J.D. Degree Requirements

Student Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from this program will:

  • Students will demonstrate mastery of core doctrinal knowledge.
  • Students will demonstrate mastery of the skills necessary for objective legal analysis.
  • Students will demonstrate mastery of the skills necessary for effective legal research.
  • Students will demonstrate mastery of legal writing across formats.
  • Students will demonstrate mastery of the duties of attorneys as members of the legal profession.
  • Students will demonstrate ability to work with people in a professional environment.
  • Students will demonstrate competency in professional work habits.
  • Students will demonstrate entry-level proficiency in lawyering skills.

First Year Required Courses

Full-time students complete these courses during their first year:

Full-Time Progress

LAW 8501Contracts4
LAW 8634Criminal Law3
LAW 8521Civil Procedure4
LAW 8631Constitutional Law4
LAW 8531Lawyering Skills I 13
LAW 8532Lawyering Skills II 12
LAW 8541Property4
LAW 8641Statutes and Regulations3
LAW 8511Torts3
LAW 8897EIntroduction to the Legal Profession0
Total Credits30
1

Lawyering Skills I and II: These two first-year courses introduce students to legal reasoning; analytical and critical thinking; case research and analysis; legal writing, including office memoranda, briefs and letters to and on behalf of clients; advocacy; and all forms of legal research. They offer education in many of the fundamental skills and processes of legal practice through a combination of lecture classes and small group sessions. They are required of all first-year law students in order to supply a strong foundation of thinking, research and writing skills upon which all later, advanced courses will depend.

Part-time Progress

Students enrolled on a part-time basis typically take three of the required courses, including Lawyering Skills, in their first year. The remaining first-year courses must be completed in their second year of study.

Other Required Courses

Students must complete the following courses as a condition of graduation:

Required to be Taken Prior to Graduation.
LAW 8731Professional Responsibility2
Experiential Course or courses (see below)6
ABA Standard 303(c) Course (see below)1
Total Credits9

Experiential Course Requirement

A student must take 6 credit hours in a course or combination of courses that meet the school's experiential course requirement. These courses are primarily clinical, internship, or skills simulation courses.  Courses fulfilling the requirement will be designated by the faculty.

American Bar Association Standard 303(c) Course Requirement

A student must obtain at least 1 credit hour in a course that meets the school's ABA Standard 303(c) course requirement. These courses provide education to students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism. Courses fulfilling the requirement will be designated by the faculty. This requirement applies to students who matriculated in or after Fall 2023.

Requirements for the J.D. Degree

  1. Complete 90 or more credit hours.

  2. Complete at least 64 classroom credit hours. These are credits earned through courses requiring attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction. Courses fulfilling this requirement will be indicated on the course schedule each semester. 

  3. A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 (see Administrative Rules and Regulations, Scholastic Probation and Dismissal, in this section)

  4. Complete at least 6 experiential credit hours. These credit hours are earned through simulation courses, law clinics, and externships. Courses fulfilling the requirement will be indicated on the course schedule each semester.

  5. Complete at least one course that meets the American Bar Association's Standard 303(c) course requirement. Courses fulfilling this requirement will be indicated on the course schedule each semester.

  6. Complete all other required courses (which are listed on this page). 

  7. Fulfill the school's upper-level writing requirement. This requires completing a paper or series of related papers of professional quality, resulting from a rigorous writing experience, and demonstrating quality research and legal analysis. 

  8. Have regular and punctual class attendance.

  9. Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 (see Administrative Rules and Regulations, Scholastic Probation and Dismissal). 

  10. Successfully complete all of these requirements within five years from the time the student began their course of studies leading toward the degree. A student will not be allowed to enroll in any course after the five-year period, unless an exception is granted by the Student Affairs Committee.

  11. Optional: Students may, but are not required to, choose one or more emphasis areas from this list:

    1. Advocacy
    2. Business & Entrepreneurial Law
    3. Child & Family Law
    4. Estate Planning
    5. Intellectual Property
    6. International, Comparative, & Foreign Law
    7. Urban, Land Use and Environmental Law

Policy on Certification of Completion of Graduation Requirements for Bar Authorities

The Law School will certify to a state’s bar authorities (such as a board of law examiners) that a student has completed degree requirements and is eligible to take a bar exam only if the following conditions have been met.

  1. Graduation Date: A student will not be certified to take a bar exam prior to the date the student’s degree has been awarded. This means that:
    1. `A May graduate’s first bar exam cannot be before July of the graduation year. 
    2. An August or December graduate’s first bar exam cannot be before February following the graduation year
  2. Papers: A student writing a paper for any course (including seminars, independent studies, and all other courses) must submit a complete, finished version of the paper by the following dates. The deadlines apply to papers written to fulfill the upper-level writing requirement, but the deadlines also apply to all other papers.
    1. A student graduating in May and taking the bar exam in July must have every paper completed and submitted to the professor by May 1st of the graduation year.
    2. A student graduating in December and taking the bar exam the following February must have every paper completed and submitted to the professor by December 1st of the graduation year.
    3. A professor may set an earlier deadline for a particular course, independent study, paper, or R&W requirement.
    4. These deadlines are not waivable.
  3. Incompletes: A student who has an Incomplete for any credit or credits from a previous semester must have all work required to earn the credits completed by the following dates.
    1. A student graduating in May and taking the bar exam in July must have all work required to earn the credits completed by May 1st of the graduation year.
    2. A student graduating in December and taking the bar exam the following February must have all work required to earn the credits completed by December 1st of the graduation year.
    3. A professor may set an earlier deadline for the completion of any work for an Incomplete.
    4. These deadlines are not waivable.

These deadlines will not apply where the student has an Incomplete for credits from a previous semester only because the student was in a course involving a commitment to do something (such as for a law journal, clinic, or field placement) for multiple semesters and credit is not awarded for the prior semester until the full commitment has been completed.