Masters in Law, Legal Studies, or Labor relations search

So my new employer offers a tuition reimbursement program at around 5200 a year. I would like to pursue a Masters in Legal Studies with possible emphasis in Labor Relations, Masters in Law with same specialization, or something similar that would fit within my budget above that is online and regionally accredited. Thanks for any input/suggestions.

 

I'm not sure if you could structure these programs to fit into your budget by taking the courses slowly, but I like:

NOVA Southeastern - Shepard Broad Law Center - MS in Employment Law https://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/online/empl/
Champlain College - MS in Law (no emphasis, but labor law is covered) Online Masters in Law Degree | Graduate Degrees
Widener University/Delaware Law School - Master of Jurisprudence (Corporate and Business Law) Corporate & Business Compliance Programs | DE - Widener Law · Delaware Law: Widener University

 

Rutgers: Master of Labor Studies & Employment Relations
MLER | School of Management and Labor Relations
Online Learning | School of Management and Labor Relations

SUNY-Empire State: Master of Arts in Work and Labor Policy
“…a 36-credit hour master’s degree incorporating online courses with several (usually 2-3) weekend Residencies.
M.A. in Work and Labor Policy | School for Graduate Studies | SUNY Empire State College

Two UK options: RA equivalent

Robert Gordon University (UK): LLM Employment Law
“A first degree in law, business or HR management and/or a professional qualification is preferred but not essential. The course is delivered fully online (except for one optional module, which requires attendance at an on campus workshop), and can be studied either full-time or on a part-time basis.”
Masters in Employment Law Degree | Employment Law LLM Online Course

De Montfort University (UK): LLM Employment Law and Practice
“You should have a good honours degree, or overseas equivalent, or an appropriate professional qualification. Some background knowledge of law is useful, but a degree in law is not essential.”
LLM Employment Law and Practice (distance learning) LLM - De Montfort University - Leicester, UK

 

The Harvard MLA in Legal Studies can be pursued almost entirely online except for two semesters, but the semesters can be a short summer term or, I think, a January term. The program is relatively inexpensive and open admissions.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

The Harvard one, or any other with an extended residency, would not be doable. I can't take a long amount of time off work for it so I am looking for a purely at distance program.

 

UK employment law is nothing like employment law in any of the US states, which differ substantially among themselves. So unless you are in England or Wales, a UK LLM in employment law would be quite useless.

 

That’s a very broad assertion warguns …

BTW re law; a LL.M. would be generally considered as more prominent than a M.A., M.S., M.L.A. /A.L.M. or M.J. degree even if from a UK source IMO. Also, you left out Scottish law, e.g., Robert Gordon University… :cool2:

 

It's true that UK employment law differs greatly from US employment law. However, the utility of that knowledge depends upon the role of the individual.

It used to be that the premier HR credential was SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources). Then they came out with the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR). The reason why this credential even makes sense is that many HR professionals are called upon to work in a globalized environment. The same can be said of many financial professionals. So if you are an HR "Director" of a one-person HR shop in a place that has 50 employees, yeah, this LLM wouldn't be a very strong match. It might look impressive on your resume but it wouldn't really have any impact on your work. If, however, you are a mid to senior level HR professional at a global firm then it could very well be a useful credential to have in your pocket.

My company currently has a sort of "exchange program" with our Japanese parent company. We sent them a paralegal for a year and they sent us a Japanese attorney for the same length of time. A U.S. trained paralegal is functionally useless in Japan. Likewise, a Japanese attorney is functionally useless in the U.S. He can't practice in U.S. courts. The legal systems are very different. Also, our paralegal spoke only rudimentary Japanese prior to her visit and the attorney has a rather poor grasp of English. So developing new language skills is a plus in this program. But the real purpose is to try to make it so our company doesn't get too compartmentalized by cultural differences. Also, it provides opportunities to actually learn new ways of doing things.

So I wouldn't describe the degree as "quite useless" in every context. There are a number of companies in the U.S. that would value someone with international employment law experience.

 

Have you looked into National Labor College?

 

NLC closed in 2014.

 

I wondered what happened to them.

 

Broad but quite true. Employment laws is almost entirely statutory. I represented employees before Employment Tribunals in the UK so I know what I'm talking about. (Notice any "Employment Tribunals" in the US?)

Scottish law is different than the law of England and Wales. I don't know what their employment law is like but I doubt if it resembles any US state.

 

I still disagree with your very broad assertion warguns; I’ll just leave it at that…

 

California University of Pennsylvania has a Master of Science in Legal Studies: Law and Public Policy Concentration (https://www.calu.edu/academics/online-programs/legal-studies/curriculum/ms-law-public-safety/index.htm) which I did online and totally enjoyed. When I did it, tuition was around $11,000 for the entire program. Not sure what it is now though.