum vitae as a separate item, not as a substitute for your personal statement..
- 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 sores you received. (We do not require GRE or other standardized test results.). The LSAT test is not required of foreign-trained applicants.
- Proof of English language proficiency
(applicants whose native language is not English)
LL.M. students must have a high degree of proficiency in speaking, reading, writing and listening in the English language. If your native language is not English, you must demonstrate proficiency in English by achieving a minimum score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 600 (paper-based) or 250 (computer-based) or 100 (internet-based). If you have taken the new internet-based test, your scores on the individual sections should at a minimum be 25 (reading), 25 (listening), 25 (writing) and 23 (speaking). Candidates whose scores fall slightly below these minimums may still apply to the program, but may be asked to attend an intensive English language program prior to the commencement of law school studies. You should take the TOEFL as early as possible, preferably eight months or more before your anticipated admission. You must arrange for an official report of your TOEFL scores to be sent to us from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Information on TOEFL may be obtained from:
The Educational Testing Service
TOEFL/TSE Services
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151
USA
Telephone 609.771.7100
Fax 609.771.7500
E-mail TOEFL@ets.org
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When completing the TOEFL Score Report Request Form, please use 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 also must indicate that it should be sent to:
Boston University School of Law
LL.M. Admissions Office
765 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215Note: Applicants whose native language is not English may be exempt from taking the TOEFL is he/she has received their first degree in law from a college or university in a country where both the language of instruction and the official language is English.
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Note Regarding TOEFL scores: We understand that some students are unable to get a TOEFL test date before our application deadline. We will gladly accept applications before the TOEFL scores are available, and make final decisions once we receive the TOEFL scores.
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Non-Degree Students (LL.M. in Banking & Financial Law and Taxation Only)
The Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law accepts a limited number of highly qualified non-degree students to take selected courses. Non-matriculating students must follow the same admission procedure as degree candidates.
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Part-time Students
The Graduate Program in Banking & Financial Law and the Graduate Tax Program accept a certain number of part-time students. Those interested in being a part-time student should follow the same admission procedure as full-time students.
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Interviews
The program Director and/or Associate Director interviews all qualified applicants by phone (or in person, if practical). The Graduate Program will notify applicants of the time and date of scheduled interviews.
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Information for International Applicants
Boston University Overseas Liaison Offices
Boston University maintains permanent offices in the following cities to provide prospective students with information and assistance in communicating with the University: London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Taipei.
England (covers all Western Europe)
William Straughn, Director
Boston University Liaison Office
43 Harrington Gardens
Kensington
London SW7 4JU England
United Kingdom
Telephone: 44.20.7835.0916
Fax: 44.20.7373.7411
E-mail: liaison@bu-london.co.uk
Marsha Lee, Director
Boston University Liaison Office
11th Floor, Unit 1113
Lippo Sun Plaza
28 Canton Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Telephone: 852.2.375.6278
Fax: 852.2.375.6215
E-mail: buhk@pacific.net.hk
Tokyo, Japan
Makiko Teraoka, Director
Boston University Liaison Office
Yatsuka Building, 6th Floor
1-3-8 Higashi Azabu
Minato-ku
Tokyo 106-004 Japan
Telephone: 81.3.3582.8421
Fax: 81-.3.3589.2406
E-mail: bujapan@abelia.ocn.ne.jp
Bangkok, Thailand
Somnual Laohaprasit, Director
Boston University Liaison Office
11th Floor, RS Tower Building
121/46 Ratchadaphisek Road
Huay-Kwang
Bangkok 10310 Thailand
Telephone: 66.2.641.2120
Fax: 66.2.641.2134
E-mail: bubkk@asiaaccess.net.th
Taipei, Taiwan
Meierh Shen, Director
Boston University
Alumni Association of Taipei
Taiwan, ROC
10th Floor, Unit D, No. 332
Tun Hua South Road, Section 1
Taipei, Taiwan
Republic of China
Telephone: 886.2.2708.5235
Fax: 886.2.2703.6541
E-mail: butpe@ms23.hinet.net
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LSAC Credential Assembly Service
We strongly recommend (but do not require) that international applicants register with the LL.M. Credential Assembly Service provided by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). This service collects and authenticates the academic records and TOEFL scores of international lawyers who are applying for admission to U.S. LL.M. programs, and sends reports to participating LL.M. programs to which these lawyers have applied. Because applicants will need to obtain only one set of official academic transcripts in order to make them available for all applications to participating law schools, the service should save them time and money.
The registration fee of $185 (U.S.) includes five reports to law schools. (Additional reports can be ordered at an additional fee.) We encourage international applicants to register for this service online (LLM.LSAC.org). Please note that (i) the LSAC service only authenticates academic transcripts and related credentials from outside the United States, and (ii) international applicants must still complete the Boston University School of Law LL.M. program application and submit it with the required application fee.
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Passport and Visa Information
International applicants who are currently in the United States must submit copies of all current visa documents. Applicants who are accepted for admission will ordinarily be issued the Form I-20 (needed to secure the F-1 student visa) directly from Boston University. For additional information concerning passport or visa requirements, international applicants should contact:
International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO)
888 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Phone 617.353.3565
fax: 617.358.1170
E-mail isso@bu.edu
Web site www.bu.edu/ISSO
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Center for English Language Orientation Program (CELOP)
The Boston University Center for English Language and Orientation Programs (CELOP) offers a number of intensive language courses, including six-, nine-, and twelve-week summer “Legal English” programs for international students who have been admitted to an LL.M. program. We encourage all applicants for admission to American LL.M. programs who received their first degrees in law from countries other than the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom to seek early preparation for their studies by attending a CELOP summer program. CELOP also offers programs in the fall which may be taken on a part-time basis (see Three-Semester LL.M./CELOP Program below). In certain cases, we may offer full-time admission on the condition that the applicant successfully completes one of the CELOP summer programs before fall enrollment. Students should be aware that participation in a CELOP program will increase their expenses. For more information on CELOP programs, visit CELOP.
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Three-Semester LL.M./CELOP Program- (Banking & Financial Law and Tax Programs)
International applicants who are otherwise qualified for admission but whose English language skills still need improvement before full-time law studies begin may receive admission to the an LL.M. program, in addition to taking one of the summer CELOP programs mentioned above, they undertake the LL.M. program on a three-semester basis. The first semester would include English language class at CELOP, for which no degree credit would be awarded, as well as two or three courses from the Graduate Tax Program or Graduate Program in Banking & Financial Law curriculum, for which the student would receive credit toward the LL.M. degree. For the first semester, the student would pay for each CELOP course and each LL.M. course on a per credit basis. During the second semester, the student would take a full-time course load in the Graduate Tax Program or Graduate Program in Banking & Financial Law and then finish the degree requirements as a part-time student during the third semester. During the second semester, the student would pay the full-time tuition, and during the final semester the student would pay per credit. The three-semester option does not exist for the LL.M. in American Law or LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law Programs.
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Bar Admission
It is generally expected that international students enrolled in LL.M. programs in the United States will return to their home countries after they complete their studies. Most states in the United States will allow only individuals who have earned a Juris Doctor degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association to take their bar examinations. However, New York and a few other states do allow some lawyers from abroad who have received LL.M. degrees from Boston University to take bar examinations. Each of the fifty states of the United States has its own criteria and procedures for admitting lawyers to practice, and these criteria and procedures change from time to time. It is essential that a foreign lawyer who wishes to practice in this country directly contact the lawyer-licensing authority in the state or jurisdiction in which he or she expects to be located. Individuals can also request a copy of the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements from:
The National Conference of Bar Examiners
ABA Order Fulfillment Department
750 North Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Phone 312.988.5522
Bar admissions information is also available at the American Bar Association.
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Administrative Policies Relating to Federal Guidelines
Equal Opportunity Policy
Boston University prohibits discrimination against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or marital, parental, or veteran status. This policy extends to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities, including admissions, financial assistance, employment, housing, athletics, and educational programs. Boston University recognizes that nondiscrimination does not ensure that equal opportunity is a reality. The University therefore will continue to take affirmative action to promote equal opportunity for all students, applicants, and employees. Inquiries regarding the application of this policy should be addressed to:
Assistant Vice President for Human Resources
25 Buick Street
Boston, MA 02215
Phone 617.353.4477