Course Requirements & Announcements

Announcements Spring 2025

Important Course Information

1. Course in the Graduate Tax Program open to Banking students.

LAW TX989 –  sections A1 (Residential) and OL (Online) Taxation and Regulation of Cryptocurrency (Beccia/Hook)

This course is designed to provide an introductory understanding of the theory and principles by which decentralized digital currencies – cryptocurrencies – operate, within both a practical and legal framework. The course can be broken down into three broad topics: (1) An examination of the concept of money, currency, and legal tender; (2) An introduction to the history of decentralized digital currencies, including the logic of a peer- to-peer payment system, the decentralized governance of cryptocurrency solutions, an analysis of the problems that cryptocurrencies are intended to resolve, and a high-level understanding of the blockchain; and (3) An in- depth examination and analysis of the current state of regulatory and tax treatment of various cryptocurrency transactions in the United States and in international jurisdictions.

    2. Drop/Add Period and Attendance.The Drop/Add period will be from January 13 to January 27, 2025. While students will be allowed to add and drop classes during this time, we expect everyone to be reading all assignments and fully participating in all classes for which they register. This is especially true for those who may be on the wait-list for any courses. Please note that some courses may have reading assignments or homework even before classes begin. Be sure to check the course Blackboard site for each class.

    3. Foreign Lawyers; New York State Bar Examination– foreign-trained lawyers who would like to qualify to sit for the New York State Bar Examination must sign up for the following courses in the spring semester:

    • LAW BK938 Corporations II (2 credits) – Morrissey
    • LAW BK941 Professional Responsibility – Weir Westby (2 credits) , and
    • LAW BK972 Secured Transactions – Refolo (2 credits).

    For more information on US State Bar Exams check the information contained on the LLM Professional Development page.

    4. Course Cancellation– Although we will avoid this as much as possible, the Graduate Program reserves the right to cancel a course due to low enrollment.

    5. Financial Services Law Internship– In order to do the Financial Services Law Internship, a student must meet the following requirements:

    a. complete at least one semester of study in the Banking Program;
    b. hold a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20; and
    c. pursue the Financial Services Transactions concentration.

    Students must note that internships involve requirements over and above the regular full load of courses. Grading is on a pass-fail basis.

    Banking & Financial Law Courses

    The Banking and Financial Law Program has one required course, Banking Structure and Regulation, offered only in the fall semester. All other credit requirements may be satsfied by successful completion of any courses offered through the program. The Banking & Financial Law Program offers five optional concentrations. In order to help focus their studies, students may choose up to two concentrations that will appear in their final transcript. Foreign-trained lawyers who want to sit for the New York or Massachusetts bar exam need to take the required courses listed under Bar Admission for International Students.

    Auditing Courses

    To audit a course, add it to your schedule.  At the beginning of the semester, obtain the instructor’s permission and have them sign an audit form (available in the Banking Program office).

    With written permission of the course instructor, students auditing a course will be allowed to sit in on classes of the course but will not receive any grade or credit for it. Upon completion of the course and meeting the requirements prescribed, the student’s transcript will reflect that the course was audited. Although an auditing student will not be required to take mid-term or final exams, he or she will not be excused from class attendance, participation or other requirements the instructor may specify.

    Full time students only may audit one course per semester in addition to the regular full time load of six courses. There is no additional charge for auditing an extra course. Part time students may audit an additional course, but will be assessed tuition for the course.

    To audit a course, a student must comply with the following requirements:

    • The student must meet with the program director for advising.
    • The student must register for the course by the end of the drop/add period.
    • The student must obtain the professor’s written permission to audit the course, by completing an audit permission form, available in the Banking Program office.
    • At the end of the semester, the professor must provide the Graduate Program with written verification that the student attended the course throughout the semester and completed all applicable requirements by signing the “End of Semester Audit Form”. Please note that if the signed written form is not received by the end of the semester, the course will not be reflected on the student’s transcript. After the close of the drop/add period, a student may not convert an audited course to a credit course.

    Non-Program Courses

    Banking & Financial Law LLM students must obtain permission from the Program Director to register for all non-program courses except Physical Education courses. In a request to the Director, please indicate the following:

    • the course to be taken (the full course title and course number, instructor, day and time);
    • the justification for taking the course; and
    • the qualification to take the course (if the course requires a prerequisite subject).

    After obtaining approval from the Director, students should confer with the Program at banklaw@bu.edu about the registration procedure.

    Courses sought to satisfy the 24-credit degree requirement MUST be related to banking or financial services and chosen from the Law School’s JD program or the Graduate Tax program. Credit from outside courses for the Banking & Financial Law degree is limited to two credits per course and  up to two courses in total.

    Grades for courses taken outside of the Banking and Financial Law Program and within the Law School for credit are included in the calculation of a student’s grade point average.

    Non-Law Courses: Physical Education

    Students may register for physical education courses at FitRc, BU’s fitness center. Information is available here.

    Bar Admission for International Students

    The Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law is not intended to be a preparatory program for international attorneys leading to the practice of law in the United States. Students are expected to return home after completing their studies. Each of the fifty states has its own criteria and procedures for admitting lawyers to practice, and achieving the LLM degree does not qualify international lawyers to apply for admission to take the bar examination in every state or to practice law in every state. Because of frequent changes in state bar admission requirements, foreign lawyers should seek information directly from the board of bar examiners of the state(s) in which they wish to practice. Information on state bar requirement is available in the American Bar Association’s Comprehensive Guide to Admission Requirements.

    Students who are interested in sitting for the New York, Massachusetts or California Bar exams must carefully review the information on this page:  Graduate Programs Professional Development.  Be sure to pay attention to deadlines, some of which occur early in the academic year.   Bar exam information sessions will be held at the Law School during the academic year.