Academics & Curriculum

In our Master of Laws (LLM) program you can develop your general legal knowledge as well as specialize in a particular area of law to meet your individual goals. You’ll be challenged by our curriculum, which is taught by world renowned-faculty who will invest in you and your professional goals.

In taking classes with JD students, you’ll also develop meaningful relationships with your U.S. classmates. Your expertise and professional network will flourish from the community that surrounds your year of study.

Degree Requirements

Our Core Curriculum

Our LLM program will require you to successfully complete 24 credit hours of coursework and earn a minimum grade point average of 2.0. You will also complete the following courses to be a candidate for our LLM degree:

Your Degree, Your Way

Build expertise with our LLM degree specializations
You’ll have opportunities to focus your studies on major and emerging areas of law that will help you advance your career after graduation. You will also have the option to dedicate 9 credit hours to specialized study, so you can pair our rigorous curriculum with classes that are aligned with your interests and goals.

You’ll be acknowledged for your work, too. Our graduates who choose to specialize receive additional certificates and annotations on official transcripts, which allows our alumni to market their expertise to U.S. employers and beyond.

Specialize in an area of law that matters to you
In addition to the four specializations, you can choose to craft your own specialization when courses offered during your year of study align with your preferred specialty. Previous students have also specialized in areas such as International Law, Human Rights Law, Health Law, and Property Law.

Specializations

Business Law
Criminal Law
Intellectual Property Law
Technology Law
Craft Your Own

Experiential Learning

Let experience shape your education outside of the classroom. You’ll put legal theory into action with your JD colleagues and LLM peers through our Pro Bono Project, which provides all students the opportunity to engage in pro bono work with nonprofit organizations, private practices, and legal services organizations. Our projects include:

  • Expungements
  • Healthcare Advocacy
  • Immigration
  • Know Your Rights
  • Lawyer On The Line
  • Prison Letters
  • Teen Court
  • Income Tax Assistance
  • Wills

Our Faculty

Professors will know who you are and will call you by name
With more than 100 resident and extended faculty members, Wake Forest Law students have the ability to connect and learn from leading experts in the profession. This expansive faculty network allows students to pursue a general LLM curriculum with the unique opportunity to specialize in a particular area of law.

Sarah Morath

Professor Sarah Morath

Associate Dean for International Affairs, Sarah Morath is an award-winning scholar who specializes in environmental, food, and animal law. She teaches legal writing to JD and LLM students, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of the Legal Writing Institute.

Tim Davis

Professor Tim Davis

As one of the country’s best sport law scholars, Tim Davis has devoted his research to a variety of topics relating to athletics and sports entertainment. Though his expertise is broad, his scholarship has focused on racism in intercollegiate and professional athletics, professional sports agents, contracts, and issues relating to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

John Knox

Professor John Knox

John Knox, professor of international law and former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, is a globally recognized expert on human rights law and international environmental law. In 2012, he became the first-ever U.N. Expert on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.

Chris Coughlin

Professor Christine Nero Coughlin

Christine Nero Coughlin is an award-winning teacher and writer who researches topics in bioethics, public health, and legal writing. In addition to her role at the School of Law, Professor Coughlin is a core faculty member of Wake Forest University’s Center for Bioethics, Health & Science and Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Translational Science Institute.

Simone Rose

Professor Simone Rose

Simone Rose is an award winning professor and active scholar who writes and publishes in the area of intellectual property (IP) law. As the Associate Dean for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Professor Rose is developing a strong law school presence in Innovation Quarter’s Bioscience and Engineering programs.

Ron Wright

Professor Ron Wright

Ron Wright is one of the nation's best known criminal justice scholars. He is the co-author of two casebooks on criminal procedure and sentencing and focuses his research on the work of criminal prosecutors. Prior to joining the faculty, he was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, prosecuting antitrust and other white-collar criminal cases.