Ignoring all other programs, which would you choose and why: NYU's E-LLM in tax or UW?

There are numerous reasons to choose NYU's E-LLM over UW's Graduate Tax Program. Not even sure why it would even be up for discussion, but here are my top three personal reasons (supported by facts).

1. NYU name recognition - although you would not receive the traditional LLM from NYU, you would still receive a degree from NYU (and NYU looks a lot better on a resume than UW).

2. NYU education - even though the degree is entirely online, you will still receive an education from some of the most proficient tax professionals in the world. Moreover, you will have access to NYU's vast amount of resources upon graduation (and NYU looks a lot better on a resume than UW).

3. Rankings - even though there aren't rankings available for E-LLM's (presumably because there are so few of them at the moment), you will still receive an education from NYU. Moreover, UW is not currently ranked among Graduate Tax Programs (http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2012/03/new-2013.html).

Some could argue that the value of an E-LLM education is not equal to that of a traditional LLM. However, Georgetown has started an E-LLM pilot program with government tax professionals (IRS Chief Counsel, DOJ Tax Division, etc), which means that the general acceptance of an E-LLM degree among the professional community will continue to increase.

With that said, unless you were planning to attend a traditional program at either NYU, GULC, or UF, the NYU E-LLM program is the better choice.

For additional reading, see:

http://www.taxanalysts.com/www/features.nsf/Articles/7962D670479653E2852579190062D128?OpenDocument

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/01/the-value-of-the-ll-m-degree-still-low/