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Posted May 30, 2025

How do law school summer programs help LLM degree students?

Summer law schools

A law school summer program or law school summer course is usually an intensive educational course tailored to a specific area of the law and designed to help students gain a specific set of legal skills. Law school summer programs can be incredibly helpful for LLM degree students, particularly if they are international students or moving into a new legal system or transferring from a different career and have no legal academic background.

A law school summer program will usually last between two and four weeks, and students will be taught via a combination of lectures, seminars and interactive classes, and then assessed by coursework and an examination.

How can a law summer course help LLM students?

There are several ways law school summer programs can help Master of Laws students – let’s take a look:

1. Prepares students academically

Law school summer programs are a great way to introduced international students to a new legal system, for example they are often designed by the law school to introduce foreign-trained students to US or UK legal systems. Students will learn relevant legal terminology and legal writing, this basic grounding in the law will particularly help international LLM students or those with no previous legal education – for example a former business graduate who has decided to move into law and wants to study an LLM degree that specialises in business law, to understand their academic expectations before starting their Master of Laws degree.

2. Teaches international students Legal English skills

For those international students whose first language is not English, law school summer programs often include intensive Legal English training. This is an ideal way for students to build their legal vocabulary as well as their general English language skills in advance of their LLM degree program.

3. Familiarises students with the legal academic environment

Law school summer programs are a great way to familiarise students with the legal academic learning landscape. Postgraduate law school can be rather daunting, especially for those students who didn’t study law as an undergraduate or who undertook their bachelors degree in a different county. By studying a law school summer program, LLM students can feel much more confident and better prepared when they start their Master of Laws degree program.

4. Helps students adjust to their new home and university

A law school summer program enables the students – particularly international students – to adjust to their new study environment before the serious stuff starts! By arriving in their new city or country early, they have time to get to know their campus, university, city and how to navigate their new way of student life before the pressure of the postgraduate law course kicks in.

5. Provides networking opportunities

Law school summer programs provide students with an early opportunity to meet professors, legal professionals and fellow students. These classes are a great way for students to increase their international legal network, and this will stand them in good stead when they start their LLM degree and the networking begins in earnest.

6. Offers extra career assistance

Many summer courses will include professional development elements such as CV-writing classes and other career guidance. This extra assistance can help students advance in their chosen legal career, particularly if they want to apply for LLM internships and for other legal work experience.

Where can you study a law school summer program?

There are many UK and US law schools that offer pre-LLM summer schools and other summer law courses – these are often designed specifically for international students who are wishing to embark on a Master of Laws program in the autumn/fall term.

UK law schools offering summer school programs

Here are the details of some of the UK law schools offering summer courses.

LSE Summer School

LSE Summer School offers a great range of world-class law courses designed to help accelerate students’ understanding in specific areas of law. Law courses on offer at LSE Summer School include:

  • European Union Law
  • Introduction to International Human Rights: Theory, Law and Practice
  • International Law: Contemporary Issues
  • Applied AI and Law
  • Commercial Law
  • Intellectual Property Law

UCL Laws Summer School

UCL Laws Summer School offers a selection of two-week summer programs for graduates and university students, as well as recent school leavers. These short courses are ideal for students who want to learn key legal concepts and engage in topical debate. Courses on offer at UCL Laws include:

  • AI and Law
  • Comparative Corporate Governance
  • Competition Law: Foundations and Challenges

King’s College London Summer School

King’s College London Summer School offers two law-related undergraduate-level short summer courses that take two weeks to complete. These are:

  • International Commercial Law
  • International Human Rights Law

University of Reading Law International Summer School

The International Summer School at the Reading School of Law explores arbitration, banking, global security and climate change. Students learn legal aspects of these topics via lectures, seminars and other activities. The course also includes educational and cultural visits.

Durham Law School Summer Course on International Arbitration

Durham Law School’s Summer Course on International Arbitration is a one-week course for postgraduate and undergraduate students who want to find out more about international arbitration and international dispute resolution.

What US law school offer LLM summer school programs?

Plenty of US law schools offer pre-LLM summer courses – here is a selection of options at universities and law schools across the country.

Boston University Legal English & Foundations of the US Legal System Summer Program

The Legal English & Foundations of the US Legal System Program at BU Law in Boston, Massachusetts is a six-week summer course that prepares internationally trained law students and legal practitioners to study American LLM degree programs at BU Law and other prestigious US law schools including Harvard Law School, UCLA and Berkley Law.

Columbia Law School Summer Program in American Law

Columbia Law School in New York has been offering its month-long Summer Program in American Law for over 50 years – this course is offered in collaboration with the law faculties at the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University. The Summer Program in American Law is taught by Columbia professors and designed to provide students with a general introduction to the American legal system.

University of California, Davis School of Law Summer Programs

UCDavis School of Law in Sacramento, California offers summer programs for pre-LLM students, legal professors, attorneys and judges. The short summer courses at UCDavis include:

  • English for Legal Professionals – a two-week course to help students develop their Legal English.
  • Orientation in USA Law – provides an overview of the US legal system. This is a three-week course, and it is ideal for pre-LLM students who want a general understanding of US law and legal concepts before starting their LLM degree program.
  • International Business Transactions – this is a one-week course for international legal professionals. It is designed to give them an overview of the law related to international business transactions.

University of Washington School of Law Summer Institute in Transnational Law & Practice

The two-week Summer Institute in Transnational Law & Practice at UW Law is ideal for international students planning on taking law studies in the US, as it provides them with the necessary foundation knowledge and legal skills. It includes an introduction to the structure of legal reasoning in the US common law system and instruction in both written and oral Legal English skills. This course is recommended for foreign-trained LLM candidates.

Looking for the perfect LLM degree program? Use our LLM course search to find your ideal Master of Laws course.

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