Tax Program

Established in 2002, the Tax Program at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law has been recognized as a leader in the field, ranked among the very best annually in U.S. News and World Report. Our comprehensive curriculum, outstanding faculty, and small, collaborative community provides students with a solid understanding of the complexities of the tax law and the specialized skills needed to practice federal, state, and international tax law successfully.

Living & Learning in a Supportive Community

With an average of 40 full-time students and seven residential tax faculty professors, the Tax Program has one of the lowest student to faculty ratios of any graduate tax program in the country.

• Our small class sizes allow for conversation and collaboration between students and professors.
• Each residential faculty member has an open door policy for students to ask questions and discuss course material before and after class.
• Full-time students are each assigned to a faculty advisor, who mentors him or her throughout the year.

Top Faculty

The Tax Program Faculty is comprised of an important balance of residential and adjunct faculty members to teach students how to apply core tax law concepts to complex, real world transactions.

• Our seven residential faculty members are experts in their specialized field of taxation. As full-time academics, they are dedicated to giving students the best tax education in the country.
• Our 33 adjunct faculty instructors are leading practitioners from top law and accounting firms. Many speak and write in their areas of expertise.  

Comprehensive Curriculum

The Tax Program curriculum gives students a foundational understanding of tax law, which they can apply to a wide array of specialty tax elective courses.

• The required courses cover the four principal areas of the modern tax law: Taxation of Property Transactions, Corporate Taxation, Partnership Taxation, and International Taxation.
• Students also can choose from a variety of elective courses with the opportunity to specialize in particular areas of the tax law. Students interested in Corporate Tax, International Tax, Tax Controversy, or Wealth Transfer and Legacy Planning can earn a certificate in one of these areas by taking certain elective courses.

Career Planning

LLM in Tax graduates are employed in a range of tax practices and organizations, including large law firms, Big 4 accounting firms, Fortune 100 corporations, clerkships at The Tax Court, the IRS Honors Program, and governmental agencies, across the United States and in many international cities.

• The Tax Program has its own dedicated career adviser, who works exclusively with LLM in Tax students to develop a successful employment search strategy. We connect students to our strong network of tax practitioners and Tax Program alumni (currently in excess of 1,000) from national and international firms for career advice, mock interviewing, and job opportunities.
• The Career Strategy Center has designed a program of workshops and events for tax students throughout the year to assist them with their job search, including participation in the Tax Attorney Recruiting Event (TARE) each spring semester.
• Through one-on-one appointments, the career adviser will also help students individually polish their resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles, refine their interviewing skills, and strategize their negotiations.
• The Career Strategy Center also sets up on-campus interviews, resume collects, and networking opportunities with employers and alumni.