II. Admission

General Standard for Admission. Applicants must demonstrate sufficient ability in law to succeed as a student in the LL.M. program. In general, this requires a distinguished academic record with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) in academic coursework for the first law degree (a J.D. or LL.B. or equivalent). In rare cases, the Director may make exceptions to admit students with lower cumulative grade point averages in their law degree programs where other indicators provide strong evidence of the applicants' ability to succeed in the LL.M. program.
Degree Requirements for Admission. Applicants must demonstrate successful completion of foundational legal studies through one of the following means:
1. A J.D. or LL.B. degree at a U.S. law school that is approved by the American Bar Association;
2. The equivalent of a J.D. or LL.B. degree from a law school outside the United States, provided that the applicant has demonstrated sufficient English language proficiency to study law as required in Part I.C.1., below;
3. An LL.M. degree from a law school outside the United States, provided that (i) the applicant has demonstrated sufficient English language proficiency to study law as required in Part I.C.1., below, and (ii) the student's legal work experience and LL.M. transcript demonstrate sufficient credit hours and depth of subject-matter coverage and knowledge to qualify the student to undertake advanced law studies at Wayne Law; or
4. A J.D. or LL.B. degree from a U.S. law school that is not approved by the American Bar Association, provided that the applicant (i) has been admitted to practice in at least one of the States of the United States, (ii) evidences ability to succeed in the degree program through exemplary work experience, academic performance or otherwise; and (iii) is approved for acceptance by the Wayne Law Graduate Studies Committee upon the Director's recommendation for admission in accordance with the special provisions for extraordinary admittance in Part I.C.3., below.
Special Provisions.
1. Applicants with degrees from non-U.S. law schools (Cf. Part I.B.2-3).
  1. Native speakers of English. Applicants who have studied at non-U.S. law schools and are native speakers of English shall provide a signed statement that they are native speakers to accompany their application.
  2. Non-native speakers of English. Applicants who have studied at non-U.S. law schools and are not native speakers of English must demonstrate competency in the English language at a level sufficient to permit advanced legal studies. This level is higher than the minimum required for admission to the Graduate School and may be demonstrated by achieving the specified score on one of the following competency tests:
    1. a score of 600 or more in the regular Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL);
    2. a score of 250 or more in the computer-based TOEFL;
    3. a score of 100 or more in the internet-based TOEFL; or
    4. a score of 7.0 or higher in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam.
  3. Waiver. In extraordinary cases where a non-native English speaker has clearly demonstrated English competency through other means, such as the use of English as the language of higher education instruction or in the applicant's professional legal duties, the Director may waive the competency test requirement.
  4. Conditional admission. The Director may provide a conditional admission for applicants whose academic records merit admission to the LL.M. program but who require further study of the English language prior to entering the LL.M. program. In such a case, the conditionally admitted applicant will be assured of admission to the program only if the TOEFL test requirements are met by the term in which the applicant expects to enroll and the Director is satisfied, after a telephone or in-person interview, that the applicant can succeed in the LL.M. program. Such an admission may permit the applicant to travel to the United States to study English for one or more terms through other University programs, such as the English Language Institute, and then enroll in the Law School as an LL.M. student upon successful completion of the study and the TOEFL test. A conditionally admitted student who does not satisfy the TOEFL requirement by the time agreed upon in the conditional admission will not be permitted to enroll but must open a new online application for a later term to which all documents from the prior application can be applied. Acceptance for the new term is not guaranteed.
2. Applicants requesting transfer admittance from another A.B.A. accredited law school's LL.M. program. An applicant who has successfully enrolled and undertaken some coursework in an LL.M. program in another domestic A.B.A-accredited law school and wishes to transfer into an LL.M. program at Wayne Law with some credit for courses taken in the prior LL.M. program shall be eligible for consideration for admission under these special transfer admittance provisions and shall be entitled to transfer up to 12 credit hours of course work for courses whose descriptions and credit hours are equivalent to courses in the Wayne Law curriculum for the major in which the student enrolls at Wayne Law. Transfer applicants must:
  1. Satisfy requirements for admission set out in II. A and B, above.
  2. Have completed at least 4 credits of LL.M. degree work in the prior LL.M. degree program with a cumulative GPA for the LL.M. degree work of at least 3.00.
  3. Submit the prior LL.M. program course titles, credit hours, instructor and course descriptions for courses for which transfer credit is sought, with information sufficient to determine equivalency with Wayne Law courses.
    
    If the transfer applicant is admitted, the Director of Graduate Studies, coordinating as necessary with the College Recorder and the Graduate School Admissions Office, shall make the final decision regarding equivalency of courses and crediting of other LL.M. work towards the Wayne Law LL.M. degree.
3. Extraordinary admittance provisions (Cf. Part I.B.4). An applicant under Part I.B.4 may, after completing the Graduate School application, request extraordinary admittance through a written and signed request to the Director explaining the reasons that the applicant believes extraordinary admittance is merited. The Director shall consider the applicant's written request together with the admissions file and, if the Director determines that admission is merited, shall provide a written and signed recommendation for consideration to the Graduate Studies Committee specifying the considerations that support the admission recommendation. The Director's signed recommendation shall become a part of the applicant's file in the Records Office. The Graduate Studies Committee's determination shall be final.
4. Qualified admission. In extraordinary circumstances, the Director may admit a student in any of the categories in Part I.B. on a qualified basis, with the consent, as necessary, of the Graduate School Admissions Office. The student will be required to achieve a minimum GPA during the first semester of enrollment in the LL.M. program or will not be permitted to continue in the program. The Director may consider a qualified admission when a student's record shows some uncertainty regarding the applicant's ability to succeed in the LL.M. program, such as a lower GPA than ordinarily required for admission, but the applicant has also demonstrated some special abilities or achievements under extraordinary circumstances and appears to have made a necessary step forward that may enable the applicant to succeed in the program.
Selection of a Major.
1. Majors offered. Each applicant must apply to complete an LL.M. degree in one of the majors offered in the program:
  1. Corporate and Finance Law,
  2. Labor and Employment Law,
  3. Taxation, or
  4. United States (U.S.) Law.
    
    If a new major and or joint degree program is created, each appropriate section of these regulations shall be updated to reflect the new major or joint degree program.
2. Changing majors after enrollment. With the permission of the Director, students may change majors upon first registering for classes in the LL.M. program or upon completion of one or more semesters of study in the prior major. Students who switch majors after taking courses approved for the prior major may not be able to credit all of the courses taken towards the new LL.M. major. The Director will provide a written statement to the student and Records Office verifying which courses shall be credited towards the new major.
Application Process. Prospective students must complete an online application for admission to Wayne State University graduate programs at Wayne Law either through the Graduate School application process or through ACES2/LSAC, indicating the major field in which the applicant wishes to attain the LL.M. degree and the term for which the student is applying.
1. Start time:
  1. Applicants with law degrees from U.S. law schools. U.S. J.D. or LL.B. degree holders may be admitted for the Fall, Winter or Spring/Summer term.
  2. Applicants with law degrees from non-U.S. law schools. Those applicants who do not have a U.S. J.D. or LL.B. degree generally will be admitted only in the Fall term to ensure that they are able to participate in the Summer Legal English Program for International LL.M. Students, but applicants who demonstrate a significant understanding of the U.S. legal system may be admitted, at the Director's discretion, in a different term.
2. Items required for every applicant:
  1. Official transcripts. An official transcript for each college or university attended, whether or not a degree has been granted (applicants with records from foreign institutions must provide certified transcripts through World Education Services, available at www.wes.org);
  2. Personal statement. A statement of no more than 750 words indicating the basis for the applicant's interest in pursuing the LL.M. degree at Wayne Law;
  3. Recommendations. At least one (but no more than two) personal or professional letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a professor of law at the school at which the applicant received his or her law degree;
  4. Resume. A resume or curriculum vita providing the applicant's educational and work experience, current address and other contact information.
3. Items required for some applicants:
  1. International degree applicants. For applicants with law degrees from another country, statement of native English speaker status or English language proficiency test scores (see Part I.C.1) are required by Wayne Law. (Information necessary for visa applications, including financial support, or statement of permanent residency status, will be required for federal student or other visa and admission status to be finalized. The Office of International Students and Scholars handles these matters.);
  2. Scholarship applicants. For applicants interested in being considered for the Wayne Law LL.M. Merit Scholarships, a statement of scholarship interest of no more than 750 words;
  3. International applicants requesting a TOEFL waiver. For international applicants requesting a TOEFL waiver, a statement of native speaker status or use of English language in professional legal duties or in instructional courses for the legal degree;
  4. Conditional, extraordinary, or qualified admission applicants. For applicants requesting admission under Part I.C.1.d, I.C.3, or I.C.4, a statement supporting that request.
  5. Transfer applicants. For applicants requesting admission under Part I.C.2, a statement indicating a request for transfer of credits from certain courses taken in the prior LL.M. program, with course title, instructor, credit hours, and course description.