Scholarship Interviews for LLM Study at UMKC Law School , Kansas City, Missouri

December, 2005

Beijing , China

Saturday, December 17, 2005

 

I am director of the Chinese Outreach Program at our Law School and also the Director of the Peking University Center for Chinese Real Estate Law. I’ll be in Beijng to give some lectures and will have time to interview students for possible scholarship assistance to seek an LLM at our Law School , in a program designated primarily for Chinese students. The interviews will be conducted on Saturday, December 17 at my office at the Center for Real Estate Law at Peking University Law School .

 

Interviews are open to all law students - not just to Beida students.

 

A description of the program and scholarship is set forth below. If you would like to meet me, please email my assistant,mailto:tmmmf8@umkc.edu Faiza Alhambra, fahtc@umkc.edu, and she will arrange a time for you. She will also notify you of the location of the interviews. If you wish to make a formal application, you should start now to obtain a transcript and verification of available funds to spend during your stay here, as both of these items are necessary to complete the application. My assistant will provide you with information about application procedures when you sign up for the interview. You may interview without applying.

 

Patrick A. Randolph, Jr.

Elmer E. Pierson Professor of Law

UMKC School of Law

prandolph@umkc.edu

 

Information about Interviews for LLM Scholarship at UMKC School of Law

 

The statement below will give you complete information about the program at UMKC Law School . We annually award as many as eight LLM scholarships and one J.D. scholarship. The LLM scholarships are partial scholarships. This year, each scholarship is for approximately $10,500, leaving the balance of the tuition, and all other expenses for the one year experience at UMKC, including books, room, board and tuition, at approximately $21,500. Note that, even without the scholarship, a one year LLM program at UMKC is substantially less than at most other schools, as UMKC is a state supported institution and is not trying to get rich by selling education to Chinese students. We are interested in bringing students here to provide diversity to our student body and perspective to our faculty. .

 

An interview is required to qualify for either scholarship. I anticipate that most of the current interviews will be for the LLM, and I will conduct more interviews in the spring, after LSAT scores have been received for this year, for the JD scholarship.

 

Professor Patrick Randolph, director of the Chinese programs at UMKC Law school, and director of the Peking University Center for Real Estate Law, will conduct interviews for the programs.

 

Information about the LLM Program at UMKC School of Law

 

The University of Missouri , Kansas City (UMKC) has a special interest in working with students from the mainland of China and invests considerable resources in establishing and maintaining contact with such students, both through University programs in China , J.D. admissions and scholarships, and LLM programs and scholarships in America . This message will let you know about the LLM program, cost of the program, financial aid opportunities, and the experience of studying at UMKC.

 

1. The LLM Program at UMKC:

 

The LLM program at UMKC is a two semester resident program that is a "general law" program. Unlike some other American programs for international students, our program does not provide intensive classroom instruction in a particular area of law, such as intellectual property, international transactions, or international environmental law. We have courses in these areas, and an LLM student can undertake study in any of these areas under faculty supervision, but there is no course of studies specifically for LLM students in an identified area.

 

The general law program, rather, provides the opportunity to foreign students to identify a course of studies that best matches the individual student’s learning objectives. Students can select from among any of the courses available to J.D. students. Because of the fact that foreign students have less background and some language obstacles to face, however, we offer foreign LLM students the option to request a separate method of evaluation for course credit, so that the foreign students are not forced to compete for grades with the regular J.D. candidates. Some of our Chinese students have opted, for instance, to write a final paper in a course, rather than to take the final exam.

 

Our program does offer one course designed specifically for foreign LLM students - a specialized introductory course to writing and research in American law. This course is offered in the first semester and prepares students for the thesis requirement, which students usually undertake in the second semester. Students are not required to take this course, but virtually every foreign LLM chooses to do so.

 

Most LLM students complete a thesis under faculty supervision prior to receiving a degree. Some students complete the thesis after they complete their two semesters of course work, while others do the thesis while they are still taking courses. Students can opt to write a these for as little as four credit hours or as many as eight credit hours. Including the thesis, students must complete a minimum of twenty two credit hours. Thus, if the student elects to write an eight credit thesis, this will reduce the required time in other courses to 14 credit hours. If the students elects only a two unit thesis, the student will be required to take 20 credit hours in other courses. The LLM thesis must be completed within three years of the time that course work is completed, but typically it is done much sooner. The degree is conferred only when all required work is performed, including the thesis requirement.

 

Every LLM student is assigned to a specific faculty advisor who works with that student throughout the time here. The faculty advisor will work with the student on the selection of courses and will recommend courses that meet the student’s needs. This advisor may also be the thesis advisor, but another thesis advisor may be appointed - for instance, if there is another faculty member who has more expertise on the student’s thesis topic, this faculty member might serve as a separate thesis advisor.

 

II. Transfer of Credits to J.D. Program:

 

Students studying in our program are taking courses at the advanced level with American J.D. program students who already have had preliminary courses in these areas. Although we have found that our Chinese students are able to complete these courses successfully, sometimes their lack of background or lack of experience in an English speaking classroom make them less competitive when it comes to taking the final examination. Consequently, we permit Chinese students to opt for a separate evaluation system to insure that they get adequate credit even though their exam performance might lead to a law placement on a grade curve. Although participation in this separate evaluation system is optional with our faculty, we have never had a faculty member refuse to participate. Students who successfully complete their work under this system receive a degree and can sit for the bar exam in those states that permit foreign LLM’s to do so, subject, of course, to the requirements of each state.

 

Recently, the American Bar Association changed its accreditation rules to permit students to transfer credits from international LLM programs to J.D. programs. The decision to certify LLM work for transfer is up to the school where the work is done. If students wish to have credits that will transfer to another school’s JD program, they may not use the optional grading system described above. Last year, we had one student from China elect to use the standard grading system. This was Liu Zhan from Nanjing University . He did extremely well in his classes even on the standard scale - so well that we gave him a full scholarship for a J.D. degree and transferred all of the credits he received in regular J.D. classes while an LLM student. Thus he need study only two years more to get a J.D. Most of our Chinese LLM students, however, opt for the special evaluation system.

 

III. Costs of the Program; Financial Aid:

 

Although tuition for the 2005-2006 academic year has not yet been established, we estimated that the total cost of studying at UMKC for the LLM will be about $32,000.. This includes the cost of living, food, books, and tuition. It does not include transportation to the U.S. This cost is much lower than many other schools, because tuition and living costs are considerably lower in Kansas City .

 

UMKC annually has a number of partial scholarships available to LLM students. The scholarship provides a gift of no more than $10,500 toward tuition costs. This leaves a cost for the year, including all expenses of $21,500.You must have this sum of money available to you in an account in order to acquire a visa to come here. When you arrive, you likely will be able to earn about $3000 toward your expenses through work study opportunities.

 

If a student is offered a partial scholarship, the student must indicate promptly that the student is accepting the scholarship and must withdraw applications to the LLM or J.D. programs at other American law schools and file no further such applications. As there is a limited number of partial scholarships, we wish to be confident that students who receive them will actually come here. Further, if the student is unable to obtain a visa after a reasonable opportunity to do so, we reserve the right to award the scholarship to another.

 

We encourage students to apply early. We make every effort to arrange a personal interview prior to the admissions decision, and will notify you of opportunities to have such an interview. Scholarship decisions will be based upon academic record and English proficiency.

 

IV. TOEFL

 

We require a minimum TOEFL score of 550, but 600 is the minimum score for a scholarship. The TOEFL score and the interview are both critical in evaluating language competency. High scores on the TOEFL, however, are no assurance of a scholarship. More important are your experience and performance in Chinese education and practice (if you have practiced). We do not require an LSAT score for the LLM program. The LSAT score is required for the JD scholarship. Most successful candidates for the JD scholarship have had LSAT scores in the mid-160‘s.

 

V. Educational Background in China :

 

Prior to coming to our program, students must have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in law at a recognized Chinese law school. To take the Bar exam in America , students must have completed at least three years training in China and have a law degree.

 

VI. The Experience of Learning at UMKC:

 

UMKC has a long tradition of involvement with many educational institutions in mainland China . Edgar Snow, a famous journalist and friend of China , was born and raised in Kansas City , and the University honors him by preserving his papers on campus in the Edgar Snow Reading Room and through various cultural and scholarly exchanges.

 

The Law School ’s program also involves a wide variety of faculty and student exchanges. Nine law faculty have taught in China , and each year we send three more to teach at Peking University Law School . UMKC also operates a summer program for American students at Peking University . Several law faculty are engaged in research on comparative law topics involving China , providing useful opportunities for students to serve as work/study research assistants. UMKC Law faculty have taught or lectured at schools all over China .

 

We have had students here from Beijing , Shanghai , Guangzhou , Chonching, Hangzhou , Nanjing and Taiyuan , and many other cities, and from many different law schools in China . Chinese students who have attended UMKC universally praise it for its friendliness and special attention to the needs of foreign students. The campus is located in a thriving city, with an active Chinese community and many cultural opportunities off campus, but the foreign community is not so dominant that Chinese students cannot easily interact with American students as well. Housing is available a short distance from the law school, and the community, as compared to many other urban centers, is clean, safe and uncrowded. It is an ideal opportunity to experience American culture while studying American law. Centrally located in the U.S., with a busy international airport, Kansas City is a good base for traveling to other American cities during the period of study here.

 

We encourage you to correspond with students who have completed their LLM at UMKC or are in our program. Students who have completed the program include Liu Zhan (from Nanjing) , zl783@umkc.edu; who currently is studying for a JD here, and Li Jin (from Shenzhen) xltd5@umkc.edu (li_jin24@yahoo.com) who is working for a small law firm in New York. Students currently in the LLM program include Lu Shi, from Guangzhou, xltd5@umkc.edu and Xu Ying, from Shanghai, xindouruila@hotmail.com and Yao Rong, from Nanjing U., rypk8@umkc.edu

 

VII: Further Information:

 

Upon request, we will provide general information about study at UMKC and the activities of our International Student Affairs Office, which will also review your application. The Law School website is http://www.law.umkc.edu/ For specialized inquiries, please contact Professor Patrick Randolph, Director of Chinese Study Program, UMKC School of Law, at prandolp