The University of Mississippi law school will begin offering a rare degree specializing in air and space law.
File Photo (Thomas Graning)
Robert C. Khayat Law Center
The University of Mississippi School of Law will begin offering a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in air and space law in fall 2013.
Ole Miss will be the only university in the country to offer this advanced degree and one of only three such programs in the world.
Any attorney who already holds a law degree will be eligible to apply for the program.
Students in the program will take courses in comparative national space law, international space law, private international air, public international air law, U.S. aviation law and U.S. space law.
The program adds to the law school’s rich history of expertise on space law since the mid-1960s, according to acting director Jacqueline Serrao.
“One of the most important goals for the program is to offer top-notch education to attorneys and legal experts in the field,” Serrao said. “The LL.M. would give students advanced knowledge in the field of air and space that is very difficult to find anywhere else.”
According to Serrao, attorneys who earn this degree will be able to work in highly specialized areas that include jobs within the FAA, NASA and other federal agencies.
The School of Law has offered classes in aviation and space law for a decade, and it started offering a J.D.-level degree in remote sensing, air and space law in 2007.
The new LL.M. degree will add to the School of Law’s efforts to lead the way in the field.
“There is no other law school with the strength, depth and resources that we have in this arena,” said Richard Gershon, dean of the UM law school.
Opportunities for select applicants include access to the law library’s extensive collection of air and space law materials and the Space Law Archive, a unique repository for records related to the development of air and space law.
Other opportunities include the chance to join the Journal of Space Law’s editorial board or participate in the Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition team.
Attorneys accepted into the program can choose from on-campus or online venues, full time or part time.
Interested parties must register with the LL.M. Credential Assembly Service and submit an application through the Law School Admission Council website.
Applicants are required to submit a resume, English proficiency scores if a foreign applicant, transcripts, letters of recommendation, a thesis proposal and an application fee of $50.
The deadline to apply for admission to the fall 2013 entering class is April 30.
