Online Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Oral Adversarial Trials in the Adversarial Criminal System
I. Introduction
The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a century-old institution committed to training socially conscious jurists and promoting access to justice. Our General Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program has been offered in-person since 1998 and was initially aimed at lawyers from Latin America.
Since 2018, we have offered courses with a curricular emphasis on Oral Adversarial Trials in the Criminal System and Judicial Training, and since 2019, on Commercial Law. In 2020, we identified the need to offer an online option to judges, prosecutors, and lawyers from Latin America and the United States who are unable to travel to Puerto Rico to pursue graduate studies and who, at the same time, wish to obtain a formal degree from our institution. For this reason, we established the new online Master of Laws (LL.M.) program in Oral Adversarial Trials in the Criminal System.
Students in this program will take courses with experts in criminal procedure law, the interaction of civil and common law, the law of evidence, criminal litigation, judgment writing, and adjudication theory, among other core topics. They will also have the option to take elective courses on topics of great global importance such as human trafficking and gender-based violence. Courses will be offered in Spanish, but students must demonstrate proficiency in English.
Vision and Mission
The online LL.M. in Oral Trials in the Criminal Justice System (LL.M.) program aims to offer a cutting-edge curriculum that, drawing on the experience of Puerto Rican jurisdiction from a comparative perspective, develops the necessary skills for effective performance in an adversarial and oral criminal justice system with a perspective of ethical justice and that strengthens respect for human rights in criminal proceedings.
To this end, the program’s mission is to develop jurists with the knowledge and skills necessary for effective performance in an adversarial criminal justice system based on oral trial.
II. Admission Process
The online Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program in Oral Adversarial Trials in the Adversarial Criminal System admits students to begin both the January-May and August-December semesters.
For more information on the admission requirements for the online LL.M. Program in Oral Adversarial Trials in the Adversarial Criminal System, click here:
III. Program Length and Maximum Time to Complete the Degree
The online Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program, with a curricular emphasis on Oral Adversarial Trials in the Adversarial Criminal System, is designed for one (1) year of full-time study and twenty-four (24) credits. Considering that the Program is aimed at practicing professionals, it is expected that part-time study for two (2) years will be of interest.
IV. Admission Application
The application process for August 2025 is now available and will be open until Tuesday, April 15, 2025. You can apply for admission to the LL.M. Program in Oral Adversarial Trials in the Adversarial Criminal System online by accessing the following link to complete the application:
It is important to note that, as part of the application process, you must mail two (2) original university transcripts. These must be sent directly by the university to our Law School at the following address:
Online Masters of Laws Program (LL.M. Online)
School of Law UPR
7 University Ave. STE 701
San Juan, PR 00925-2527
You must also share the following documents through the NEXT platform when completing your application:
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*It is recommended that you also send copies of these documents by email to llm-online.derecho@upr.edu to ensure that the program receives them directly.
V. Curriculum
The program consists of 24 credits, divided into two semesters for full-time students, except for part-time students, who can complete it in two years. The distribution of credits that the student must take is: 18 required credits and 6 elective credits for a total of 24 credits.
The curricular design provides a balance between courses aimed at the study of the Puerto Rican accusatory and oral criminal system from a comparative perspective and courses aimed at developing litigation skills
| Program Requirements | Credits |
| DERE 7101 Legal Writing Workshop | 2 |
| DERE 7102 Beginning, Development and Conclusion of the Criminal Process in the Court of First Instance | 3 |
DERE 7103 Structures and Processes of Common Law and Interactions with Civil Law | 2 |
DERE 7123 Seminar Due Process of Law and its Jurisprudential Development in the Accusatory System | 2 |
| DERE 7124 Electronic Evidence | 2 |
| DERE 7125 Opinions Writing | 2 |
| DERE 7126 Theory, Doctrine and Litigation Practice | 3 |
| DERE 7206 Forensic Litigation: Basic Criminal Litigation Skills I | 2 |
| Total | 18 |
| Electives Courses | Credits |
| DERE 7122 Seminar: Legal Aspects Human Trafficking | 2 |
| DERE 7201 Direct Examination and Cross Examination | 2 |
| DERE 7208 Litigation of gender violence cases: Civil and Penal Remedies | 2 |
| DERE 7210 Seminar: Human Rights and Criminal Procedure | 2 |
| DERE 7211 Theory of Adjudication | 2 |
| Total | 10 |
VI. Faculty of the Online LL.M. Program in Oral Justice in the Criminal Justice System
The certified faculty members assigned to the Law School who currently offer courses and who will participate in the online LL.M. are:
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VII. Fees
The application fee is $30.00. For readmission, the fee is $35.00.
The estimated cost of the LL.M. The online Oral Law in the Accusatory Criminal System program has a total cost of $12,230 for students who complete the degree in one (1) year and $12,380 for those who complete it in two (2) years. The costs are broken as follows:
Tuition is $500.00 per credit for a total of $12,000.00 (24 credits). There is also a $75.00 semester fee for technology and an $80 graduation fee. Once admitted, you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of $500, which will be applied to your final semester of tuition. These amounts do not include additional expenses such as textbooks or other materials, which could cost approximately $700 to $1,400, nor the cost of repeating a course if you have to repeat a course; in these cases, you will have to pay the $500 per credit for the course you are repeating.
VIII. Frequently Asked Questions
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