Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law

Course Requirements

The Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law requires is a 36 credits program designed to be completed in two years (six active terms). The program combines core courses and relative electives, and the flexibility to include electives from other LLM specializations. Students can also enhance their learning experience by opting to include a research component.

What You Can Expect

The program is designed to be completed in two years (six active terms) by completing 6 credits (one to two courses) per term. 

Courses in the Canadian Common Law specialization are scheduled in a variety of ways, primarily as daytime intensive courses or weekly evening courses.  Courses may be held at our downtown Toronto location or on the York University Keele campus.  The majority of courses in the Canadian Common Law specialization require in-person attendance, however part-time Canadian Common Law students also have access to online problem-based learning courses.

In your first term of admission, you may be assigned a course as a condition of your admission. Admission condition courses count towards your degree requirements. Students with the following profiles usually have required introductory courses: 

• Internationally-trained lawyers: GNRL 6209 – Canadian Graduate Legal Research & Writing (Online) (3 Credits) 

Your remaining course selections should be driven by your own interests, goals, and strengths. Generally, students in the Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law will want to prioritize courses that satisfy their NCA requirements. For students from civil law jurisdictions, this usually means taking as many of the five mandatory and three core NCA subjects as possible. 

Core Courses

Core courses are frequently offered twice a year and include some of the following: 

Elective Courses

You must complete at least 18 credits of Canadian Common Law core courses. Remaining credits may be drawn from elective courses in International Business Law or unrelated specializations, so long as you have any required prerequisite knowledge for those courses.  To see course offerings for upcoming terms, review the Course Planning information below. 

Optional Research Requirement

The optional research component can be fulfilled through one of the following three options. Most students elect to fulfill the requirement through option 3: 

1. A Major Research Paper (70 pages, 6 Credits) 
2. An Independent Significant Research Paper (30 pages, 3 Credits) 
3. A Significant Research Paper (30 pages) completed as the means of assessment for one of the courses within the specialization. 

Course Planning

Course plans are typically provided for the next two calendar years. Specific course schedules are subject to change without notice until the course enrollment process for an upcoming term begins. Please check course schedules immediately before making your enrollment request to ensure you have the most current schedule information.

This tool is for planning purposes only. Selecting courses using this tool does not enroll you in the course or reserve a space in the course for you.