The wines of Napa Valley and the drive down the coastal route of Highway One were among the highlights of Agata Wisniewska’s family trip to California this summer. But the key draw for Ms Wisniewska was less relaxing: she wanted to complete her masters degree in law (LLM).

今年夏天,，阿加塔·維希涅夫斯卡(Agata Wisniewska，見文首照片)全家去加利福尼亞州旅行,，納帕谷(Napa Valley)的紅酒以及駕車沿著加州一號海岸公路(Highway One)行駛是旅行中的兩大亮點,。但維希涅夫斯卡此行的目標就沒那么輕松了：她想要拿到法學碩士學位(LLM)。

Berkeley Law, University of California, is one of a handful of leading US teaching institutions now offering hybrid LLM programmes. These combine online classes, taken in students’ spare time at home, with campus lectures offered during the summer break when the full-time students are away.

加州大學伯克利分校法學院(Berkeley Law, University of California)是美國少數(shù)幾家提供混合型法學碩士項目的頂尖學府之一,。這類項目結(jié)合了線上課程和在校課程,，學生可以利用在家的閑暇時間接受線上教學，并在全日制學生離校的暑假期間進行在校課程學習,。

“I would not be doing such a course if I had to come to Berkeley for a year,” says Ms Wisniewska, who is now at home in Poland completing her course online. The LLM, she hopes, will help her progress faster up the career ladder.

維希涅夫斯卡目前正在波蘭的家中進行線上學習,，她說：“如果我不得不來伯克利一整年的話，我是不會參加這樣的課程的,?！彼Ｍ▽W碩士學位能幫助她在職業(yè)生涯中更快地晉升。

The catalyst for hybrid programmes has been the decline in the numbers applying to full-time LLM programmes. Working lawyers are put off full-time courses by the prospect of having to quit their jobs — and forgo their salary — and return to student life for 12 months.

全日制法學碩士項目申請人數(shù)下降催生了混合型課程項目,。已經(jīng)參加工作的律師們參加全日制課程項目的意愿較低,，因為他們想到自己不得不為了課程辭去工作，損失工資,，并重返校園過上12個月的學生生活,。

The numbers of students like Ms Wisniewska are small: Berkeley Law launched its hybrid course in January with a class of 13 students, against two cohorts each of 100 students studying at the school for the full-time LLM.

像維希涅夫斯卡這樣的學生很少,。加州大學伯克利分校法學院在今年1月推出了混合型法學碩士項目，共招收了13名學生,，組成了一個班,。與之相對的，在該校參加全日制法學碩士項目的學生共有兩批,，每批有100人,。

But these courses are a way to bring in students who would not otherwise consider graduate education. According to Anya Grossmann, director of global outreach and professional engagement at Berkeley Law, 85 per cent of those accepted on its hybrid course said they did not apply to any other degree programme.

但這些課程的確吸引了那些原本不考慮研究生教育的學生。加州大學伯克利分校法學院國際推廣兼專業(yè)實踐部門主任阿妮婭·格羅斯曼(Anya Grossmann)表示,，在該?；旌闲驼n程項目錄取的學生中，有85%的學生曾說他們不適合其他任何學位課程,。

The $60,345 tuition fee for the hybrid course is the same as the one-year full-time LLM. However, the hit to students’ salary of a hybrid degree is considerably less because they are only required to attend courses for 12 weeks.

混合型法學碩士課程的學費與一年期全日制法學碩士課程的學費是一樣的,，都是60345美元。但混合型課程項目對學生工資的影響要小得多,，因為他們只需要參加12周的在校課程,。

“For a significant number of our students this is the only way to get an LLM degree,” Ms Grossmann says. A hybrid LLM is mainly aimed at those seeking career progression, she adds. “In certain countries, an LLM is the only way to get up the corporate ladder.”

格羅斯曼表示：“對我們的許多學生來說，這是獲得法學碩士學位的唯一方法,。”她還補充說,，混合型法學碩士項目主要針對那些想要在職業(yè)生涯中更進一步的人,，“在某些國家，獲得法學碩士學位是企業(yè)晉升的唯一途徑”,。

Ms Wisniewska says she was able to get additional time off to attend the summer lectures at the end of her maternity leave from the Warsaw office of US law firm Greenberg Traurig. Her husband was able to join her, and look after their son, by taking unpaid annual leave.

維希涅夫斯卡表示,，她在美國Greenberg Traurig律師事務(wù)所華沙辦事處工作，在該律所給她的產(chǎn)假的末尾,，她獲得了額外的假期去參加暑期在校課程,。她的丈夫也能申請無薪年假陪她一起，照看他們的兒子,。

The course, she says, has greatly improved her understanding of US corporate law for the deals she is handling. “It’s not my goal to work in the US,” she says. “For me it is about developing myself and my skills.”

她說,，這門課程大大地提高了她對美國公司法的理解，讓她能更好地處理正在經(jīng)手的案件,?！拔业哪繕瞬⒉皇橇粼诿绹ぷ鳌,！彼硎?，“這只是為了自我提高以及技能完善?！?/span>

Law schools started seeking out technology to provide cheaper, more flexible ways for people to study after demand for law degree courses tumbled in the wake of the financial crisis.

在金融危機以后，對法學學位的需求大幅下降,，法學院開始尋求技術(shù)的幫助,，為人們提供更便宜，更靈活的學習方式,。

For the three admissions cycles up to last year, the number of applicants to American Bar Association degrees has hovered below 60,000, down from 88,000 in the 2009-10 cycle, according to data from the Law School Admission Council, which administers the standardised entrance exam for American, Canadian and Australian schools.

根據(jù)美國法學院入學委員會(Law School Admission Council)的數(shù)據(jù),，在截至去年的三次招生季中，申請美國律師協(xié)會(American Bar Association)認證學位的人數(shù)已經(jīng)從2009-2010招生季的8.8萬人降至不到6萬人,。美國法學院入學委員會管理美國,、加拿大和澳大利亞的法學院的標準化入學考試。

Demand for conventional full-time courses has recovered this year, and law schools have found that hybrid law degrees are not cannibalising LLM applicants but bringing in new ones.

今年,，對傳統(tǒng)全日制法學碩士課程的需求已經(jīng)回暖,。各法學院還發(fā)現(xiàn)，混合型法學碩士項目并不影響全日制法學碩士項目的招生,，反而吸引了新的申請人,。

Ken Randall, who was dean at the University of Alabama School of Law for 20 years, is founder of iLaw, which has worked with 22 law schools in the US to develop online or hybrid degree courses. “This is really about market expansion,” he says.

曾擔任阿拉巴馬大學法學院(University of Alabama School of Law)院長達20年的肯·蘭德爾創(chuàng)立了在線平臺iLaw。該平臺與美國22所法學院合作開發(fā)線上和混合型法學學位課程,。他說：“這確實和市場擴張有關(guān)系,。”

Last month, Columbia Law School announced a hybrid course on its New York campus. It will run over 12 weeks during the summer break, with an additional requirement to complete three online courses, each lasting four weeks.

上個月,，哥倫比亞大學法學院(Columbia Law School)宣布，在紐約校區(qū)開設(shè)混合型課程,。該課程需要學生在暑假期間參加12周的在校課程,，并另外完成3門線上課程，每門課程持續(xù)4周,。

The Columbia hybrid option uses the same professors as the full-time course, according to Julia Miller, assistant dean for executive education and non-degree programmes at Columbia Law School. “We wanted to make sure that this was of the highest quality,” Ms Miller says. “This is a commitment from the top down.”

哥倫比亞大學法學院負責高管教育和非學位項目的副院長朱莉婭·米勒(Julia Miller)表示,，該校的混合型課程項目與全日制課程項目由同一批教授授課,。“我們希望確保這是最高質(zhì)量的項目,?！彼f，“這是學校高層做出的承諾,?！?/span>

The 12 weeks that hybrid course students will spend on campus are set to be “intense” and key to the networking element of going back to law school. “Exchanging those ideas with other students is invaluable,” she says. Hybrid degree programmes mainly attract mid-career employees. Ms Wisniewska, who is 30, is the second youngest in her cohort at Berkeley Law. Several of her classmates are in their late 30s and 40s.

混合型項目的學生將在校接受為期12周、非?！凹小钡恼n程,，這也是學員在返校學習期間建立人脈的關(guān)鍵。米勒說：“與其他學生交換想法是非常重要的,?！被旌闲晚椖恐饕氖翘幵诼殬I(yè)生涯中期的員工。維希涅夫斯卡今年30歲,，在加州大學伯克利分校法學院同期的學生中,，她是第二小的。她有幾名同學將近40歲或者將近50歲,。

She values the time they spent together in classes in California in the summer. “It is not always easy to organise our online lessons because other students live in all parts of the world,” she says. “But the experience of meeting them has been something I could never have achieved without going back to law school.”

她非常珍惜夏季和同學們一起在加州上課的時間,。“組織我們的線上課程并不總是那么容易,，因為其他學生生活在世界各地?！彼f,，“但是，如果不回到法學院,，我可能永遠也無法擁有這段與他們相遇的經(jīng)歷,。”

Law costs: A year of living expensively

攻讀法學的成本：花銷不菲的一年

A year of postgraduate study in a top US law school is expensive. The masters in law (LLM) for the 2018-19 academic year at Harvard Law School costs $63,800 in tuition. Once a student has factored in health insurances, course activities, and the costs of housing, food, and books plus personal expenses, the total cost rises to $95,930 for a single student, according to Harvard’s calculations.

在美國頂尖法學院攻讀研究生一年的費用不菲,。哈佛大學法學院(Harvard Law School) 2018-19學年的法學碩士項目的學費為6.38萬美元,。根據(jù)哈佛大學的統(tǒng)計，如果算上健康保險,、課程活動,、食宿、書本和個人開銷,，一名學生的總開支會增至95930美元,。

The final bill is similar at Columbia Law School, where tuition this year is $67,532. The school advises students to budget $97,850 to cover living expenses, books, student health insurance, activities and university fees.

攻讀哥倫比亞大學法學院的總開支算下來也差不多,，該校今年的學費為67532美元。學校建議學生制定97850美元的預算,，用于支付生活費,、書本費、學生健康保險,、活動費以及大學學費,。