Northwestern University LL.M. in Taxation in 2027

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation in Chicago is a 24-credit degree you can finish in nine months full-time or over up to five years part-time, with merit scholarships, three optional tax certificates and a joint degree with the Juris Doctor (J.D.).

Northwestern Pritzker's Tax Program is taught by a combination of Northwestern faculty and experienced tax practitioners, and each student is assigned a faculty mentor. The entering class of 2026 shows who you'd study with. It has 46 enrolled students out of 182 applicants, representing 34 schools. The average age is 28, and 55% hold post-J.D. work experience.

International students make up 24% of the group. The school describes the program as designed for U.S. and internationally educated lawyers who learn alongside peers from a range of legal and professional backgrounds. You earn the same degree whether you study part time or full time, and the law school's reunion site marks 25 years of the Tax Program with an anniversary celebration on October 16.

The Tax LL.M. is a degree for lawyers. Northwestern says it prepares attorneys for careers in tax law across law firms, accounting firms, corporations and government, and it points to a strong, engaged alumni network across the tax profession. Career services include individualized planning and strategy consultations.

If you study full time, you'll take part in the Tax Attorney Recruiting Event (TARE), a one-day interview program scheduled for February 18, 2027. The TARE consortium features students from the LL.M. in Taxation programs at Boston University, the University of Florida, Northwestern Pritzker and the University of California, Irvine.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Recent law graduates who want an immersive year: the full-time degree can be completed in nine months, with one-on-one advising from a Tax Career Services Advisor.
• Practicing attorneys who keep working: part-time students complete the same degree at their own pace, balancing coursework with work and family, with up to five years to finish.
• Law students who already know they want tax: the joint J.D./LL.M. adds 10 standalone tax credits to the J.D. and can be finished in six semesters.
• Applicants chasing financial support: Northwestern considers every admitted applicant for scholarships automatically, including a full-tuition Dean's Scholarship.
• Lawyers who want to specialize: three optional certificates in Corporate Tax, International Tax, and Wealth Transfer and Legacy Planning let you shape electives around one area.

Twelve of the 24 credits are required. In the fall you'll take Corporate Taxation, International Taxation, Partnership Taxation and Taxation of Property Transactions. In the spring you'll take Advanced Partnership Taxation and Advanced Taxation of Property Transactions. Every Tax Program course carries two credits. You'll also choose one elective to satisfy an Advanced Corporate Tax requirement and one to satisfy an Advanced International Tax requirement.

The other 12 credits are electives. Depending on the year, you can choose from options such as Corporate Reorganizations, Tax Aspects of Private Equity Transactions, Transfer Pricing, Tax Treaties, European Union Taxation, Estate Planning, Tax Exempt Organizations, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits, State and Local Taxation, Environmental Taxation, Tax Procedure, and Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Tax Crimes. Practical courses include Tax Research and Tax Excel Modeling.

The Colloquium: Advanced Topics in Taxation brings outside scholars, resident faculty and students together, and every second week a leading scholar presents a paper on a tax topic or proposal with policy implications. Each certificate takes five approved courses for 10 credits, and those courses can count toward your degree. You can also serve as an editor or staff member for The Tax Lawyer, a journal with four annual issues.

Courses the School Names

• Corporate Taxation
• Partnership Taxation
• International Taxation
• Taxation of Property Transactions
• Corporate Reorganizations
• Private Equity Transactions
• Transfer Pricing
• Tax Treaties
• Tax Procedure
• Executive Compensation

Standout Features

• Full-time students get one-on-one advising with a Tax Career Services Advisor and take part in TARE
• Joint JD/LLM in Taxation available
• Joint JD/LLM in Taxation available
• Required courses in the four core areas of federal taxation
• Same degree for full-time and part-time students

If you study full time, you can complete the degree in nine months. If you study part time, you have up to five years. The joint J.D./LL.M. totals 95 credits. That's 10 more than the 85 needed for the J.D. alone. Of the 24 LL.M. credits, 14 can count toward the J.D. With proper planning both degrees can be completed in six semesters.

If you come from another J.D. school, you spend your third year at Northwestern as a full-time Tax LL.M. student. Applications for the full-time, part-time and joint degrees are due June 1. Northwestern also offers non-degree study for qualified professionals who want selected tax courses without enrolling in a degree.

Northwestern funds full-time students through merit awards. If you're admitted, you're considered automatically, with no separate scholarship application. The Dean's Scholarship is the Tax Program's highest award and provides a full-tuition scholarship, along with a position on the editorial board of The Tax Lawyer. The Tax Program Faculty Scholarship provides $40,000 toward tuition.

Each year, one or more incoming students may receive a $30,000 Alumni Scholarship, and other merit scholarships come in varying amounts. Awards go out on a rolling basis beginning in mid-January. If you want full consideration for the highest-level awards, Northwestern encourages you to apply by January 15.

Students serving on the journal's editorial board may receive full-tuition scholarships.

The degree is taught in person in Chicago, for both full-time and part-time students. Each course meets weekly, and the fall 2025 schedule shows the range of times. Executive Compensation met on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. It ran until 8:20 p.m. State and Local Taxation met on Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. It ran until 6:20 p.m. Tax Research met at midday on Thursdays.

Northwestern says the part-time route differs only in the pace of study and the flexibility to balance coursework with professional and personal responsibilities. The program also arranges bi-weekly lunchtime career talks and networking events, and each student is assigned a faculty mentor. Course offerings vary by academic year, so you'll want to review the current schedule with your adviser when you plan your electives.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Graduates quoted by the school stress the curriculum and the people. A 2025 graduate now working in tax consulting said the program let them go deep into areas of tax law that the J.D. did not cover, and described the faculty as supportive, accessible and deeply knowledgeable.

A second 2025 graduate, now at a law firm, named building relationships with professors as a highlight and called the adjunct professors exceptional. A 2021 graduate said professors and career advisers offered guidance before classes even started, and a 2010 graduate said the professors teach you how to apply the law in a practical way.

A joint-degree graduate wrote that earning both degrees at once put them well ahead of peers trying to work in tax. A 2024 forum commenter said firms give credit to a tax LL.M., and a commenter in 2017 called Northwestern one of the top tax LL.M. programs.

U.S. News & World Report's tax law specialty list places Northwestern tied for third.

• Which electives will run this year, and how do I combine them to earn a certificate inside the 24 credits?
• How many credits a semester do part-time students take, and how do they fit the six required courses into a five-year plan?
• If I am on the joint J.D./LL.M. path, which 14 credits count toward both degrees?
• How do the faculty mentor and the Tax Career Services Advisor work with part-time students who are already practicing?
• Which scholarship tiers are still open if I apply after January 15?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 29 of 78, master's
• On-Campus Master's in Taxation Rank 15 of 37, master's
• Part-Time Programs Rank 15 of 39, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 18 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 18 of 46, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 15 of 43, master's
• International Taxation Rank 6 of 12, master's

• University at Albany

  Master of Science in Taxation

  New York Score 57.7

• Georgetown University

  Master of Studies in Law in Taxation

  District of Columbia Score 57.3

• Boston University

  LLM in Taxation

  Massachusetts Score 57.2

• University of Washington

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Washington Score 57.0