LLM in National Security & U.S. Foreign Relations Law

Director: L. Schenck

Students who choose not to write a thesis must complete National Security Law (6870), U.S. Foreign Relations Law (6871), and a minimum of 14 credits from the courses listed below,* including at least 2 credits graded on the basis of a research paper. The research paper must be at least 8,000 words in length, and U.S. law school graduates must achieve a minimum grade of B+.

Students who choose to write a thesis must complete National Security Law (6870), U.S. Foreign Relations Law (6871), Thesis (6690-91), and a minimum of 10 credits from the courses listed below; they are not required to complete a research paper in addition to the thesis.

Note: Students who receive credit for Law 6879, Cybersecurity Law and Policy or Law 6884, Technology Foundations for Cybersecurity may not enroll in Law 6890, Cybersecurity Law and Technology.

*Note: Credit earned in courses offered as part of GW Law's Oxford Program may be applied toward LLM program requirements.

All candidates for the LLM degree must complete a total of 24 credit hours, including course work that satisfies the written work requirement.

Courses

Foundation Courses

• National Security Law (6870)
• U.S. Foreign Relations Law (6871)

Advanced Courses

*Constitutional Law I (6214) and Constitutional Law II (6380) also will be available; only students with a non-U.S. law degree who plan to take the New York bar examination may count these courses toward the 14 credits required in the field. Other courses may be approved to count toward the 14 credits in the field, with the permission of the Program Director. 

**For 2024-2025:

• Public International Law Seminars may include Arms Control
• Selected Topics in National Security Law may include Law of Secrecy​; and the Law of War, Civilian Harm Mitigation, and Response​
• Selected Topics in Cybersecurity Law may include Cybersecurity in the United Nations

Course Descriptions