Double Degree Programme in Law (LLB Hons) & Juris Doctor (JD)


Overview

This double degree programme will allow NUS law students in the four-year LLB programme to spend their fourth year, plus one additional year, at New York University (NYU) School of Law and receive the JD degree. The JD is a first degree in law in the United States and is read as a graduate degree. Students in the three-year Graduate LLB Programme at NUS will be able to spend their third year, plus one additional year, at NYU and receive the JD degree.

Admissions

A-level students interested in this programme should seek admission to NUS Bachelor of Laws at the outset (admission will be based on competitive A-level, or equivalent qualifications) and then apply separately to NYU School of Law for the Juris Doctor after their first of second year of law studies at NUS. NYU will make its admissions decision independently.

Students who already hold a first degree in another discipline may also apply for admission to both programmes separately at the outset or seek admission to the three-year Bachelor of Laws at NUS first and then apply for the Juris Doctor after their first year of law studies at NUS. The admissions decisions will be made independently, not jointly. Applicants who apply to both programmes at the outset, but are accepted to only one institution, may still reapply after their first year of law studies.

Students may wish to note that NYU’s strong preference is to consider students for the JD programme after they have received their second year results, even though applications are open to students after they have received their first year results. In some cases, NUS students who apply to the JD programme after receiving their first year results will be required to reapply after receiving their second year results. The deadline to apply to the NYU JD programme is 1 December.

Timeframe / Sequencing

The sequencing of the dual degree depends on the programme in which the student begins his or her studies. There are three permutations:

a) Students starting in the NUS 4-year LLB

Students in the 4-year (undergraduate) LLB at NUS will spend three years reading LLB subjects at NUS and two years reading JD subjects at NYU and will, at the end of five years, subject to satisfactory performance, receive the LLB from NUS and the JD from NYU degrees.

* Upon completion of this year of studies, students would have completed the requirements for the LLB and would be entitled to graduate.


(b) Students starting in the NUS 3-year LLB

Students in the 3-year (graduate) LLB at NUS will spend their first two years reading LLB subjects at NUS and two years reading JD subjects at NYU, and at the end of four years, will receive the LLB from NUS and the JD from NYU.

** Students are to note that they may need to do LC3001 Evidence in their Year 2 at NUS before proceeding to NYU to read the JD.

* Upon completion of this year of studies, students would have completed the requirements for the LLB and would be entitled to graduate.


(c) Students starting in the NYU JD

Students in the 3-year JD at NYU will spend two years reading JD subjects at NYU and two years reading LLB subjects at NUS, and at the end of four years, will receive the LLB from NUS and the JD from NYU.

Fees

Students will pay fees at the institution they are attending in any particular year. For instance, for students that start in the 4-year (undergraduate) LLB at NUS during their first three years of the LLB, students would pay NUS fees; during their next two years at NYU, they would pay NYU fees.


Continuation and Exit

NUS students’ eligibility to continue in the JD will be governed by NYU’s regulations. Students who exit from the JD will be entitled to have any credits successfully completed at NYU transferred back to NUS toward the LLB on a pro rata basis. Subject to NUS’s regulations concerning maximum candidature, they will be permitted to complete their outstanding credits, if any, toward the LLB at NUS.

Award of NUS LLB Degree

NUS students will be eligible to graduate from NUS with the LLB once they have completed their first year of the JD degree. Students will be permitted at this stage to receive the LLB, should they so elect.

For more information on admissions, fees, and programme requirements for the JD, please visit the NYU website at http://www.law.nyu.edu/admissions/jdadmissions/index.htm  or email the Assistant Director of Admissions at NYU, Ms Melanie Hochberg Giger, at GigerMH@juris.law.nyu.edu.