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Graduate Tax Program

Graduate Tax Program

The degree of Master of Laws (LLM) in Taxation is open to both lawyers trained in the United States and those with legal training in foreign countries. Both US and non-US lawyers may concentrate in one of five areas of taxation: Business Taxation, Estate Planning, General Taxation, International Taxation, or Tax Policy. The tax faculty has developed several suggested courses of study for each area. A student may also develop his or her own course of study by choosing among the large variety of tax offerings at NYU School of Law.

In the alternative, foreign lawyers who are interested in international taxation may choose to join the prestigious International Tax Program of Foreign Students (ITP), which leads to the Master of Laws (LLM) in International Taxation. The ITP is a rigorous course of study taken by 16 to 28 students per year wishing to study international tax. Many of the students in the ITP begin their studies at NYU after gaining experience in government or private practice.

A student may pursue an LLM in Taxation at New York University School of Law on either a full-time or a part-time basis. Both full-time and part-time LLM tax students need 24 credits to graduate, 20 of which must be in graduate tax courses. On a full-time basis, a student will complete the program in one academic year (two semesters). On a part-time basis, a student may take up to five years to complete the degree, with most part-time students finishing their studies in about three years.

All students in the Graduate Tax Program (except those who have already received an LLM degree from NYU School of Law) must be candidates for degrees. NYU School of Law does not permit the taking of individual courses without enrollment in a degree program, and auditing of courses is not permitted.

Specific Requirements

Traditionally students have take another law school's course in basic income taxation prior to enrolling. Tax LLM students will not be permitted to enroll in the basic income tax course at NYU. NYU does offer a zero-credit online course called "Survey of Income Taxation" for an additional fee. Students may register for this survey course in order to fulfill this requirement. In rare cases self-study may be an option, typically for students with some tax work experience but no formal academic background. To discuss options, please contact John Stephens, the Director of the Tax Program at (212) 998-6394.
 
  • All full-time candidates must take a course in tax procedure (any of: Survey of Tax Procedure (1 credit), Tax Procedure (2 credits), Tax Penalties and Prosecutions (2 credits), or Civil Tax Controversies and Litigation (2 credits).
  • All full-time candidates must take any one of our various offerings in tax policy (Tax Policy, International Tax Policy, Tax Policy: Comparative, the Colloquium on Tax Policy and Public Finance, or Federal Budget Policy and Process Seminar). Full-time students are expected to attend a Tax Research Workshop during the fall semester. The research workshop is a non credit session that lasts about an hour. It is held early in the fall semester.
  • Part-time candidates are required to take only a course in tax procedure. Although part-time students may take tax procedure in either the one- or two-credit format, the one-credit format is generally not offered in the evening.
  • If a student has taken a tax procedure or tax policy course (or courses) in law school, either or both of these requirements can be waived with permission.

 

General Studies

Aside from a tax procedure course (and a tax policy course for full-time candidates), students are free to design their programs to suit their individual needs. We also strongly recomend that all students in the Graduate Tax Program consider taking "Taxation of Property Transactions." (3 credits) Many students take it early in their program in order to gain a solid foundation for their future courses, all of which will build on the concepts learned in this course. Instructors in the more advanced courses assume that all students have mastered this material and do not spend class time reviewing these issues and concepts.

 

Specific Areas of Study

Because NYU School of Law offers such a wide selection of tax courses, it is possible for our students to design their programs of study to concentrate on areas of particular interest. These areas might include:

  • General Taxation
  • Corporate Taxation
  • International Taxation
  • Estate Planning
  • Tax Policy (Waivers may be required in order to take multiple tax policy courses.)

For more information on the Specific Areas of Study, please see the Suggested Curricula. Course sequencing may vary from year to year and students should consult the Course Management System to verify course offerings each academic year.