Handong International Law School

Master of Arts (M.A.)

The Master’s of Arts Degree (M.A.) in the International Legal Studies Program (the “Master’s Program”) at Handong International Law School is designed for professionals and students who seek to enhance their understanding of Western and international law from a distinctively Christian perspective.

The Master’s Program provides a great deal of flexibility in designing an individual academic curriculum, allowing over half of the program to be in the student’s area of special interest. The student may choose to concentrate in one of more of the following areas:

- Public International Law
- Private International Law
- Intellectual and Information Technology Law
- Lawyering Skills
- Christianity and Law and Legal Philosophy

Curricular Requirements

The four requirements for this Master’s Program are summarized as follows and further explained below:

Credits
Students who have been admitted to the two-year Master’s Program must complete 32 credit hours to graduate from the program.
Thesis
The Master’s Thesis is a significant research paper conducted under the supervision of a thesis advisor.
Comprehensive Exam
Master’s Program students also need to successfully pass the Master’s Comprehensive Examination as part of their graduation requirements.
Orientation Courses
All Master’s Program students are required to take the Orientation course, Foundations for the Study of Law (2 credits), as well as Public International Law (3 credits).

Credits

Thirty course credits must be completed in residence at the law school. The maximum number of credits that students in the Master’s Program may take in one semester is 12. Students may take up to 15 course credits upon special permission of the Associate Dean. Master’s Program students are free to take any course that is offered by the law school, however students should note that there are some courses that can only be taken if a student has completed the prerequisite courses (i.e., for Legal Research and Writing II, one needed to have taken Legal Research and Writing I).

Thesis

All Master’s Program students must successfully complete a Master’s Thesis (2 credits). The Master’s thesis is a significant research paper on a law topic of the student’s choosing in consultation with a faculty thesis advisor. The average length of a master’s thesis is around 50 pages, double spaced, not including the cover page, table of contents, or appendices. (Specific thesis requirements such as formatting and copies that must be turned in can be found in the Graduate School Dissertation Guidelines.)

Thesis Advisor. During or prior to the first semester of the second year, Master’s Program students must find a thesis advisor among the full-time (tenure track) faculty of the law school. (Students should note that one faculty member may not have more than three Master’s Program thesis advisees.) If a faculty member agrees to be the student’s thesis advisor, he or she will work with the student to select an appropriate topic that the thesis will cover while considering the scholarship that has already been produced on the topic and the resources available for the student. Thesis topics should be significantly narrow enough so that the thesis will have depth in research and scholarship to be useful to the academic community.

The thesis advisor will be one member of the Thesis Evaluation Committee which will be made up of three faculty members who will determine whether the candidate’s thesis has been successfully completed. Completion of the Thesis. The Master’s thesis can be completed in the student’s home country. Students who choose to complete their thesis while away from the law school must make sure that they can adequately conduct research for their thesis, adhere to all the regulations for the thesis as set forth in the Graduate School Dissertation Guidelines, and meet all deadlines set forth by their faculty advisor and the Thesis Evaluation Committee. Grading. The Thesis Evaluation Committee will give a final grade for the thesis on the basis of Pass with distinction, Pass, Fail, or Incomplete. Students who receive a Fail or Incomplete grade may petition the Dean for an extension to meet the requirements for the thesis.

Comprehensive Examination

Masters Program students must successfully pass the Master’s Program Comprehensive Examination as part of their graduation requirements. The Comprehensive Examination is an oral examination covering three subjects of law which will include Public International Law and two other subjects of the students choosing in consultation with the Comprehensive Examination Faculty Committee.

Grading. Students will be evaluated on the quality of their answers to questions by the Committee, and are expected to answer specific questions in the subject areas. The Committee will give a final grade for the examination on the basis of Pass With Distinction, Pass, Fail, or Incomplete. Students who receive a Fail or Incomplete grade may petition the Dean for an extension of time to prepare for another comprehensive examination.Time of Exam. The examination will take at least one hour. For Master’s Program students who begin their program of study in the spring, the Comprehensive Examination will take place in November of the second year of study. The Committee will notify candidates in advance of the time and place.

Students who plan to spend their second year of study away from the law school should schedule their Comprehensive Examination prior to their departure from Korea. In the event that this is not possible, the Comprehensive Examination may be conducted over the phone at a date and time established by the Committee

Orientation Course

All Master’s Program students are required to take the Orientation course, Foundations for the Study of Western Law (2 credits), and either Public International Law or Private International Law (3 credits).

First Year

Orientation
Foundations for the Study of Law (2)

Spring
Required Core Courses
Christianity and Law I (1)
Public International Law (3)

Summer
HILS Summer Program Courses(optional)

Fall
Required Core Courses
Christianity and Law II (1)
Private International Law (3)

Second Year

Pre-Spring
Leadership Seminar (1)

Spring
Required Core Courses
Christianity and Law III (1)

Summer
HILS Summer Program Courses(5-6 credits)

- HILS-Regent University Courses

Fall
Required Core Courses
Christianity and Law IV (1)
MA Thesis (2)
Comprehensive Examination