Texas A&M Law offers the premier online master's degree in taxation law with a multidisciplinary, risk-management-focused approach. Our unique, industry-based online tax LL.M. and MLS is vetted by and focuses on the needs of multinational corporations, large firms and governments. A tax law degree from Texas A&M University, a Tier-1 research institution and one of the largest U.S. public universities, is recognized worldwide. Texas A&M’s online Master of Legal Studies (formerly the Master of Jurisprudence) or Master of Laws curriculum in International Tax is specifically designed for tax professionals, both lawyers and non-lawyers, whose careers demand an understanding of international taxation and related issues.
The Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree in International Tax is 30-credit-hour program. The Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in International Tax is a 24-credit-hour program. This program offers a competitive advantage to any tax professional, including lawyers, accountants, finance executive, and economist, that advises multinational clients on business and investment, or that works within a tax (risk management) department.
- Industry-Responsive Curriculum: A tax-risk management approach with a focus on tax data management and risk analysis based on the results of in-depth industry research.
- Hanover Research, on behalf of Texas A&M, interviewed one-on-one and then validated by anonymous survey over 100 tax executives from multinational corporations, large firms and government. As a result, the graduate tax law program is designed with faculty and degree candidates that are multidisciplinary, including both tax lawyers and non-lawyer tax professionals, engaged together in teams.
- Flexible Online Delivery for Working Professionals: Study when and where you want with our state-of-the-art online format. This online master's degree in taxation law is designed for working adults. You can complete the program on your schedule, while you continue working, enabling you and your classmates to share real-world examples and apply your education instantly. Ranked as a top-20 online graduate degree program in the U.S., Texas A&M University offers an asynchronous, engaging online platform.
- Incredible Student Experience: Texas A&M law offers small class sizes to ensure each student gets personal attention. These small class sizes allow you to forge strong connections with your classmates and to learn from each other’s experiences.
- Faculty Expertise & Leadership: The international tax master's has been developed and is led by Professor William Byrnes, an international tax authority and globally recognized online education pioneer focused on student outcomes. The program’s faculty are multidisciplinary (e.g. lawyers, economists, accountants, data scientists) and include renowned authors, academics, tax executives of multinational corporations, and tax advisors from large firms.
- Strength of the Aggie Network: Texas A&M, the second largest U.S. public university, with over 500,000 former students, is one of only 60 accredited U.S. members of the American Association of Universities (R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity).
Accelerate your career advancement with an LL.M. (for lawyers) or MLS (for non-lawyers) with a focus in International Tax from Texas A&M Law. Contact us for more information or to request a call from a Texas A&M Law representative to discuss your options.
Program Structure
The Master of Legal Studies (MLS) curriculum in International Tax is 30-credit-hour program. The Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Tax is a 24-credit-hour program. Typically, candidates enroll in two courses per semester, which allows most candidates to reach eligibility to graduate within two years. Candidates have the flexibility as to how many or few courses to enroll in each semester, subject to University graduate program rules.
Courses may include:
Introduction to the U.S. Legal System (2 credits, required)
Ethics in Decision Making (1 credit, required to graduate)
International Taxation & Treaties I (3 credits)
International Taxation & Treaties II (3 credits)
Transfer Pricing I (3 credits)
Tax Risk Management (3 credits)
International Tax Planning (3 credits)
U.S. International Tax (3 credits)
|
Transfer Pricing II (3 credits)
FATCA & CRS (3 credits)
Country Tax Systems (3 credits)
EU Taxation (3 credits)
Customs & Excises (3 credits) |
- Master of Laws (LL.M.) candidates must complete at least 24 credits to be eligible to graduate.
- Master of Legal studies (MLS) candidates must complete at least 30 credits to be eligible to graduate.
- All candidates must complete the Ethics in Decision Making course to be eligible to graduate.
Apply now!
Want to network with the leading authorities to boost your career?
Faculty
Texas A&M’s online Master of Legal Studies or Master of Laws curriculum in International Tax has been developed and is led by Professor William Byrnes, a leader in both online education and tax law. In 1994, Professor Byrnes founded the first international tax program leveraging online education and in 1998 founded the first online international tax program to be acquiesced by the American Bar Association and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He is recognized globally as an online education pioneer focused on learner outcomes and best practices leveraging state of the art educational technology. William Byrnes is also an international tax authority as LexisNexis’ leading published author of nine international tax treatises and compendium, annually updated.
Students will learn both from Texas A&M faculty and tax professionals. Working with top industry practitioners ensured that the required skills and legal background necessary for success in international tax is an integral part of the program.
Our program offers the distinct advantage of not only being provided online, but also through its all-star lineup of industry experts and legal scholars. Our faculty are experts in law and business, and more especially, in the identification, assessment and prioritization of risk. Each course is taught with a particular focus, and by an instructor hand-picked specifically because of their experience.
What distinguishes Texas A&M’s International Tax curriculum?
Texas A&M's cutting-edge international tax risk management curriculum, program methodology and operational structure is built upon in-depth industry research, and will continue to evolve with industry trends.
“The central function of the tax office has evolved from strategy and planning into risk management”, says Professor William Byrnes. “This evolution has been accelerated by trends — primarily globalization, transparency and regulatory reform — and by the OECD (through the project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, or BEPS), the United States (through the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) and the European Union.”
In 2019, Hanover Research on behalf of Texas A&M undertook an extensive long form survey, including interviews, of 146 tax executives about the needs and value added of Texas A&M’s new international tax curriculum. The survey's tax professionals included:
- 29% U.S. resident
- 71% foreign resident
- Half the participants were tax professionals of AmLaw 100 firms (27%) or of Big 4 accounting (21%)
- The other half of participants were tax professionals of large multinational tax departments in the following industries: Finance / Banking / Insurance; Consulting; Business / Professional Services; Computers (Hardware, Desktop Software); Telecommunications; Aerospace / Aviation / Automotive; Healthcare / Medical; Manufacturing; Food Service; Internet; Mining; Pharmaceutical / Chemical; Real Estate; and Transportation / Distribution
- Four percent of survey participants were executive level government tax authority staff
In addition to contributing to the actual design of the course curriculum, two interesting outcomes from the industry interviews were incorporated into Aggie Law's international tax program:
- The faculty and graduate degree candidates must be multidisciplinary, including both tax lawyers and non-lawyer tax professionals (e.g. accountants, finance executives, and economists) engaged together in learning teams with practical case studies and projects that are “applicable in a real-world context”.
- The curriculum must include the perspectives of tax mitigation and of tax-risk management with exposure to state-of-the-industry data analytics.
In its Tax Insights magazine that is distributed globally to clients, the Big 4 firm EY stated: “Texas A&M University is among the pioneers of change in tax education.”
Professor William Byrnes explains: “A risk management approach to tax means that the new model will by definition be multidisciplinary. Financial and managerial accounting – and law – will still be important, of course. But students will also need new “hard” skills involving big data, analytic, and visualization technologies and “soft” skills geared to working in multicultural settings both at home and abroad.”
Says Byrnes, “You don’t want to be an advisor stuck in the ‘Stone Age’ of tax planning trying to work in a post-BEPS world.”
What People Are Saying About The Program:
“A risk management approach to tax means that the new model will by definition be multidisciplinary…Texas A&M University is among the pioneers of change in tax education. In 2013, the State of Texas not only established a new law school at the university but also gave it carte blanche to create a new education model.”
– Ernst & Young’s Tax Insights, March 2016
Texas A&M University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, doctorate, and professional degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Texas A&M University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC's website (sacscoc.org).
The Master of Legal Studies and Master of Laws degree programs have obtained acquiescence from the American Bar Association (ABA).