Hi, I have done BA LLB from India and have a CGPA of 7.3/10. I have just graduated and hence, do not have work experience. I also have a few paper publications in IP. I was in the top 15% of my class. I am interested in pursuing intellectual property LLM in the US and UK. Realistically, what are my chances of getting into the IP LLM program at NYU, Berkeley, King’s, LSE? Please recommend other colleges as well.

[Edited by Ni. J on Jun 20, 2021]

Hi. I graduated with an LLM from the LSE in 2019. Most of my peers including those in the IP specialism graduated within the top 10% of their classes. I personally graduated top 5% from a German university. But there may well have been others who were able to get in despite ranking slightly below that. I would think that your publications could help improve your chances in that respect. I don't think work experience is a must although the admissions committee tries to make sure to admit a diverse group of students including those that have some degree of post-qualification job experience. That means you will probably be graded and judged against others who have just come out of uni (in which case academic performance should be even more important). Definitely don't let this message discourage you from applying to the LSE. Just saying it so you can manage your expectations.

That having been said, if you are already certain that IP is for you, I would encourage you to look at the LLM programme at Queen Mary, University of London. A friend of mine specialises in IP and her PhD supervisor told her that QMUL has by far the best reputation and most resources in IP out of all London law schools, similar to the reputation King's holds in competition law. The LSE is more well-known for corporate and financial law as well as public international law. Many IP applicants will nevertheless prioritise LSE over QMUL simply because of the reputation of the institution as a whole. The upshot is that it is easier to get into QMUL while the IP programme is equally good if not better.