LLM (Master of Laws)

The LLM is India's principal postgraduate law qualification, designed for graduates who want deep specialisation, an academic career, or a research-oriented edge in practice. Since 2012, when the UGC approved the one-year format, most NLUs and leading private universities have offered intensive one-year LLM programmes; several traditional universities continue with the two-year format. Common specialisations include constitutional law, corporate and commercial law, intellectual property, criminal law, international law, taxation, and human rights.

Admission to NLU programmes runs through CLAT PG, a two-hour, 120-question objective test built around passages from landmark judgments, statutes and regulations, testing comprehension and application across constitutional law, jurisprudence, contracts, torts, criminal law, and other core subjects. NLU Delhi admits through AILET PG. An LLM is a prerequisite for most permanent law-teaching positions (together with UGC NET) and strengthens candidacy for research bodies, think tanks, and international organisations.

It is worth being clear-eyed about what an LLM does and does not do. It is not required to practise law — the LLB plus Bar enrolment and AIBE suffice — and large law firms hire primarily on the strength of the first degree and internships. The LLM delivers the most value for aspiring academics, candidates for specialised tribunals and regulators, PSU law officer aspirants (where CLAT PG scores are used in recruitment), and lawyers pivoting into a specialised field. Many Indian lawyers also pursue LLMs abroad (UK, US, Singapore) for international exposure, though foreign LLMs are typically one-year and considerably more expensive.