Absolutely sensational!! A friend of mine who graduated with an LLM from UCLA sent me this email that UCLA LLM alumni got recently. If I heard of this happening in any country, I'd just abandon any thoughts of going there! Absolutely shocking - a uni like UCLA advertising places on a programme at the last minute! NB: Details of who signed off on this communication have been removed (by me) for obvious reasons prior to posting.

Dear UCLA Law LL.M. Alumnus,

We hope this message finds you well. As you may know, we’ve reached a difficult point in international higher education in the U.S., and the landscape for incoming international students has been challenging, to say the least. As we prepare to welcome next year’s class of LL.M. students, we face substantial uncertainty due to the U.S. State Department’s ongoing freeze of international student visas.

This has left new availability in our fall class for those who do not need a visa, including Canadian citizens, U.S. citizens, and U.S. permanent residents who do not need a student visa. Foreign nationals presently in the U.S. on a visa that permits academic study are also eligible and encouraged to apply.

We recognize that this is all rather last minute and are offering substantial tuition grants in order to encourage applicants to jump on this opportunity.

The deadline to apply is Monday, July 7, 2025. Those planning to apply should email us their résumé so we can confirm their eligibility and share next steps in the application process.

If you know anyone that falls into one of these categories who might be interested in joining UCLA as an LL.M. this fall, please encourage them to apply. We welcome your referrals and letters of recommendation. Should you or anyone you know have questions about this, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Many thanks as always for your support of UCLA Law and the Bruin network! We look forward to keeping in touch regarding future alumni engagement opportunities.

Best wishes

Yes, this is the emerging trend. UCLA is just one of the several universities facing this situation. There are good universities that are laying off faculty and closing departments because of a lower number of international students (like Duke and Princeton).

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/dire-implications-duke-university-president-warns-of-likely-layoffs-due-to-federal-funding-cuts/

So much so, Ashoka U has even started a special admissions round for those Indian students who have secured admission at a US university but cannot get a visa. This is called opportunistic desperation - ▮▮▮

https://application.ashoka.edu.in/us-admits-application-form

LLMs are only for academia, and the world over should push this notion. There should be a time limit, like if you don't use your LLM in the next 3 years to teach, it should be declared invalid, or something like that. Most of these so called postgraduates, don't even care about research or teaching. They're just getting a degree, cause they don't want to work. In turn spoiling the chances for genuine people who want to get into academia. Look at J-school, all faculties with an LLM from abroad, no NET, no teaching experience, no research paper and they teach like shit. Absolutely rubbish.

No, that's a very wrong notion, particularly looking at Europe. There are hyper-specialized programs there for people who want to specialize, and they start working in Europe.

I've done an LLM from India, and I have been a TA for LLM students as well. While there are people who're serious, most Indian students do not take up an LLM to join academia.

I wouldn't comment on J School because I have no experience with people there. But NLS is also valuing foreign degrees, in the sense that people fresh out of LLMs with foreign degrees have also been hired on contract.