Hi, I am a final-year law student. I will graduate in May 2024. I am planning to pursue an LLM, purely for the credentials and my interest area in corporate law. I saw KCL offers an LLM in corporate law (my interest area). Is it worth pursuing? Will it be written on my certificate that I have done an "Online LLM"? Is it recognized for corporate law jobs in India? Please tell me.

(Note: Tips and feedback only from people who have done LLM in corporate law, preferably the online LLM from KCL. Thanks!)

No, it is not recognised. If someone informs the Indian university where you're going to apply for PhD or a job that your LLM was an online one, then you won't be let in, as the UGC doesn't recognize an online LLM degree yet. Certificate not mentioning it doesn't make the degree an offline one, unless you're prepared to lie when specifically asked.

Have replied to your comment in the other thread (here: https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/312870-important-psa-ugc-says-foreign-degrees-recognised-only-if-you-went-to-the-campus-abroad#comment-312887 ).

But it may also be relevant to mention the notice/email that JGU had come out with in response of this. Full text is reproduced below, but the most relevant bit I'm highlighting here: "The UGC does not follow any system of express approval for degrees and programmes launched by universities. Their approach is that of an automatic route, i.e., it is deemed to be approved insofar as JGU is in compliance with the UGC regulations and guidelines (which JGU is, as listed above). JGU is a recognised university and is fully empowered to offer all degree programmes"

AGAIN, I'd be happy to see a source which says otherwise. This debate has been going on for several years now but I'm yet to see any legit source saying this is not allowed.

---------FULL TEXT----------

"We understand that many of you have posed queries and requested clarifications regarding whether this Blended LLM in Corporate & Financial Law has been approved by the UGC and or whether you would be eligible to sit for the UGC-NET examination and pursue a PhD (whether in India or abroad) after completing this programme. O.P. Jindal Global University (“JGU”) and Jindal Global Law School (“JGLS”) have always believed in full disclosure to students, who are our primary stakeholders. As a responsible institution of higher learning, we have always adhered to all rules and regulations and have been in full and complete compliance of the same for over a decade and since our founding in 2009. In light of this, please find below answers to queries from some of you regarding the regulatory framework within which this Blended LLM programme lies:

This LLM in Corporate & Financial Law (Blended Learning Programme) is following all relevant UGC guidelines (i.e, the 1-year LL.M. Guidelines) to the letter. Some features of this Blended LLM programme that fall squarely within the UGC LLM Guidelines are as follows:

The Blended LLM programme has been introduced by JGU, under Clause 2 (viii) of the UGC 1-year LLM Guidelines;

The Blended LLM programme is being conducted under the aegis of the Centre for Post-Graduate Legal Studies of JGU (see Clause 2(i) of the UGC 1-year LLM Guidelines);

Admission to the Blended LLM programme has been granted after the completion of an all India admission test such as the JSAT, CLAT-PG, LSAT-India, etc. (see Clauses 2(iii) and 3.2 of the UGC 1-year LLM Guidelines);

The Blended LLM programme comprises 24 credits with 3 compulsory courses of 3 credits each (namely, Comparative Public Law, Law & Justice in the Globalizing World, and Legal Research Methodology), 6 specialised courses of 2 credits each, and a dissertation of 3 credits (see generally, Clauses 2 (v) and 7 of the UGC 1-year LLM Guidelines);

The one-year duration of the Blended LLM programme is divided into three trimesters, with each week comprising 30 hours of learning time, inclusive of teaching hours, library work, and research hours (see Clause 6 of the UGC 1-year LLM Guidelines); and

The courses of the Blended LLM programme shall follow a continuous assessment/evaluation component as well an end-term examination period at the end of every trimester (see Clauses 8 and 9 of the UGC 1-year LLM Guidelines).

The UGC does not follow any system of express approval for degrees and programmes launched by universities. Their approach is that of an automatic route, i.e., it is deemed to be approved insofar as JGU is in compliance with the UGC regulations and guidelines (which JGU is, as listed above). JGU is a recognised university and is fully empowered to offer all degree programmes. JGU has also received the highest NAAC “A” accredited institution besides being given the status of “Graded Autonomy” by the UGC. Hence, JGU is fully empowered to offer all degrees including the 1-Year LLM Degree programme.

We have complied with all guidelines and regulations of the UGC concerning the 1-Year LLM, and graduating students would be receiving the same LLM degree from JGU as awarded to candidates completing JGU’s residential programmes. The final degree, awarded upon completion of all the programme requirements will be a “Master of Laws” degree from O.P. Jindal Global University (with no mention of “online”, “blended”, or “upGrad”) and will be supplemented with a certificate of specialization in “Corporate & Financial Law” from JGU’s Centre for Post-graduate Legal Studies. We are also happy to inform you that graduates of JGU’s residential LLM programme have enrolled in PhD programmes in the past.

Having said this, please note that this programme has been designed for working legal professionals and/or persons who are looking to advance their career in the corporate and financial legal profession. To this end, much of the academic rigour prevalent in conventional LLM programmes has been converted to professional rigour, and we would therefore advise against enrolling in this programme, if your only desire or wish is to pursue a career in academia.

The LLM degree programme of JGU will indeed make you eligible to write UGC-NET Exam in Law or pursue a PhD degree in Law subject to relevant rules of that University. The 1-Year LLM graduates of O.P. Jindal Global University have qualified UGC-NET in Law and enrolled in PhD Law programmes at JGU and other Universities. Similarly, our 1-Year LLM graduates with requisite qualifications have also secured permanent teaching positions in various universities in India.

While we understand that it is natural for some concerns to arise given that this is a first-of-its-kind programme, we trust that this e-mail addresses these concerns. We look forward to meeting you all during classes and lectures, and are thankful for your continued participation as the founding batch of the JGU’s Blended LLM Programme."

All of this is just PR. Tell me something, if UGC express approval isn't required for online Masters degrees, then why does the certificate not mention that it's online? This is unethical as anything, but not unheard of in the JGU context. Moreover, see their own brochure where they claim students of their residential programme have been admitted to PhD. Why not students of the online programme too? They have been running this for 3 years now. Surely some students would have made it? The biggest red flag is that online and offline LLM certificates are identical. If they are so confident about the validity of the programme, then why hide its nature? Nobody has complained against it yet because it's true that a university can run any programme so long as it doesn't claim to be UGC certified. UGC does not allow online Masters programme in this country.

I have an "offline" LLM from KCL. I made it to Oxford (without any scholarship) and LSE (with 50% scholarship). I picked KCL because of a certain course/professor plus 50% scholarship. My advice is as follows:

1. I don't think ANY LLM matters for law firms in India. I had a professor in India with an Oxford BCL. He said he found it hard to get a job at a firm in India. I also had the same feedback from someone with an LLM from Harvard, who ultimately went into litigation. In contrast, I had classmates at KCL from Germany, Belgium, Brazil etc. Many were sponsored by their firms and many got jobs in their countries after their LLM, which was viewed as an asset. That's not at ALL how it works in India. Firms won't look beyond your BALLB GPA.

2. BUT an LLM, including an online LLM, is worth it if YOU want to enhance your knowledge and if YOU want to listen to lectures by good profs (instead of the mediocre ones we are usually saddled with in India). Now, if you want to be dictated by what others think (law firm HRs, neighbourhood uncle, LI troll etc) then skip both online and offline LLMs. Apply for a job after your BALLB.

You are at an age where I suspect the opinion of others matters quite a bit and you may lack the courage to think for yourself. For this reason, I advise you to skip any type of LLM and start work right away. After some years, when the opinion of others matters less and less, you may perhaps think about enrolling for an online LLM. You may, in fact, also find yourself utterly disillusioned by law firm life and end up wanting to to a master's in a non-law field, like policy studies or an MBA. Or just do something radically different, like opening a cafe or becoming a musicians. You'll be surprised at how many NLU grads and former corp lawyers have done so!

Whatever you do I wish you luck and advise you not to let mean comments by others (including on LI) ever get you down.

Had a shitty college experience, but got placed in a big firm after graduating.

Now considering opting for non-law degree abroad to get a flavour of multi cultural experience and a better life. This comment couldn’t have come at a better time.

Do drop some names of Corp lawyers who went on to become successful in other domains post MBA and are in based in other countries.

Thanks!