LLM Trial Advocacy for International Students at Illinois Institute of Technology

Programme overview

Chicago-Kent’s reputation in trial advocacy—as well as its physical location in Chicago—provides a distinctive master’s degree in trial advocacy in a world-class setting. Students gain hands-on litigation experience through an externship with a government agency, such as the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Illinois Attorney General’s Office, or Cook County Public Defender’s Office; or a dispute resolution/mediation practice; or a criminal or civil litigation practice.

Faculty: Chicago-Kent College of Law | Department: Law | Study mode: full-time | Location: Chicago, IL, United States

What you will study

The 24-credit-hour course of study required to complete the degree includes 17 credit hours of core curriculum courses with an additional seven credit hours dedicated to a specialized externship. Students are required to take Trial Advocacy 1, Trial Advocacy 2, Litigation Ethics and Professionalism, Evidence and the Art of Advocacy, Litigation Technology, and Introduction to American Legal Systems. Students complete the remaining seven credit hours through an externship with a governmental agency, a dispute resolution/mediation practice, and/or a civil litigation practice.

Career pathways

Graduates of the LL.M. Program in Trial Advocacy for International Students can be found in a wide variety of jobs, including: Attorney; Litigator; Foreign local counsel to multinational clients; In-house counsel; General counsel; Judge; Prosecutor; Public defender.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

This program is open only to foreign-trained lawyers and law students. English language competency is essential in order to participate meaningfully in the advocacy programs and most especially in the externship; otherwise, students may be limited in what they can do within their externships.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Entry terms: Fall and Spring.

Fall term: priority deadlines January 31 and April 15; regular deadline July 15 (domestic and international students living in the U.S.) or June 15 (international students living outside the U.S.). Spring term: priority October 1, extended to October 15; regular deadline January 7 (domestic) or November 15 (international). The admissions application fee is $100. GRE is optional for master's applicants.

Chicago-Kent J.D.: no application fee for 2026 J.D. applicants; first-year entry is Fall, with transfer entry in Fall or Spring.

Apply through the official page: https://www.iit.edu/admissions-aid/apply

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