California (Los Angeles) -- Gould School of Law, University of Southern California -- Accreditation: Full ABA -- Year Founded: 1896

The University of Southern California Law School (Gould School of Law), located in Los Angeles, California, is a graduate school within the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law had its beginnings in 1896, and was officially established as a school of the university in 1904. It currently has about 600 J.D. students (200 per year), and also has a growing LL.M. program of about 90 students. The Law School 100, a ranking scheme that purports to use qualitative criteria instead of quantitative, ranks the law school fourteenth overall, tied with Duke, UCLA, and the University of Texas. The 2009 U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Graduate Schools" ranks USC Law School at number eighteen.



USC Law School

Graduate & International Programs

USC Law's Graduate and International Programs office offers various graduate law programs for international students intending to pursue a further degree in the United States. The programs offered include the Master of Laws (LL.M.), Master of Comparative Law, Summer Law and English, as well as the Visiting International Program for Lawyers.

Visiting International Program

The Visiting International Program (VIP) is designed to provide international legal and business professionals with an opportunity to build a foundation in American law over two semesters of study at USC Law on a non-credit, non-degree basis. In addition, the program offers current LL.M. students the ability to continue their legal studies for an additional year and, if they should desire, prepare for a bar exam by taking additional bar-related courses.

VIP participants will attend daily classes as observers only and will not take exams or complete group or other assignments. Attendance in courses is subject to space availability and pre-approval by instructors. It is advisable that VIP participants identify a variety of courses, with the understanding that some may not be available. Coursework taken may not be used toward any future degree program at USC or USC Law. Participants will receive a Letter of Completion from USC Law at the end of the program.

Contact Information

USC Gould School of Law
Graduate & International Programs
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071

Phone: (213) 821-5916
Fax: (213) 821-5915

http://lawweb.usc.edu