LL.M.

NLSIU offers a one year LL.M. Degree Programme. Similar to the BA LLB (Hons) programme, the LL.M. programme is organised around three trimesters every academic year. With the help of a cutting-edge curriculum and innovative pedagogical approaches, it is meticulously designed to equip students with skills and knowledge needed to navigate the intricate landscape of law. Our one-year LL.M. programme provides a unique blend of core and elective courses, allowing students to deepen their expertise in their preferred areas of interest and thrive in diverse fields such as academia, research, legal practice, policy making and judicial services.

In Academic Year 2024-25, NLSIU is introducing four concentrations, in addition to the general stream. This distinctive concentration model enables LL.M. students to delve deeper into specific domains of law, enhancing their knowledge and expertise in those specific domains. The four concentrations that are being offered for AY 2024-25 are:

• Public Law
• Criminal Law
• Commercial Laws
• Law and Technology

The maximum intake in a concentration shall be 30 and the minimum number of students required for offering any concentration shall be 15 students.

To fulfill the requirements of a concentration, students must complete:

• 3 LL.M. Core Compulsory courses;
• 1 Concentration Core course;
• 3 Concentration Electives;
• 4 General Electives; and
• Dissertation (in the area of Concentration).

Transcripts will reflect the chosen concentration, and upon graduation, the University will issue a uniform Master’s in Law Degree Certificate. For students opting for the general stream, general electives will replace concentration electives. Additionally, they will have the flexibility to select dissertation topics from any area of interest.

 

 

 

Admission to the LL.M. Degree Programme is purely on the basis of merit as assessed through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) administered by the Consortium of NLUs.

Admission Notifications for AY 2025-26

• View the admission notification (First allotment list) for AY 2025-26
• Update on Admission Notification (Dec 23, 2024)

Eligibility

• The candidate must have an LL.B. Degree or an equivalent examination with a minimum of:
  (i) Fifty percent (50%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General/OBC/PWD categories, and
  (ii) Forty five percent (45%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
• The candidate will have to appear for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) to secure admission into the postgraduate programme.
• Candidates appearing for the qualifying examination in the year of admission are also permitted to take the Admission Test, but their admission to the course shall be subject to fulfilling the conditions stipulated in the Regulations, and producing supporting documentary evidence at the time of admission.
• There is no upper age limit for the PG programme in CLAT.

For details on CLAT, please visit: https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/

International Students

Candidates can apply for the NLSAT – International Examination for “international student” category, if they are a citizen of a country other than India.

Admission notification for Academic Year 2025-26 is released! For more details, click here.
International students may apply through internationaladmissions.nls.ac.in on or before March 30, 2025.

Intake and Reservation for AY 2024-25

The total intake capacity shall be 120 (One Hundred and Twenty) students for AY 2024-25 with the following breakup:

• Scheduled Castes – 15%
• Scheduled Tribes – 7.5%
• Other Backward Classes (Non-creamy layer) – 27%
• Economically Weaker Sections – 10%
• Persons with Disabilities (Horizontal reservation) – 5%
• Women (Horizontal reservation) – 30%
• Karnataka Students* (Compartmentalised Horizontal reservation) – 25%

* Karnataka Students Category:

(i) Candidates who have studied for not less than 10 years in a recognized educational institution in Karnataka shall be eligible to be considered as ‘Karnataka Students.’

(ii) Candidates who have not completed ten years of study in Karnataka shall be eligible to apply under the Karnataka Students category if they fall under any of the below categories:

1. Children of defence personnel/ex-servicemen, who at the time of joining service, have declared their hometown to be in the State of Karnataka, and who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

2. Children of employees of the Karnataka State Government who have served or are serving outside Karnataka corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

3. Children of serving or retired employees belonging to the Karnataka cadre of the All India Services (IAS/IFS/IPS), who have served or are serving outside Karnataka corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

4. Children of working or retired employees in the Central Armed Police Force service, who upon joining service declared their hometown to be in the State of Karnataka, and who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

Illustration: If the candidate has studied in Karnataka for three (3) years, they must prove that their parent/s were serving outside Karnataka for at least seven (7) years corresponding to their own period of study outside Karnataka.

If the candidate has not studied in Karnataka continuously for at least one (1) year, they must prove that their parent/s were serving outside Karnataka for at least ten (10) years corresponding to their own period of study outside Karnataka.

(iii) Eligible candidates must keep their Study Certificates issued by their School/s and other relevant documents ready to be submitted at the time of counselling/admission.

Procedure to apply for a concentration in the LLM programme

Students will be submitting their LL.M. concentration preferences through an online form.

The maximum intake in a concentration shall be 30. The minimum number of students required for offering any concentration shall be 15 students.
In the event that the number of applicants for any particular concentration exceeds 30, the allocations will be based on CLAT rank, i.e., a higher CLAT rank will be prioritised.

For further queries related to NLSIU’s LL.M programme, write to

Course Curriculum | AY 2024-25

NOTE:
1. This allocation of courses is tentative and is subject to change. Each course shall be of 4 credits and the total credits required for LL.M. is 48 (including 4 credits for dissertation). Students who are opting for the general stream will be taking general electives in lieu of the concentration electives.
2. The sequence of courses may be changed if required.

Academic Calendar for A.Y. 2024-25 | Trimester III (March 2025 – May 2025)

Date	Day	Particulars
4-Mar-2025 to 7-Mar-2025	Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday	Repeat exams for Trimester II
4-Mar-2025	Tuesday	Commencement of classes – core and elective
31-Mar-2025	Monday	Holiday Khutub-e-Ramzan
10-Apr-2025	Thursday	Holiday Mahaveera Jayanthi
14-Apr-2025	Monday	Holiday Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Jayanthi
18-Apr-2025	Friday	Holiday Good Friday
1-May-2025	Thursday	Holiday May Day
17-May-2025	Saturday	Deadline for Elective Term/Seminar paper submission
23 May 2025	Friday	Last day of classes (core and elective)
24-May-2025	Saturday	Oral Presentations for Elective Courses
26-May-2025 to 31-May-2025	Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday	End Term Examinations
17-Jun-2025 to 20-Jun-2025	Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday	Repeat exams for Trimester III
TBA	TBA	Commencement of AY 2025-26 Trimester I classes (core and elective)

*This date is subject to change depending on final holiday list from the University.

Fee Structure for AY 2025-26

Admission fee (one time) – Rs. 13,000/-
Tuition and Facilities fee – Rs. 2,96,000/- p.a.
Of-Campus Housing fee (subject to availability) – 1,60,000/- p.a.
Total fee per annum – Rs. 4,69,000/-

One Time Refundable Deposit
Refundable deposit for SC/ST category students – Rs. 17,500/-
Refundable deposit for other students – Rs. 22,000/-

The total amount payable by SC/ST category students is Rs. 4,86,500/-
The total amount payable by other students is Rs. 4,91,000/-

NOTE:
* Fees mentioned above are provisional and subject to ratification by the University Governing Bodies.
* Refundable deposit will be refunded either upon graduation or admission withdrawal. The
refund will be subject to the deduction of applicable convocation fees, fees for issue of
certificates, and other outstanding dues, if any.
* LL.M. students are eligible for off-campus accommodation provided by the University on a first come first serve basis. The University is engaged in the process of arranging for off-campus accommodation to LL.M. students. The off-campus housing fee mentioned above is an indicative amount and is subject to confirmation.
* Information pertaining to the availability of off-campus accommodation, related fees and the process of application for accommodation shall be notified in due course.
* Housing Fee includes meal plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner and an evening snack.
* Day scholars may opt for meal plan at Rs. 74,500 (Mess Fee) per annum. The meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and an evening snack.

Financial Aid

The University offers means-based scholarships. To know more about NLSIU’s financial aid options for students, click here. 

Fee Structure for International Students for AY 2025-26

Admission fee (one time) – Rs. 39,000/-
Tuition and facilities fee – Rs. 8,88,000/- p.a.
Of-Campus Housing fee (subject to availability) – 1,60,000/- p.a.
Total fee per annum – Rs. 10,87,000/-

One Time Refundable Deposit
Refundable deposits – Rs. 66,000/-
The total amount payable at the time of admission, by international students is Rs. 11,53,000/-.

Note:
* Fees mentioned above are provisional and subject to ratification by the University Governing Bodies.
* Refundable deposit will be refunded either upon graduation or admission withdrawal. The refund will be subject to the deduction of applicable convocation fees, fees for the issue of certificates, and other outstanding dues, if any.
* LL.M. students are eligible for off-campus accommodation provided by the University on a first come first serve basis. The University is engaged in the process of arranging for off-campus accommodation to LL.M. students. The off-campus housing fee mentioned above is an indicative amount and is subject to confirmation.
* Information pertaining to the availability of off-campus accommodation, related fees and the process of application for accommodation shall be notified in due course.
* Housing Fee includes meal plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner and an evening snack.
* Day scholars may opt for meal plan at Rs. 74,500 (Mess Fee) per annum. The meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and an evening snack.

Hon’ble Justice Mr. Hari Prasad Phuyal, Judge, Supreme Court of Nepal | NLS LLM 1995

Hon’ble Justice Dr. Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, Judge, Supreme Court of Nepal | NLS LLM 1996, PhD (2000)

Featured articles:

Alumni Feature | Sriraj Venkatasamy’s journey of perseverance

“It was surprising! What I expected, rather, anticipated was long hours of classes. But what I ended up doing was completely different. This is not a school, where you will be spoon-fed or even fed. It is like an open book… you are not forced into any kind of regime, but given the right kind of opportunities you need for growth. The systematic approach here prepares you for self-learning, which eventually grooms your personality. I find NLSIU to be the right place for one to realise their potential.” Read more

Alumni Feature | Living the Teaching Dream: Dr. Gitanjali Ghosh

“I met some of the best people here, and made friends for life. I cannot count any bad memories from my days at NLS. I happened to join my LLM programme almost 20 days late, as the start date clashed with the final days of my LLB programme.  So, it was a tad intimidating. But my classmates helped me a lot, showed me around the library and eased me into the programme. These are things I will not forget!
Along with the great connections with faculty and peers, the kind of time management required to complete the LLM programme, complete with the dissertation and papers, helped me pick up this key skill during my time at NLS.” Read more