LL.M. in American Indian and Indigenous Law

 

To apply online with the application fee waived, click here.

 

Tribes play an increasingly important role in business and politics. As a consequence, Indian law has become less of a specialty and more of a necessity for today's lawyers - and certainly for tomorrow's lawyer. Already recognized as one of the best law schools for Indian Law, The University of Tulsa College of Law goes one step further by offering an LL.M. in American Indian and Indigenous Law. This advanced degree is designed to train lawyers in the issues critical to understanding and representing American Indian and other indigenous peoples, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Many lawyers do not realize they need training in American Indian and Indigenous Law until they begin working. Indeed, at a recent conference of solo practitioners in Oklahoma, the participants unanimously agreed that the class they should have taken in law school, but didn't, was Indian law. Our LL.M. is designed to fill that gap.

Because of our unique location and the expertise of our Indian Law faculty, TU offers what no other law school can: an LL.M. program with a balanced approach - emphasizing the three foundation sets of legal principles: law of the tribal governments, domestic laws of the U.S. (federal Indian law) and the international law applicable to indigenous peoples.

Flexibility is the key to the TU program. In consultation with the faculty, students can tailor a field of study not just to Indian law in general, but to specific sub-specialties they wish to develop. The LL.M. program is available in either an academic track, emphasizing course work, or a research track. Both tracks require successfully completing a minimum of 24 credit hours to earn the degree.

Students are encouraged to make a preliminary choice of which track they intend to pursue when they enter the LL.M. program. That preliminary choice, however, is not binding on the LL.M. student. The NALC faculty remain committed to working individually with LL.M. students to meet particular academic needs.

The Tracks

The LL.M. in American Indian and Indigenous Law program is designed to provide a student with substantial flexibility in choosing or designing an appropriate course of study. Both the academic and the research tracks require completing a minimum of 24 units with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on our 4 point scale.

Academic Track Courses

An LL.M. student who chooses the academic track may complete the LL.M. in American Indian and Indigenous Law through 24 hours of course work alone, without a thesis. Academic track students may enroll full or part time, and must complete the requirements in three years. Students on the academic track are required to take the following courses, for a total of 17 credit hours:

  • Federal Indian Law (3 units)
  • Native American and Indigenous Rights (3 units)
  • Tribal Government (3 units)
  • Native American Natural Resources (3 units)
  • Protection of Minority and Indigenous Cultures (2 units)
  • American Indian Law Seminar (3 units)

If a student has already had one or more of those courses, the requirement can be waived with the written consent of two of the Native American Law Center faculty, one of whom is the student's advisor. A requirement may also be waived with the written consent of two of the NALC faculty (one of whom is the student's advisor) for other extraordinary circumstances.

The remaining credit hours may be taken from the following list of approved electives:

  • Administrative Law
  • American Legal History
  • Arbitration
  • Basic Corporate Law
  • Basic Oil and Gas
  • Comparative law
  • Conflict of Laws: International and Domestic
  • Employment Law
  • Energy Policy: The REEL World
  • Environmental Law
  • Federal Courts
  • Geneva Institute on Indigenous Peoples Law: any course offered
  • Hazardous Substances Controls
  • Health Care Organization, Finance, & the Law
  • Independent Study
  • Intellectual Property
  • International Business Transactions
  • International Energy and Natural Resources Law
  • International Environmental Law
  • International Law
  • International Petroleum Transactions
  • Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiation
  • Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Jurisprudence
  • Land Use Controls
  • Legislation
  • Mediation
  • Natural Resources: Public Lands
  • Non-Profit Law: Nonprofit Law Practice
  • Real Estate Transactions (Prof. Hicks)
  • Regulated Industries: Energy and Natural Resources Law
  • Water Law

Courses not on the approved list may be substituted only with the written consent of the student's advisor and one other member of the NALC faculty.

Research Track Courses

The research track is a 24 credit hour program with a minimum of 3 credit hours of thesis. Students on the research track may choose to do anywhere from 3-12 credit hours of thesis, with the remaining hours from course work. Research track students may enroll full or part time, and must complete the program within 5 years.

Research track students are required to take the following courses:

  • International Law or Native American and Indigenous Rights (3 units)
  • Federal Indian Law (3 units)
  • American Indian Law Seminar (3 units)
  • LL.M. Indian/Indigenous Law Thesis (3-12 units)

Waivers are available if the student has had a required course previously or, in other extraordinary circumstances, on the written consent of the thesis advisor and one other member of the NALC faculty. Students are encouraged to take their additional courses from the Indian law curriculum or the approved list of academic track courses, but substitutions may be made with the written consent of the thesis advisor.

Tuition

Tuition is a flat rate of $20,000 for the one year program or $835.00 per credit hour for a student attending part-time. Scholarships are available for qualified applicants.