The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School - Master of Laws

Master of Laws

The Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course is the school's "flagship" course. Accredited by the American Bar Association, the course prepares experienced military attorneys for supervisory duties and other positions of increased responsibility within their respective services. Students who successfully complete the course are awarded a Master of Laws degree in Military Law. Selection to attend the course is a permanent change of station assignment, students do not attend in a temporary duty status. Each class consists of attorneys from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, as well as international military students and Army civilian attorneys. International military students have come from Egypt, Israel, Poland, Romania, South Korea, and other nations. All students are licensed attorneys who generally have five to eight years of experience.

The Graduate Course covers a full resident academic year from mid-August to mid-May. The fall and spring semesters include core classes required of all students. In the second quarter of the fall semester and in the spring semester, students select from approximately fifty electives offered by the school's four academic departments: Administrative and Civil Law, Contract and Fiscal Law, Criminal Law, and International and Operational Law. Students may specialize in one of the four academic areas in conjunction with the Master of Laws. To qualify for a specialty, a student must either write a thesis in the area of specialization, or earn at least ten elective credit hours and write an extensive paper in the area of specialization.