NYU Directed Research for LLM students

First things first.

This page will look at three areas related to NYU LLM research project positions.

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First, the 250 word cover email reaching out to the professor explaining why you stand out. Also include any relevant details as why you would like to work side by side with them.

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Second, the 1,000 word proposal setting out the main premise surrounding your project. This will need to be approved and then submitted to the department. At least two drafts.

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Third, the 5-10,000 word research project. This could be (a) a traditional thesis, or it could be (b) a brief, contract, or other practical document in line with the research proposal.

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Scholarship Opportunities

Masters of Laws

Directed Research

Language Review

Phrasal Verbs

to reach out

to set out

to figure out

to stand out

to drop out

Working As A Research Assistant for a Law School Professor

Faculty members may offer students the opportunity to work as research assistants (RAs) for monetary compensation or, if the professor deems it appropriate based on the nature of the work, for academic credit.

Directed Research

To undertake Directed Research, students contact individual instructors and agree on a research project. To register, a written proposal must be approved and signed by the instructor, and then submitted to the Office of Graduate Affairs. The written proposal should be at least 1000 words and set out the subject matter of the Directed Research and the issues the student intends to explore in the paper.

How to Register for Directed Research

Students must reach out and find individual instructors and agree on a research project.
Students may ask any full-time or visiting faculty member to supervise Directed Research. A student who would like to have an adjunct faculty member supervise their Directed Research must submit a proposal to their program office to request permission from Vice Dean Randy Hertz.
A written proposal must be submitted to and approved by the instructor, then submitted to the student’s program office (i.e., the Office of Academic Services, the Office of Graduate Affairs, or the Office of Graduate Tax Programs) by using the “Add” form in Law Registrar’s Service Desk to register. (An email from the professor may substitute for a signature on the proposal and should be attached to your request in the service desk).
You will be asked to provide:
- Student Name
- Semester you are adding or dropping course(s) Fall 2021 or earlier semesters
- Course Credits
- Total credits for the semester after you add/drop out of course(s)
- Course Faculty
  NOTE: Please select TBA faculty if the desired faculty name is not part of the drop-down menu
- Course Title/ Course Number:| (i.e. Directed Research Option A/ LAW-LW. 10737) or (i.e. Directed Research Option B/ LAW-LW.12638)
The written proposal must be at least 1,000 words and should describe the subject matter of the Directed Research and the issues the student intends to explore in the paper. All students must state in the proposal how many credits the Directed Research should be for and JD students must state if the paper is for the Option A or Option B writing requirement. JD students, please review the Substantial Writing Requirements webpage.
Students considering a 3-credit Directed Research should contact their program office first. A three-credit Directed Research project is highly unusual and requires the approval of Vice Dean Randy Hertz.
Late requests to add a Directed Research will only be considered if your credit load (not including the Directed Research credits) does not drop below the minimum 12 credits at any point in the semester after the add/drop period.
Students who are granted permission to late add Directed Research will not be permitted to drop classes if the result is inconsistent with the above.

Sample Cover Letter for Research Project

Write a 250 word email introducing yourself and giving a quick opening about your project and anything that you would like the faculty member to know about you and why you stand out.

LLM Thesis Option

LLM students have the option to set out a substantial research paper, in conjunction with a seminar or Directed Research that may be recorded as a “thesis” on their transcript. At the onset of the seminar or Directed Research, the student must obtain approval from the professor that the paper will be completed for a “thesis” designation.

It should be substantial in length (at least 10,000 words exclusive of footnotes) and, like the substantial writing requirement for JD students, must be analytical rather than descriptive in nature, showing original thought and analysis. Please note the thesis designation is for a single research paper agreed upon in advance.

The student is required to submit an outline and at least one FULL PRE-FINAL draft to the faculty member in order to receive the thesis notation. When submitting a final draft of the thesis to the faculty member, the student must give the faculty member an LLM Thesis Certification form. The faculty member is required to return the signed form to the Office of Records and Registration when submitting a grade for the course.

Please note that the student will not receive additional credit for writing the thesis, but will only receive credit for the seminar or Directed Research for which he or she is registered.

International Legal Studies Students should review their program requirements for further information about writing an LLM thesis within their program.

Writing Assistance

The NYU Writing Center provides help to students throughout the University on writing projects.

Students are required to complete either one Option A paper or two Option B papers.

For all Substantial Writing Requirements:

Regardless of the type of project involved, students are, of course, expected to submit original, non-duplicative work for each and every course. When in doubt about the proper use of a citation or quotation, discuss the issue with the instructor. The reuse of work you did for another class for law school credit without approval is a serious offense that may merit severe discipline. (See Procedures for Offenses Requiring Formal Discipline in the Student Handbook for a definition of plagiarism).
Any writings, whether Option A or Option B, must be faculty-supervised in order to qualify for the writing requirement.
PLEASE NOTE: Substantial Writing credit may not be earned for work a student does for pay.

Option A

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to register for the appropriate credits to satisfy the Option A requirement. A limited number of seminars may restrict the number of students that may write a substantial paper in a seminar. (i.e., not all students that win a seat in a seminar will be able to satisfy Option A. Please check course descriptions. A professor may require permission to register for the writing credit of their seminar. Therefore, you should take this into account.)
If you will satisfy the Option A in a seminar or course (as opposed to directed research), once you have received faculty approval, you must register through COURSES during the add/drop period for the additional Writing Credit associated with the seminar/course by the stated deadline. After COURSES closes for add/drop registration, you must submit an add/drop form to the Office of Academic Services by the stated deadline. No retroactive registration is permitted.

Option A is described as follows:

The writing requirement: In order to graduate, a student must produce an original analytic paper of substantial length (ordinarily at least 10,000 words in length and undergoes a comment and draft process) under the supervision of a faculty member, who may augment these requirements.
The character of the paper: The paper must be a sustained piece of writing and not purely descriptive. It should be thorough, well-written, properly documented, and anticipate and address opposing arguments.
The form of the paper: The paper may be a traditional journal note; the author’s empirical research with analysis; a proposal for law reform with defense and commentary; a memorandum of law or a brief addressing a substantial legal issue: or an equivalent project showing original thought and analysis.
The scope of faculty oversight: Students should present an outline of their paper to the supervising faculty member for approval before doing substantial work. After approval, the student must prepare a first draft of the paper and, after faculty review, and discussion, the student must prepare a rewritten second draft that is responsive to the instructor’s criticism and acceptable to him or her.
The time for completion of the paper: A student should have completed his or her first draft no later than January of the student’s final semester to ensure adequate time before graduation for the supervising faculty member to critique the paper, the student to rewrite the paper, and the faculty member to review the second draft and determine whether to approve it or request further work. Seminars with writing credits will satisfy the Option A requirement automatically since an Option A paper is required in order to earn the additional writing credit.

A student may satisfy the Option A requirement under the supervision of a faculty member either through a two-credit Directed Research or as part of a seminar or other classroom activity. In the case of a seminar with an optional one credit writing component, students who write such a paper can earn an additional credit for the seminar by registering for the writing credit portion in addition to the seminar itself. For example, if you are registered for Tax Policy and Public Finance Colloquium (LAW-LW.10787) for four credits, you should register for Tax Policy and Colloquium and Seminar Writing Credit (LAW-LW.10609) for the additional credit. You may add the Option A Writing Credit on Courses during the add/drop period, or in person at the Office of Academic Services with an add/drop slip until the deadline posted in the registration calendar. Option A Writing Credit courses are listed in the Schedules of Classes.

For lecture courses, satisfaction of the course requirements through completion of the Substantial Writing/Option A paper will be awarded the number of credits that the course normally carries.

Option B

Students may satisfy the writing requirement by completing work in two different classes (“Option B”) that can take a variety of forms, including for example, a brief, motion, contract or transactional document, policy analysis, or a series of short papers. Accordingly, it is difficult to set an across-the-board measure for the writing like a specific number of pages or a word count. As a general matter, and subject to whatever specialized requirements are set by the teacher of the course or Directed Research, B writing credit should normally involve a total of 5,000 words of writing, which corresponds to roughly 15 double-spaced pages in print (which might be spread across several different short documents), exclusive of footnotes. If projects are co-written, an individual student must have contributed at least 15 pages or 5,000 words.
Writing done in a clinic or externship may also qualify for Option B (including, for example, a series of pleadings). Please note that per ABA Interpretation 303-1, students may not use one course to satisfy more than one requirement; clinics and externships by default count towards the experiential learning requirement.

NYU Directed Research for LLM students

First things first.

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