Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree Program
| Overview | Credits, Written Work, and Course Load Requirements | Travel, Living Expenses, and Medical Insurance | FAQs |
| Application Process | Tuition | Contact |
Overview
The Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree Program provides an efficient avenue to earn two degrees by enabling Harvard J.D. candidates to earn a Cambridge LL.M. and a Harvard J.D. in a total of three-and-a-half years. Students selected for the program spend their 3L year in Cambridge and are eligible to receive the Cambridge LL.M. at the end of the year upon successfully completing all LL.M. degree requirements. Students also simultaneously receive a semester's credit toward their HLS J.D. This means that with one additional semester back at Harvard after their Cambridge study (i.e., a total of 3.5 academic years), they will have earned both a Harvard J.D. and a Cambridge LL.M. The HLS students are the only LL.M. students at Cambridge who are not required to have a J.D. or equivalent degree prior to enrollment.
The HLS/Cambridge J.D./LL.M. Program affords students an educational experience not available at Harvard Law School – immersion in a foreign legal culture. This includes exposure to what makes the legal system function as it does – its underlying assumptions, how local lawyers think about law, what law is designed to do, and how it relates to the society more broadly.
The University of Cambridge is renowned for the distinguished members of its faculty, many of whom are noted experts in their particular fields. As well, Cambridge is home to a number of research centers, such as the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, which offer lecture series and other activities to augment studies. Many HLS students who read for their Cambridge LL.M. appreciate the different approach to learning law and note that the program enables students to engage in valuable independent research around issues of particular interest to them. The program can provide especially helpful training for those thinking about pursuing more in-depth academic work. The Cambridge J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree Program also benefits students interested in learning about British or European Law with an eye to practicing in Europe or for a transatlantic firm.Application Process
Up to six Harvard 2Ls are selected annually to spend their 3L year reading for the LL.M. degree in Cambridge, England. The admissions process begins with an application through HLS in November of the candidate’s 2L year and ends with a decision by Cambridge in early spring for matriculation at Cambridge the following fall.
Students submit to HLS by November 19, 2007: a statement of interest; an original formal Cambridge application which should include, among other documents, a current HLS transcript and two faculty recommendations; and a copy of the completed Cambridge application for use by the HLS Study Abroad Committee. The Cambridge application can be found here: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/admissions/forms/.
The statement of interest should be two to three pages in length and should elaborate on the applicant's educational objectives and identify a proposed course of study at Cambridge. Cambridge requires the original application, submitted to HLS, to follow the application procedures outlined in their application-packing list. For example, faculty recommendations must be in sealed envelopes. The version for HLS should include copies of all the required documents, but references do not need to be in sealed envelopes. Also, Cambridge requires transcripts and copies of diplomas from all institutions of higher education that the applicant has attended.
Please note that HLS students applying for the Cambridge LL.M. must complete the paper version of the application; it is not possible to apply on-line. Since HLS has special arrangements with Cambridge, the November 19 due date noted in this document is the one to which students should adhere. It is not necessary for HLS students to complete the Cambridge financial aid application materials.
Although applicants may provide letters of reference from faculty members at schools other than HLS, it is desirable to provide at least one recommendation from an HLS professor.
Due to HLS's special relationship with Cambridge, applications should not be submitted directly to Cambridge through their general online process. Hard copies of applications and statements of interest should be submitted to: Sara Zucker, Director of International Legal Studies Programs, in a mailbox in Lewis 203.
During the week of November 26 each applicant meets individually with a member of the HLS study abroad team to discuss how the year at Cambridge fits into his/her academic and career goals.
HLS will forward to Cambridge the full applications of students who are recommended by the HLS Study Abroad Committee. However, ultimately selections are made by the University of Cambridge. It is expected that students will have achieved a cumulative Grade Point Average of at least B / B+ in their HLS classes.
Formal application materials of recommended students will be forwarded to Cambridge by December 31, 2007. At that time, students will be notified whether they have been selected as finalists.
Please note that HLS students who are already enrolled in joint degree programs, either with other Harvard schools or other American universities, are not eligible to apply for the Cambridge program. Students who transfer to HLS after completing their first year at another law school are not eligible for the Cambridge program.Credit, Written Work, and Course Load Requirements
It is important to remember that one purpose of spending a year abroad is for students to take courses that are significantly different from what is offered at HLS.
At Cambridge students must take four courses (or “read for” four “papers”). HLS will award 11-13 ungraded credits to students successfully completing four courses and providing appropriate documentation to HLS about tutorials, supplementary lectures, and independent structured research. Prior to finalizing their enrollment at Cambridge, students must confirm with Sara Zucker that the proposed course load will allow Harvard to award the ungraded 11-13 credits (or fewer, if that is what is intended).
These credits will be awarded if students fulfill the following conditions:
- receive a passing grade for each of the four courses in which they are enrolled
- provide a one-page written statement as to how they used the academic time that supplemented course work, including additional lecture series, substantive presentations and "Vacation periods, and the period between the end of lectures and the examination" which Cambridge views "as integral and important parts of the course." The one-page statement should describe how the students used these both for their own "personal research and reflection," as set out in the Cambridge catalog (from which these quotations are taken), and for working "through the assigned material, on your own initiative, in tandem with the lectures - thereby maximising the benefit of both the lectures and the assigned material." Students may provide this one-page statement to Sara Zucker after completing exams, but no later than June 16, 2008.
If a student successfully completes these requirements, his/her Harvard transcript will reflect 11 to 13 credits (depending on the course load), graded “pass,” for study abroad work. These credits will be considered classroom credits and therefore not count against the HLS allowable maximum of non-classroom credits. The particular courses taken at Cambridge will not appear on the student’s Harvard transcript, nor will the grades for those courses. No credit for the Cambridge coursework will appear until the student submits and receives approval on the statement referred to above and his/her Cambridge transcript is received. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the HLS Registrar’s Office receives his/her transcript in a timely fashion. If a student fails any of his/her courses overseas, the number of credits received for studies abroad will be reduced proportionately.
The number of credits a student has to complete in the Fall semester upon return to HLS will depend entirely on the number of credits earned to date. The HLS J.D. degree requires a minimum of 52 credits across 2L and 3L years, and the credits earned while at Cambridge will be counted as classroom credits toward the 52-credit minimum.
Students may fulfill the HLS “Written Work Requirement” while at Cambridge University, but permission must be obtained from Assistant Dean Betsy Baker in advance of enrollment at Cambridge.Tuition
Harvard Law School charges each student going to Cambridge regular HLS tuition for the period abroad; tuition costs for Cambridge are billed to Harvard rather than to the student. Harvard financial aid will be available in most cases for at least one semester of the time spent in England.
Travel, Living Expenses, and Medical Insurance
Students are responsible for making their own visa and travel arrangements to the United Kingdom and for all associated costs. Students may obtain visas through the closest British Consulate or see http://www.britainusa.com/.
Living and studying abroad can be expensive and students should plan and budget accordingly. To help defray these costs students in the HLS/Cambridge program receive a budget increase of $3,000.
Housing in one of the “colleges” will be arranged by Cambridge once the student has been offered a position; students are responsible for housing costs.
Students must obtain adequate health insurance coverage from an approved provider before departure. Students may also wish to waive the Blue Cross Blue Shield and University Health Service fees. For detailed information please consult the UHS web site at http://huhs.harvard.edu/HealthnDentalPlans/StudentHealthIns.htm.
The International SOS Travel Assistance Program provides “24 hour worldwide emergency medical and evacuation assistance for Harvard’s employees and students traveling on University related activities.” It is a supplement to, not a substitute for, health insurance and can provide medical information and evacuation, emergency assistance, translation services, legal referrals and general travel advice, among other things. Harvard students are automatically enrolled in but must register for the University plan. Further information can be found at International SOS (http://vpf-web.harvard.edu/rmas/4_insurance/Intnlsos.html).ILS Contact
For general questions, please contact Sara Zucker, Director of International Legal Studies Programs, at szucker@law.harvard.edu or 5-9030. Sara is available to talk to students by appointment as well as during office hours on Tuesdays from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. and Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Sara’s office is located in room 231 of the Lewis International Law Center.
For questions about financial aid, please contact Denise Ryan, Assistant Director of Financial Aid, at dbryan@law.harvard.edu or 5-4606.
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