The Law School has established a degree program for a small number of nonlawyers who want to obtain a basic familiarity with legal thought and to explore the relation of law to their disciplines. It is a one-year terminal program designed for those who do not desire a professional law degree, but who are interested in a more formal relationship to the School and a more rigorous curriculum than that offered by the Visiting Scholar program. The second term is entirely elective and affords opportunities for independent research and clinical experience in addition to regular courses and seminars. Participants in the M.S.L. program are not eligible for subsequent admission to the J.D. program. Applicants for this program must have at least a bachelor's degree.
Applications consist of a completed application form plus the additional required documents.
Admissions decisions are typically announced in April. Expenses and Financial Aid Fees for the program are the same as for the J.D. program. Scholarship support for M.S.L. candidates is designed to supplement grants from outside sources, sabbatical salaries, and personal resources. The program of Fellowships in Law for Journalists , within the Master of Studies in Law, currently includes a grant from the Law School covering tuition and an additional stipend for living expenses during the academic year from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Because the program was designed to enrich legal reporting, the tuition grant is retroactively converted into a loan from Yale Law School should the recipient later enroll in a J.D. or LL.B. program.