MSL Program
The Master of Studies in Law (MSL) program is a non-professional degree program designed for those who want to increase their understanding of the law and legal analysis. Students can enroll full-time (12-20 credit hours per semester) and complete the MSL degree in one year, or enroll part-time (6-11 credit hours per semester) and complete the MSL degree in two years. Whether enrolled full-time or part-time in a given semester, students must complete the degree by the end of their second academic year, and can enroll in no more than 20 credit hours in a single semester. MSL students will take coursework from the same curriculum offerings available to JD and LLM students. To obtain the MSL degree, students must successfully complete 32 hours of credit in College of Law courses (including all required courses described below), complete a faculty-supervised research paper, and attain a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale. The required courses for the MSL consist of the following:
- Law 500, Legal Writing and Research (2 hours)
- Any two of the following courses (4 hours each):
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law I
- Contracts
- Criminal Law
- Property
- Torts
The remaining coursework can be in any upper-level law course offered by the College of Law, pursuant to a plan of study formulated in consultation with the College’s academic advisors. The College of Law offers more than 100 upper-level elective courses, taught in both Champaign-Urbana and Chicago. You can learn more about the courses offered at the College of Law here.