Tuition and Expenses

An LLM Program in America's most livable city

Pittsburgh is regularly ranked as one of the most affordable metropolitan areas in the United States, and Pitt Law's tuition and fees have historically compared favorably to many competing programs. Pitt Law's combination of world-class faculty talent, small class size and dedicated staff support make our program a real value. See our page about "Living in Pittsburgh" for more information on life in Pittsburgh, including links to apartment ads and foreign cultural affiliations in the city.

Estimated LLM Tuition & Fees

  Full Time Part Time
Tuition and Fees* $41,130 $1,708/cr
Health Insurance $2,914 $2,914
Living Expenses $20,470 $20,470
Total Estimated Cost $64,514 $43,880 

Tuition rate for 2021-22. Tuition rates for each academic year are usually announced during the preceding summer.

 This living expense estimate is based on the figures used by our Office of International Services to determine the financial resources that a student is required to show in order to have their student visa processed. It includes room, board, books and other incidentals. This amount is only an estimate, and is subject to increase between now and your admission. It does not necessarily reflect what your actual expenses will be. The living expense component of this COA may be less than what you actually will need to spend to maintain a standard of living that is acceptable to you while still covering necessary expenses such as course books.

‡ Part-time costs assume a six-credit course load in each of the Fall and Spring semesters.

Financial Aid

Paying for Your Pitt Law LLM

CILE and University of Pittsburgh Fellowships

Applicants to the Pitt Law LLM program can notify CILE of their interest in fellowships by including with their application a separate letter that describes in detail their financial situation. Once acccepted to the program, the applicant may apply for financial aid through a scholarship form.

All LLM financial aid decisions are made by CILE – please do not contact the School of Law’s financial aid office, nor any other office at Pitt.  We generally make decisions as to financial aid awards during the late spring, after we have made our admissions decisions. 

Third Party Fellowships

Many of our LLM students have been able to attend Pitt Law thanks to governmental and other third-party sponsors.  CILE and Pitt Law have a long tradition of working closely with fellowship sponsors such as the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation (Ukraine), World Learning/USAID’s Kosovo Transformational Leadership Program, the Palestinian Rule of Law Program of the Open Society Foundations, and the many Fulbright Fellowship programs.

We encourage all applicants to research what sources of third-party fellowship funding may be available to support their year in our program.  One good starting point is often the EducationUSA office at the nearest US embassy or consulate.  In addition to having information about the Fulbright program for your country, your EducationUSA office may be able to direct you to other sources of funding targeted at students from your country who wish to pursue graduate studies in the US.  CILE staff will be happy to consult with you on possible outside fellowship sources as well.  Many third-party fellowship providers have applications that are due long before you apply to our LLM program, so start your research early!

Private Loans

In some cases, LLM students will take out loans to bridge gaps in funding that remain after they have taken full advantage of their personal resources, third-party fellowships, and our limited CILE financial aid.  Federally subsidized student loans are not available to our students unless they happen to already be US citizens or permanent residents, and private loan sources are often at relatively high interest rates and require US citizen co-signers and/or collateral (such as the pledge of a parent’s house).  There are a few lenders that make loans available to qualifying foreign students without a US co-signer.  Before you borrow to fund your LLM year, you should carefully consider the effect of interest rates on the total cost of the loan over its lifetime, and your ability to repay given a realistic assessment of your likely income on your return to your home country.

Employment

While some student visas will permit limited part-time employment on-campus during your LLM year, employment off-campus is prohibited.  We strongly discourage any employment during the academic year – success in your LLM program requires 110% commitment to your studies.

Scholarships

Possible funding resources for LL.M. students:

Possible funding resources for US students and permanent residents:

General scholarship search information: