Law

LL.M, Ph.D

The Queen’s graduate program in Law is a unique program focused on the student. We have chosen to keep our program purposefully small. The result is an intimate Law School community in which students are able to develop intellectually under the personal mentorship of some of the leading legal scholars in Canada and the world.

Our graduate students are varied in terms of national and cultural background, and they have diverse research interests and career objectives. They share an intense passion for legal scholarship, and a firm desire to engage with legal ideas in a challenging but supportive and friendly community of students and professors.

Our Faculty consists of leading legal scholars whose work has been influential nationally and internationally and who take seriously the responsibility of mentoring graduate students.

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"As part of my LL.M. studies at Queen's, I had the great fortune of attending the Spring International Study Program in Public International Law at the Herstmonceaux Castle in the U.K. This program enabled me to get a three-course head start on my LL.M., while providing the opportunity to visit European international human rights organizations and criminal tribunals. I loved every minute of these studies and travels: this was a remarkable learning experience, a unique opportunity to embark on the path of international human rights education."

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Degrees Offered / Length of Program

• Master of Law (LL.M.): 1 year
• Ph.D. in Law:3 years

Method of Completion

• LL.M.: thesis and course-based options
  
• Ph.D.: limited course work in first year, qualifying exam and an oral defence of doctoral dissertation

Travel Opportunities

LL.M. students may spend an eight-week term in England in the Global Law Program at the Queen’s International Study Centre located at Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex.

Supervisors and Fields of Study

You will not need to engage a supervisor immediately; however we recommend that you investigate our faculty to ensure a good fit with your research topic. Teaching and supervision is available in a wide range of subject areas organized under the following four themes:

• Law in a Global Context
• Law and Economic Relations
• Public and Constitutional Law
• Law and Theoretical Perspectives

Employment Opportunities

Graduates of our program pursue careers in legal education, research & policy work, law professors at Universities throughout Canada & abroad, the legal profession and the judiciary. The present Judge Advocate General of Canada is a graduate of ours, as well as the former Dean of Law at the University of Sydney in Australia, the University Lecturer in Family Law at Oxford University, and the Associate Dean of Law at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania just to name a few. We also have former grads as lawyers for the International Labour Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Tanzania, the Attorney General in Uganda, and the USAID Rule of Law Project in Albania.

Funding Information

• LL.M.: merit-based funding, often enough to cover tuition costs
• Ph.D.: minimum $18,000 per year + opportunities for teaching and research assistantships

• LL.M.: high standing in a J.D. / LLB or equivalent
• Ph.D.: J.D./LLB or equivalent and LL.M. or equivalent. Exceptional applicants may be admitted directly to the Ph.D. program after obtaining a J.D./LLB

Other Requirements

Applicants should send the following directly to the Graduate Program at the Queen's Faculty of Law:

• A 2-5 page research proposal or statement of the subject area in which the applicant would like to research: This statement should convey your understanding of the topic and research plans.
• A statement of your career objectives and reasons for wanting to pursue graduate studies in Law
• One or two writing samples that demonstrate your research and writing abilities, written originally in English and, preferably, in an academic context

Test Requirements

For international students, TOEFL score (if required) of 600 (paper based) or an internet-based (iBT) total score of at least 100 and a minimum of 5.0 in the Test of Written English. Official TOEFL and TWE results must be received in the Faculty of Law by March 31.

 

Program Profiles

• Kerri Froc - a lifelong belief in change inspires Trudeau and Vanier scholar...
• Cherie Metcalf (faculty) - graduate programs in law have been re-structured to allow more flexibility ...

• Peter Atupare - Queen's first PhD in Law...