Advancing to Graduate School

The two-year master's program at the Graduate School is designed to cultivate the abilities required for employment as a researcher or in a profession requiring particular advanced expertise. After completion of the program, students generally find employment or continue their research in our three-year Ph.D. program.

Many students who complete their master's degree find employment at private companies. Students who complete the doctoral program often become university faculty members and researchers, employees of research institutes, or international civil servants.

The master’s program at the Graduate School of Law offers specialized courses in addition to the general graduate course. Today, there is a need for more highly specialized personnel in a variety of fields. This course was established in response to the demands of the real world.

include the Public Policy and Journalism Courses in the Political Science Master’s Program and the Space Law Course in the Public Law Master's Program.

There is also a recommendation system for entering the Graduate School in addition to the regular entrance examination. Students enrolled in and receiving high marks in the fourth year at the Keio University Faculty of Law are exempted from the first stage of the entrance examination for the master's program.

The Keio University Law School is a professional graduate school that aims to cultivate the scholarship and competencies necessary for legal professionals like attorneys, prosecutors, and judges. Once they complete the program, students are eligible to sit for the bar exam and receive a Juris Doctor degree. Starting in the 2023 academic year, a new system was introduced that allows students to take the bar examination while still enrolled, provided they meet certain requirements.

In addition to our philosophy of bridging theory and practice, the Keio University Law School trains legal professionals with an international outlook, transdisciplinary approach, and progressive mindset—the skills needed to lead society in the twenty-first century. Specifically, first-year students focus on intensively acquiring basic legal knowledge. They then go on to learn applied legal thinking skills and hone their expertise in their second and third years.

220 students

Three-Year Course: Around 50 students

Two-Year Course: Around 170 students

This system allows Faculty of Law students who have earned credits with excellent grades in designated Department of Law subjects, including those in the Legal Track, to graduate from their undergraduate program in three years and be admitted to the two-year course for the Major in Legal Practice.

Upon completion of the program, students will typically take the bar exam, complete legal training, and work primarily as judges, prosecutors, and attorneys.

The Master of Laws (LL.M) in Global Legal Practice is a professional graduate program with an emphasis on training global legal professionals, where students study in English and can, in principle, earn a degree in just one year (one-and-a-half to two years on a part-time basis). The program operates on a full semester system, with the option of April or September intake.

Students from different international backgrounds gather to study in small classes of up to 30 students taught entirely in English. The faculty consists mainly of practicing attorneys, including American attorneys active in Japan and Japanese attorneys who work at the forefront of international legal affairs.

The curriculum is challenging and focuses on nine subject categories. Students learn about Japanese and foreign legal systems, acquire the ability to communicate in English, master cutting-edge global business and security law, and receive practical training in drafting, negotiation, arbitration, and mock trials.

We foster an overseas network through the promotion of partnerships throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and by offering short-term overseas training programs, six-month study abroad programs, and double degree programs with the University of Washington, Hanoi Law University, VNUHCM-University of Economics and Law (Ho Chi Minh City), and others.

Graduates can expect careers in international law firms, global corporate legal departments, and international organizations like the United Nations.

At Keio University Graduate School of Law (Keio Law School), you can study law in depth, from the fundamentals to advanced applications. The school offers a comprehensive curriculum and an environment where you can easily consult with professors, allowing both those who have already studied law extensively and those who are just beginning to approach their studies with confidence. The student body is full of highly motivated individuals from diverse backgrounds, including graduates from other faculties and professionals with work experience, and I am constantly inspired by learning alongside such peers. Furthermore, classes such as moot court and other practical skills subjects are mandatory, giving us the opportunity to gain practical legal knowledge through collaboration with other students.

In addition to distinguished academic scholars, the faculty includes many practitioners such as active judges, public prosecutors, and attorneys, and being able to learn practical knowledge as well as the professional mindset required of legal practitioners is one of the major attractions of Keio Law School. I can wholeheartedly recommend it! (Third-Year Law School Student)