Master of Laws
- noun
- /ˈmæstər əv lɔz/
- Her interest in the Medill Innocence Project stems from her human rights studies at the National University of Ireland, Galway, where she earned a Master of Laws in international human rights law in 2010.
Examples
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He graduated from the University of Buea with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree and received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in International Human Rights Law and International Labour Rights.
Blog text (10) -
He received his law degree from St. John's University and a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University.
Blog text (33) -
He received his law degree from St. John's University and a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University.
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Bernstine earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, his law degree at Northwestern University School of Law, and a master of laws degree at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Synonyms
A university certificate that shows someone finished law studies
A higher law degree taken after a first law degree
How Advanced
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an advanced academic degree in law' is directly derivable from combining 'master' (a master's degree) with the genitive/of construction and 'laws' (the field of law), following the common 'Master of [field]' pattern in English. This compositional and cross-linguistically common degree-naming pattern makes the phrase immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Master of Laws comes from old universities where a master was a respected 'teacher' and laws were the rules they taught. Over time the name became the title of an advanced 'degree' in law, so today it means a higher law qualification for people who have already studied law.