Scholarships for LLM and Graduate Students

Scholarship Awards for Entering Students

Scholarships come in the form of partial-tuition waivers. Full tuition waivers and financial support for living expenses are not available. Therefore, all candidates must secure their own funding sources to cover the entire cost of attendance.

Students who are looking for additional resources to fund their educational expenses should review the information on our Resources for International Students page for information on financial support available from organizations outside of BU.

LLM Scholars

Through its LLM Scholars Program, BU Law awards financial support to a select number of LLM applicants who have demonstrated notable academic and professional achievements. There is no separate application process for scholarship awards; all candidates admitted to an LLM program receive full consideration, with no additional paperwork required. (At this time, students admitted to the online option of our LLM programs are not eligible for the LLM Scholars Program.)

LLM Leadership Program

The school reserves its highest awards for its LLM Leadership Program.  This program recognizes a small number of candidates for their prior professional achievements and potential for leadership in their practice.  LLM Leadership Awards include consideration for the school’s most generous scholarship support, designation as an LLM Leadership Scholar and invitations to participate in a range of special professional networking events throughout the academic year.  Candidates for Leadership Awards have a minimum of three years of work experience in the law or a related field. As with the LLM Scholars Program, no separate application is required.

Frederic C. Corneel Scholarship

In 2002, a scholarship fund was established in honor of Frederic G. Corneel, a distinguished lawyer from the firm of Sullivan & Worcester, who had been an instructor in the Graduate Tax Program for over 20 years. Mr. Corneel was widely respected as a superb scholar, teacher, practitioner, and as a leader in the field of legal ethics. The income from this fund provides partial scholarship awards, based on merit and financial need, to one or more full-time students enrolled in the Graduate Tax Program.

Rahadian Scholarship Fund

This scholarship was established by Andre Rahadian (LAW’98, MET’99) in March 2015 to honor his strong commitment to law students who will be the next generation of lawyers for leadership in the financial services and banking industries. The income from this fund provides a partial scholarship to one or more students pursuing an LLM in Banking and Financial Law, with a preference for students from Indonesia or Southeast Asia.

Bigelow-Deland Scholarship Fund

This fund was established in the memory of Professor Melvin M. Bigelow with a gift from the estate of Frank S. Deland. This scholarship provides a partial scholarship to one or more students pursuing an LLM in Taxation.

Kikuchi Scholars

Takeo Kikuchi Scholars recognize very qualified international candidates for admission who follow in the footsteps of Takeo Kikuchi, Boston University School of Law’s first Japanese graduate (Class of 1872), who went on to found Chuo University in Tokyo in 1885, and served as its First President. They are selected for their prior professional achievements and potential for leadership in the profession. Members receive invitations to participate in a range of special professional networking and extracurricular events throughout the academic year. Members do not receive a scholarship award by their admission.

Master in the Study of Tax Law Scholar

Financial support is available to residential applicants to the MSL – T who have demonstrated notable academic or professional achievements. There is no separate application process for scholarship awards; all admitted MSL – T candidates admitted receive full consideration, with no additional paperwork required. (At this time, students admitted to the online option of our Master in the Study of Tax Law are not eligible for the scholarship.)

Compliance Innovators Program

This award recognizes the superior professional achievement of the Certificate in Financial Services Compliance Programs’ top applicants with a scholarship award evenly applied towards their first two semesters of study.

Commonwealth Scholars

This scholarship provides financial support for candidates employed in the public sector who are applying to a full-time, online LLM program. Applicants are automatically considered, and no additional documentation is required.

Part-Time Students

Part-time LLM students may be considered for scholarship aid from BU Law; however, many other financial aid resources, such as federal loans, are only available to students who are enrolled at least half-time (6 credits or more). Students who will be enrolled less than half-time (one or two courses) have a few private loan options. Please contact the Law Financial Aid office if you need help finding these lenders.

LLM Scholarship Partners

BU Law is committed to enrolling a talented and diverse group of students in its graduate programs. We partner with universities and study abroad funding agencies to expand enrollment opportunities for students around the world to achieve that goal.

Students enrolled in specific programs at the institutions below may receive a scholarship to enroll in certain BU Law LLM programs. Please contact us at bullm@bu.edu for more details about the scholarships.

 Students from the countries below may receive a scholarship through the organizations listed to enroll in certain BU Law LLM programs. Please contact us at bullm@bu.edu for more details about the scholarships.

Scholarship Awards for Current Students

Legal English Certificate Program Merit Award

This award recognizes the superior performance, dedication, and conscientiousness of the Legal English Certificate Programs’ top-achieving students – those who obtained a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.75 or higher over their two semester of studies (and whose studies are not sponsored by an outside organization). The award is valued at $5,000 and is evenly applied towards the fall and spring semesters of a student’s LLM program.

Part-Time Merit Award

Students with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.8 or higher over their first two semesters of residential part-time study in a masters program are eligible for the Part-Time Merit Award. The Merit Award is valued at $5,000, and split evenly between a students next two semesters of LLM studies. The scholarship will only be applied towards residential courses.

The Graduate Programs Scholarship Committee determines award winners based on a combination of Cumulative Grade Point Average and overall contributions to graduate student life. At least 8 credits must have been completed towards the masters degree for a candidate to be eligible. Credits earned in a different program, and then applied on an advanced standing basis towards a masters degree, do not meet the eligibility requirement.