Graduate legal education is a significant investment, and should be approached with a full understanding of both the benefits and costs. While the Law School has several selective scholarship programs, in most cases, financing a graduate education rests primarily with the student. Therefore, all applicants are strongly encouraged to investigate all available financing options.
The Law School’s Office of Student Financial Services has assembled online information about various external financial aid opportunities. This information is not exhaustive and your own research may be very beneficial. All applicants are advised to confirm all application deadlines for external aid directly with the granting organization. International students should also explore financing options in their home countries.
NYU Law offers a number of highly competitive scholarships to full-time LLM students:
- Hauser Global Scholars, Arthur T. Vanderbilt Scholarships, and Dean's Graduate Awards*
- Taxation Program Scholarships*
*Admission and scholarship decisions are made based on merit without regard to a student’s financial need. Admitted LLM students selected to receive one of these merit-based awards will be notified by e-mail along with further instructions on how to accept the award. All scholarship decisions are final and non-negotiable.
All students admitted to the JSD program receive full funding for three years, subject to satisfactory progress in the program.
Cost of Attendance
Each year, the Office of Student Financial Services develops the student expense budget to estimate a student’s annual projected educational expenses—including tuition, fees, living expenses, books, and health insurance—keeping in mind the simple lifestyle of a graduate student. Note that this is an estimated budget; an individual’s actual costs during the academic year may vary depending on his or her choices regarding discretionary expenses.
Prospective students are advised to plan for additional financial resources beyond those which comprise the student expense budget. For example, all foreign-trained lawyers are required to attend two introductory summer courses which run concurrently and take place before the formal start of the academic year. While no additional tuition is charged for these courses, there are additional living and health insurance costs which are associated with arriving early, and which are not a part of the student expense budget. Similarly, any master’s student who plans to stay after graduation in order to take the New York bar exam will need to plan for the additional costs associated with preparing for the exam and remaining in New York for the period May through late July/early August.