The Graduate Tax Program (GTP), established in 1945, is the foremost program of its kind in the nation. The graduate tax faculty includes several of the country's leading academic figures in taxation as well as tax practitioners who combine an extraordinary commitment to teaching with practical knowledge accumulated over years of experience at the most sophisticated levels of tax practice. Alumni of the program are found in prominent positions in tax practice, government, the judiciary, and academia. For more information regarding the Graduate Tax Program at the NYU School of Law, please visit the Tax Program website.
While most of the applicants and enrolled students in the full-time LLM in Taxation program are graduates of US law schools, foreign-trained lawyers are welcome to apply. (However, online courses cannot typically be used by civil-law-educated attorneys to qualify to sit for a state bar exam.) The program is designed to provide a firm grounding in the major areas of federal taxation. Theoretical and policy issues are also covered extensively, because a narrow, mechanical approach to tax problems is neither responsible nor practical. The program is rigorous because no other approach can effectively address the complexity of the tax laws.
The program requires 24 credits to be completed over as many as five academic years. Many students finish in three to four years, and a few finish in roughly two years. Most students find two to three credits per semester to be a good balance initially, and may take four or more credits per semester as they progress. A typical two credit class might require five to seven hours of time per week over 13-14 weeks, or roughly 100 hours per two-credit class.
Program Director John Stephens typically advises students on course sequencing and choosing courses which will best fit their practice.
