Residency | NYU School of Law

Residency and Online Study

Our part-time tax degree and certificate programs permit students to complete some or all of the requirements via online instruction. Our students reside in New York State as well as other states and countries while studying online. States and countries regulate the educational activity which occurs within their borders, including when it is completed online.

NYU is licensed in New York State, and often in other states or districts where the university has a physical presence. NYU is able to offer online courses to residents of virtually all states as a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Even states which are not members of the NC-SARA typically allow universities such as NYU to offer purely online education without seeking additional licensure, within certain limitations.

Please note that states may have unique complaint processes for resolving issues involving online study. Full information about NYU’s complaint processes for resolving online study is available on the Law School’s website along with mandatory disclosures which individual states may require NYU to post online. This information may be updated from time to time.

Questions can be directed to John Stephens at john.stephens@nyu.edu or (212) 998-6394 if you plan to apply to take online classes from outside of the US or if you have questions about the below information.

Please note that we cannot accept applications from applicants who wish to take online classes and study while located within Guam, Australia, or Taiwan. (Puerto Rico recently joined a multi-state reciprocity agreement and students can now apply to study from there.) However, citizens or residents of those jurisdictions may apply to study on campus in New York or apply to an online program if they can study from within another jurisdiction. Additionally, current students who travel through or move to these countries may not take online courses from within these countries. Additional information about studying from within other countries can be found below.

Distant Education Complaint Process

New York University students who are taking courses outside New York State within a SARA state, may first seek to resolve complaints with the law school by contacting John Stephens at John.Stephens@nyu.edu or (212) 998-6394. Should the student need assistance in this process, please contact Titilayo Weech at Titilayo@nyu.edu. Those who have complaints that have not otherwise been resolved through contact with NYU internal offices (including the law school) may seek advisement from the New York State Portal entity. Should a complaint not be resolved through processes and protocols defined by New York University, the contact information for NYU’s State Portal Entity is provided below.

Emily Sutherland (link to NC-SARA directory)

Supervisor of Higher Education Programs

518.474.1551

IHEauthorize@nysed.gov

New York State Education Department
89 Washington Ave
Albany, NY 12234

A Note about Professional Licensure and Online Courses

Programs for Lawyers

It is generally not lawful to practice law in any US state, district, or territory without an active law license in that jurisdiction. A state's bar exam is the most common pre-requisite to professional licensure in law for each U.S. state. Other requirements must also be met in addition to passing a state bar exam, such as taking specific courses or passing a character and fitness evaluation. Generally, in order to sit for a state's bar exam, one must first complete a JD degree from an ABA accredited law school, though some states allow applicants from non-ABA accredited law schools or from law office study (a law apprenticeship, essentially). Some states also require applicants to have earned a bachelors degree or to have completed other pre-legal education. Licensed attorneys from other countries who did not earn a US JD degree can sometimes use a LLM degree to qualify to sit for the New York bar exam, and (if licensed in their home jurisdiction) may be able to sit for the California state bar exam as an "attorney applicant." Many other states do not let foreign-educated lawyers sit for their bar exams unless they earn a ABA accredited JD degree, however.

Please note that online degree programs or courses do not qualify one to sit for the bar exam in most states. For example, foreign-trained attorneys who wish to use an LLM to qualify to sit for the New York State bar exam may not apply any online courses towards those requirements, and some of these same students also have student visa restrictions which prevent them from taking many or any online courses. You can find a listing of state requirements for professional licensure at the website for the National Conference of Bar Examiners, who publish an annual bar admission guide. Most students in our master's programs already have earned a US JD degree from an ABA-accredited school and can often sit for a state bar exam on that basis. However, a small number of students who earned their first law degree outside the US apply to our online programs, and they should be aware that an online LLM generally does not qualify one to sit for a bar exam. Students who did not earn a JD degree from an ABA accredited school will likely not be able to use an online LLM degree to qualify to sit for the bar exam. Students whose first degree in law was earned outside the US and who wish to practice law should consider a JD degree, or, in some cases, an on campus full-time LLM program. The starting assumption should be that taking online courses or online degree programs will not qualify one to sit for a bar exam. If you wish to inquire as to whether online study at the master's level may allow you to sit for a state's bar exam, you can contact John.Stephens@nyu.edu.

Programs for Non-Lawyers

Our Master of Studies in Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy does not qualify students to sit for any state bar exam or to practice law. Likewise, our Master of Studies in Law in Taxation program is designed for working tax professionals who are not attorneys and is not designed to meet the prerequisites for any professional license or certification. Completion of this online program do not qualify one to sit for the CPA exam or practice law; the most common route to practicing law entails earning a J.D. degree from an ABA accredited U.S. law school, sitting for a state's bar exam, and fulfilling any additional requirements imposed by the state bar authorities.

Prior Restrictions in Certain States

Our online programs were not available in all states prior to 2017. Prior to NYU joining the NC-SARA reciprocity network, we were unable to accept new distance-learning students who wished to study from within: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Minnesota, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Online study from within Puerto Rico was also not available prior to summer 2018. As these states and teritories are members of the NC-SARA network, we can accept applications from residents of these states.

Also, prior to mid-2017, students from four states were able to enroll but could not take examinations in these states: Delaware, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Again, those restrictions are now lifted.

General Information

New York University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the US Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The programs being offered are registered by the New York State Education Department.

Special Information for Individuals Located Outside the United States

If you are located outside of the United States, please note that programs may not be recognized by institutions within your country. Further, the fee for programs may be subject to local taxes, which are the sole responsibility of participants located outside of the United States.

Special Information for Maryland Residents

NYU has been approved by the State of Maryland to offer online courses to residents of that state, per recent state legislation. We must post certain required information on our website which relates to our program's registration status with the state as well as procedures for Maryland residents to file complaints or grievances.

First, our student handbook (Section J. Student Grievance Procedure) provides the university’s policies and procedures in this regard.

Second, we note the following, per Maryland's requirements:

MARYLAND HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION Student Complaint Process - Institutions of Higher Education

1. A student must first exhaust the complaint/grievance procedures established by the institution.

2. Disposition of specific types of complaints. A student shall submit a specific type of complaint to the appropriate agency or organization as described below:

A complaint pertaining to occupational licensure requirements shall be submitted to the appropriate licensing board or entity. The student shall obtain contact information from the institution.
A complaint concerning compliance with the standards of accreditation shall be submitted to the accrediting agency. The student shall obtain contact information from the institution.
A complaint pertaining to potential violations of consumer protection shall be submitted to: Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General 200 Saint Paul Place Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Telephone: (410) 528-8662 or (888) 743-0823 (toll free) More information is available at http://www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/complaint.htm.
A complaint concerning discrimination shall be submitted to: Office for Civil Rights, Philadelphia Office US Department of Education 100 Penn Square East, Suite 515 Philadelphia, PA 19107-3323 Telephone: (215) 656-854 More information is available at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/howto.html?src=rt.

3. Disposition of complaints involving alleged violations of the Education Article or the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) Title 13B Maryland Higher Education Commission.

A student shall submit a complaint involving an alleged violation of the Education Article or COMAR Title 13B to the Commission. The complaint shall be in writing and signed by the student. (MHEC Student Complaint Form)
The Commission will acknowledge and investigate a complaint involving an alleged violation of the Education Article or COMAR Title 13B.
The Commission will ask the institutional President to look into the matter and report back to the Commission.
The Commission staff may interview the institution’s employees and the complainant as part of its investigation.
The Commission may take regulatory action based on its review and in accordance with the Education Article and COMAR Title 13B.
A complaint pertaining to matters other than the Education Article or COMAR Title 13B will not be entertained by the Commission and will not be referred to another agency or organization.

Finally, we note that Maryland maintains a unique refund schedule for those studying from within the state. Enrolled students residing in Maryland should contact the graduate tax office if they are considering dropping a class.

Special Information for Texas Residents

Required notices regarding distance-learning classes taken by Texas residents who are not enrolled in a degree program:

1. New York University School of Law is not regulated in Texas under Chapter 132 of the Texas Education Code;

2. NYU is approved and regulated by the New York State Department of Education, and the Law School is also regulated by the NY State Court of Appeals; and

3. The New York State Department of Education can be contacted at: (518) 474-3852. The Court of Appeals can be contacted at: (518) 455-7700.