The Boston University School of Law announced Friday a program that allows working professionals to engage in courses offered through the traditional Executive LLM in International Business Law without committing to a full degree program.
Those enrolled in the fall 2016 Certificate in International Business Law program will have one required course, “International Business Transactions and Agreements.” The minimum requirement allows professionals to pursue their specialized interests by taking online classes or two-week intensive classes in Boston or Budapest, Hungary, said John Riccardi, LAW assistant dean of graduate and international programs.
“[The program] is a very convenient way to demonstrate that you have focused on a subset in a certain area,” Riccardi said. “This can help lawyers demonstrate their skills, and that they’ve focused themselves in certain aspects of business laws.”
The purpose of developing the new certificate program is to allow people to quickly gain some expertise in international business law without making a big time commitment, Riccardi said.
“If they do not need an entire degree, for whatever their career purposes might be, for example if they simply want to focus on a smaller group of courses, the certificate would be for that,” Riccardi said. “So, it is making the instruction of the executive program available to professionals who don’t need to commit to an entire degree.”
The new certificate program is based off the International Business Law LLM program launched in 2011, Riccardi said. Students of the new program will not receive a master’s degree, as they only need to fulfill 12 credits instead of the 20 required in a traditional LLM program.
If students who completed the certification program decide to pursue a graduate degree in international business law, they are eligible to apply and could potentially get 12 or more credits toward the LLM degree, according to the press release.
The program will be open to more people with some prior experience in the field, said Zach Wang, assistant director of the LLM program.
“Our programs are for … people who have two to three years of work experience, but most of them have far more than that,” Wang said. “In that context, the certificate would make sense to gain the skill and experience necessary.”
Wang explained the university was choosing between London and Budapest as the second location for this program and decided on Budapest because it could lower the cost of the program.
“We really wanted it to be in Europe,” Wang said. “We were thinking at the time between either London or Budapest because of the connection, and the relationship worked out in Budapest.”
The Certificate in International Business Law is currently pending approval from the American Bar Association, according to the program website.
Several BU law students said they were unimpressed by the certificate’s offering because it is not particularly practical compared to other degrees.
Irena Finkel, a second-year student in LAW, said the certification degree offered little value for students who wish to be successful in the job market.
“From what I understand, informal [certificate] programs are not particularly helpful in the working world,” Finkle said. “You might as well go and get a full business degree.”
Rebecca Beyer, also a second-year student in LAW, said a 12-credit certificate is not likely to make a big impact in the workplace because it is hardly as valuable as a working experience.
“It might get your foot in the door in getting that official interview,” Bayer said. “But when it comes to the working world, most of your training comes from your experience.”
Amanda Mei, a first-year student in LAW, said she saw a number of advantages from the program, yet was unsure to what extent the certification could truly benefit students.
“A lot of students who apply to graduate school might say they took extra classes to get ahead, but it doesn’t seem akin to an LLM program,” Mei said. “If I had really specific interests, and [because] it’s so flexible, I’d choose the program. But ultimately, I don’t think I’d get a lot out of it.”
