Inside Stetson Law's LL.M. Program

You spend months getting ready for a trial, sacrificing weekends and evenings with your family. You find out that it has been postponed and dread doing all that prep over again. You know the drill. Fortunately, some months you don’t need to spend as many hours working and have a little more time to enjoy other aspects of your life, such as kayaking, coaching softball or maybe even going back to school.

Public defenders and prosecutors are some of society’s quietest heroes. They have a difficult, demanding case load right from day one and handle some of the toughest, most emotionally-trying cases imaginable. They spend a good deal of time and money to earn their law degree and pass the bar, yet, like teachers, make a relatively modest, taxpayer funded salary.

College and graduate students enjoy studying in other countries. Studying abroad is a healthy way for young people to develop independence, cultural appreciation, language skills and learn a thing or two.

Hundreds of thousands of students come to the United States every year to study at our prestigious institutions of higher education.  According to a September 10th blog published by the Association of American Universities, a nonprofit coalition of 60 research universities, member schools alone educate and employmore than 300,000 international students and nearly 75,000 faculty members from other countries.  The total number of students studying in the U.S. from other countries likely tops 1 million, according to a VOA News article published at the time.

You made the commitment to further your education and, hopefully, enroll in one of Stetson’s three LL.M. programs. Congratulations on taking this big step! We gathered a few tips from the faculty and staff from each of the LL.M. programs to help you make this transition back to being a student - but this time with a full-time job and family responsibilities.

Will earning the LL.M. online have the same cache as it would if earned the old way - brick and mortar style? Online education - whether offered by small private or large state institutions - is increasing in popularity. Look up the phrase “value of an online degree” and you will find dozens of articles on the topic. Most are positive in their evaluation of the programs and schools. They caution readers to consider some of the following points.

Stetson Law is known for our award-winning advocacy program for J.D. students, but what about those who have already completed law degrees and still want to advance their advocacy skills? To serve this audience and continue to foster persuasive, effective advocates, Stetson created the LL.M. in Advocacy.

Between juggling job, family, and personal commitments, you might be wondering how far ahead you should be applying for an LL.M. While the answer varies, we’ve broken it down below. And remember, while we’ve outlined general rules, the tips below will help you decide the time that is right for you and your program.

1. Submit Your Program Application Early

If you need a visa, you should plan to apply early to the academic program of your choice. Give yourself a couple months to complete your paperwork. Allow extra time in case your visa needs additional administrative processing, which can take multiple weeks.