University of San Diego LL.M. in Taxation (Online) in 2027

The University of San Diego School of Law launched its online Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation in fall 2025: 24 credits taught remotely, with evening classes on Pacific time and a published price of $1,200 per credit.

Attorneys who can't relocate to San Diego now have a way into the school's tax curriculum. The online Tax LL.M. is taught remotely, so you attend from home or the office, and the school says it builds on its residential program, which it describes as consistently ranked among the top 10 nationwide.

It's aimed at U.S. educated attorneys with a Juris Doctor (J.D.), though international attorneys are welcome, especially those who have worked in tax or are tax law experts in their home countries. The school says the degree prepares you for private practice, in-house counsel roles, legal positions in large accounting firms, and jobs in state and federal taxing agencies.

You take a mix of live and asynchronous courses, which makes the program easier to fit around a full-time legal job. The school also asks you to come in with a strong understanding of tax law, because the courses build on foundational legal principles and apply them to U.S. tax law.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

This degree is for people who already hold a law degree, so you gain advanced tax training rather than a new license. The school frames outcomes around private tax practice, in-house counsel positions, legal roles in large accounting firms, and positions with state and federal taxing agencies. The law school behind the program also reaches into the tax community.

It hosts a Tax Speaker Series and the Pugh Lecture on Tax Law and Policy, and the 2024 Pugh lecturer was Nina E. Olson, founder and executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights. The school also hosts a tax controversy institute. The United States Tax Court says some of its judges prefer law clerk candidates with a tax LL.M.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Practicing attorneys outside Southern California: courses are taught remotely, so you can take them from the comfort of your home or office.
• Lawyers who work days: synchronous classes start at 5:00 pm Pacific, and some courses are asynchronous, so you don't give up a full workday.
• In-house counsel and firm lawyers who want deeper tax training: the school lists those roles among the careers the degree prepares you for.
• International attorneys with tax backgrounds: the school says they're welcome to apply, particularly those who have worked in the tax field.
• Lawyers who like a fixed price: the school lists tuition as $28,800 for the whole degree, which works out to $1,200 per credit.

You complete 24 credits of tax law, and the school's fall 2026 schedule shows what a term looks like. Corporate Tax is three credits and asynchronous, and it follows the federal income taxation of C corporations from organization through dividends, redemptions, liquidations and reorganizations. Partnership Tax, also three credits, is a live class that covers entity classification, partner basis and the effect of liabilities, allocations and distributions.

Consolidated Group Tax is a two-credit synchronous course on consolidated return eligibility, intercompany transactions and investment adjustments. Federal Tax Procedure, two credits and asynchronous, deals with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, appeals, assessments, penalties and collections, along with the ethical questions in representing taxpayers. Taxation of Property Transactions, two credits and synchronous, teaches planning around installment sales, imputed interest, real estate exchanges and refinancing.

You need Tax I, the basic income tax course, before you can take most graduate tax courses. The school presumes you took it as a J.D. student, and an admitted applicant who didn't can normally audit it in the first semester without credit. The school notes that the curriculum is subject to modification.

Courses the School Names

• Consolidated Group Tax
• Corporate Tax
• Federal Tax Procedure
• Partnership Tax
• Taxation of Property Transactions

Standout Features

• Builds on a residential Tax LL.M. program the school describes as consistently ranked among the top 10 nationwide
• Preparation for private practice, in-house counsel, accounting firms and tax agencies
• Taught remotely so students can take courses from home or office

The online degree is 24 credits, and the school lists its duration as fall and spring terms. Fall is the admission term, and the online program launched in fall 2025. The fall 2026 term runs from August 17 to December 11, and the school's schedule for that term lists five courses of two or three credits each, 12 credits in all.

That's half the degree in one fall, with the spring term making up the rest. You get a defined stretch of study, a published calendar and one admission term to plan around.

The school lists 2026 tuition at $28,800, billed at $1,200 per credit across the 24 credits. That flat, published rate lets you budget the whole degree before you apply. The university's federal data filing lists a graduate charge of $1,638 per credit for the school as a whole, which gives you a second reference point. You'll want to ask the admissions office what fees apply on top of tuition.

24 credits at $1,200 a credit comes to $28,800 in tuition, before fees.

You take every course remotely, in a mix of synchronous and asynchronous formats. Live classes meet in the evening, Pacific time. Every live class starts at 5:00 pm. Two-credit courses finish at 6:50 pm. Three-credit courses finish at 7:50 pm. In the fall 2026 listing, Partnership Tax, Consolidated Group Tax and Taxation of Property Transactions are live, while Corporate Tax and Federal Tax Procedure are asynchronous.

That split means some of your week is fixed and some is yours to schedule. One rule to plan around: the university is authorized to enroll online students in all states except those on its authorization page, and enrolled students must remain located in an authorized state for the duration of their coursework.

Outside voices speak mainly about the law school and its residential Tax LL.M., which this online program builds on. U.S. News placed the University of San Diego 7th among law schools with graduate tax programs in 2026-27, according to a TaxProf Blog table.

On a Southern California tax firm's blog, a tax attorney gave the school credit for its employment record, alumni base and faculty history. The school also cites LLM Guide for a number 10 national placement of its Tax LL.M.

• Which fall and spring courses will be offered live, and which will be asynchronous, in my first year?
• Is my state on the list of states where the university can enroll online students?
• What do fees add to the published $1,200 per credit?
• If I never took Tax I, how does auditing it in my first semester affect my schedule?
• Can online students join the law school's tax speaker events and the alumni community?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 16 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 7 of 41, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 6 of 40, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 7 of 43, master's
• LLM in Taxation Rank 6 of 22, master's
• Best Programs in California Rank 3 of 12, master's

• LL.M. in Taxation

  LL.M., Master's

  On Campus Score 62.0

• Master of Science in Taxation

  M.S., Master's

  On Campus $1,790 per credit Score 36.0

• Golden Gate University

  LLM in Taxation

  California $1,860 per credit Score 62.1

• Golden Gate University

  Master of Science in Taxation

  California $1,250 per credit Score 62.1

• Taft University System

  Master of Science in Taxation (MST)

  Colorado $600 per credit Score 62.7

• University of Cincinnati

  Master of Science in Taxation (Online)

  Ohio $1,260 per credit Score 61.7