Career and Bar
Master of Comparative Law (MCL) Degree

The Office of Graduate and International Programs is available to help you develop your individual job search strategies. A career advisor is dedicated to helping students and alumni through personalized advice and review of résumés, cover letters and applications.

While we do not recommend that you search for jobs during the first year of the Two-Year LLM, you may attend any of our workshops, which cover career development topics such as networking and interview etiquette. As a Two-Year LLM student, you'll also gain access to Symplicity, an online resource for jobs and internship opportunities around the United States exclusive to USC Gould students.

In your second year of the Two-Year LLM, you may participate in the International Students Interview Program in New York in January and in the UCLA Interview Program in February. These career fairs provide foreign-trained students from top law schools with the opportunity to interview with prospective employers from the U.S. and abroad.

You also will be able to attend USC Gould Continuing Legal Education conferences in both years of the program, at which you can make valuable connections with law professionals, USC Gould alumni and peers.

Bar Exam Preparation

Enrollment in an LLM or MCL degree does not guarantee that you will be eligible to take a U.S. bar exam or practice law in the United States. You should review the requirements set by each state in which you wish to sit for the exam. The American Bar Association's Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements provides additional information.

You will start learning about core legal principles, including those tested on the bar exam, during the first year. Specifically, you will get a head start on learning bar subjects by enrolling in Introduction to U.S. Legal System. This will give you more time and flexibility to enroll in bar subjects or other elective courses during the second year.

USC Gould academic advisers can assist you with choosing courses that help prepare you for the bar exams in New York, California and the District of Columbia. Download our Bar and Certificate Checklist for more information. Students are able to enroll in both a bar exam "track" and a certificate "track."

We also offer an Early Bar Preparation series of four daylong workshops exclusively for our LLM and MCL students throughout the year. The workshops cover pertinent substantive law tested by the bar exam as well as guidance on essay writing, multiple choice, performance tests and general test-taking skills. As a student in the Two-Year LLM, you will have the opportunity to participate in these workshops in both your first and second year.

Optional Practical Training

Some LLM and MCL students choose to enhance their U.S. legal education by gaining short-term, practical training in a law firm or other legal setting after graduation. The Graduate & International Programs office will assist you with the application for Optional Practical Training (OPT) during the spring semester of your second year. For current rules on OPT - the authorization required for eligibility for such work experiences - visit the USC Office of International Students website.

As a Two-Year LLM student, you may apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) during the second year, through which you can receive compensation for work off-campus.