1. Degree Requirements

1.2.1 Minimum Study

The Standards of the American Bar Association have established that the Juris Doctor degree must be completed no earlier than 24 months from when a student has commenced law study at this law school or a law school from which transfer credit has been accepted. The Faculty of the School of Law have set a minimum of five (5) regular semesters for full time students and a minimum of seven (7) regular semesters for part time students.

1.2.2 Maximum Study

The Standards of the American Bar Association have established that the Juris Doctor degree must be completed no later than 84 months from when a student has commenced law study at this law school or a law school from which transfer credit has been accepted. The Faculty of the School of Law have set a maximum duration of study of five (5) years for full time students and six (6) years for part time students. Extension of these time periods to the limits established by the American Bar Association are at the discretion of the Faculty Petitions Committee and are considered only in extraordinary circumstances.

To demonstrate satisfactory academic progress, candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must maintain a minimum pace of study. This pace will vary according to a student’s year/division.

1.3.1 1L Full Time Students

Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined as 25 credit hours during a period of two consecutive required academic semesters

1.3.2 Upper Level Full Time Students

Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined as 20 credit hours during a period of two consecutive required academic semesters.

1.3.3 All Part Time Students

Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined as 16 credit hours during a period of two consecutive required academic semesters.

1.3.4 Attempted Credit Requirement

All students must earn 75% of their cumulative attempted credits.

1.3.5 Leave of Absence

Pace of study is not calculated during semesters in which a student is on an approved leave of absence.

All candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must have a cumulative grade point of 2.30 for all work undertaken at the law school. In computing the average, no consideration is given to grades received for work completed at other schools, including other law schools, even though transfer credit has been given for such work.

All candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must successfully complete all required course work.

1.5.1 1L Curriculum Courses

The scheduling and placement of students in required courses is done by the Registrar and students are required
to complete all required courses in the division in which they begin their law studies. For students in the full-time day division, 1L Curriculum courses are to be completed in the first year of study; the winter term is required. For students in the part-time evening division, these courses are to be completed within the first two years of study; the first summer session is required.

Students who fail to successfully complete the first semester of study (either in its entirety or an individual course or courses) may continue to the second semester of study. However, students may not be enrolled in courses beyond the first semester that require successful completion of the first semester course as a pre-requisite to another course unless waiver of this pre-requisite is approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the instructor of the later course.

1.5.2 Statutory/Regulatory Course Elective

All candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must successfully complete a course designated as satisfying the statutory/regulatory course elective.

The curriculum allows, and indeed requires, all students in the day division program to take a statutory/regulatory ("stat/reg") elective during the spring semester of their first year. Evening division students must take this elective during the fall semester of their second year.

1.5.3 Professional Responsibility Requirement

All candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must successfully complete the course: Legal Profession (Law 7565), 3 credits. This is a course in professional responsibility that includes substantial instruction in rules of professional conduct and the values and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members.

1.5.4 Practice-Based Learning Requirement

All candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must satisfy a Practice-Based Learning Requirement by successfully
completing either a clinic, a field placement course, an individual field placement, or another course designated by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or their designee as satisfying this requirement that includes a substantial component in which students participate in teams or as a group in one or more practice-based learning projects. To satisfy this requirement through an Individual Field Placement, students must engage in at least 168 hours of fieldwork and be enrolled concurrently in the Individual Field Placement Seminar. J.D. Students are required to have completed 2 regular semesters (f before participation in an individual field placement.

1.5.5 Upper-Level Writing Requirement

All candidates for the Juris Doctor degree are also required to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement.

Students fulfill the upper-level writing requirement (ULWR) by researching and writing (1) a substantial paper of an intensive, analytical character, or (2) one or more papers that contain rigorous predictive, objective legal analysis or a persuasive legal argument based on real or hypothetical facts.

In order to satisfy the ULWR, the papers must be of high quality. Students are expected to produce as many drafts
as necessary to produce papers meeting this standard, but in all cases are required to submit an initial draft and to make at least one round of revisions after receiving individualized feedback from their faculty supervisor. Except in extraordinary circumstances, the faculty supervisor must be a full-time faculty member.

Prior to submitting a first draft, students must attend a research review class/session that is (1) conducted by a Research Librarian as a general ULWR-research refresher session open to all students, or (2) conducted as a
subject-focused research review session by the faculty member who is supervising the ULWR or a Research Librarian in the context of a course in which the ULWR is being completed. Students who are concurrently enrolled in, or have completed one of the legal research classes (LAW7840, LAW7902, or LAW7935) are not required to attend a research review class/session.

(1) Students may fulfill the upper class writing requirement by researching and writing a substantial paper of
an intensive, analytical character by any of the following methods:
• a special research project of not less than two credit hours supervised by a faculty member;
• a paper for a seminar designated by the faculty member as requiring writing that would satisfy the requirement;
• a substantial paper in an exam course in which the faculty member permits no more than five students to submit papers for course credit in lieu of the exam and which otherwise must meet the standards of the ULWR.

(2) Students may alternatively satisfy the ULWR by researching and writing one or more papers that contain rigorous predictive, objective legal analysis or a persuasive legal argument based on the facts of the sort that students will be expected to produce in practice. Faculty members are responsible for designing the research and writing assignments. Students may satisfy this requirement by any of the following methods:
• a special research project of not less than two credit hours supervised by a member of the full-time faculty;
• a paper or papers for a seminar designated by the faculty member as requiring writing that would satisfy the ULWR;
• a paper or papers in an exam course in which the faculty member permits no more than five students to submit papers for course credit in lieu of the exam;
• a brief or predictive memorandum written in a live-client clinic. If the writing is co-written, it must include
substantial substantive contributions by each student seeking ULWR credit.
• completion of an advanced legal writing course that requires writing that would satisfy the ULWR.

Satisfaction of the ULWR must be by work done on graded basis (i.e., not on a pass/fail basis). The completion of
the ULWR will be verified by the faculty member at the time of grade submission or thereafter. The general expectation is that the final paper or papers will total at least 2500 words (excluding footnotes) per credit awarded.

Because of the multiple draft requirement, students should begin work on a project designed to satisfy the ULWR
no later than the beginning of their next to last semester of study. (That is, if a student plans to graduate in May, he/she should begin work on the project not later than the beginning of the fall semester.)

Students must have completed a Method of Satisfying the Upper-level Writing Requirement form on file at the
Office of Registrar Prior to graduation. A form submission deadline has been established each term for upper-level writing requirements that are completed through the completion of a paper in a seminar and in lieu of an exam.

The Law School has six dual-degree programs8 that combine a legal education with graduate professional training
in related fields. These programs enable qualified students to earn the J.D. and another degree more quickly than
by pursuing both degrees independently. Students are not required to pursue a dual degree.

1.6.1 Admission Requirements

Students pursuing dual degrees must meet the application requirements of, and be separately admitted to, each
degree program. Admission to one degree program does not guarantee admission to the other.

Once admitted to both programs, students must submit a dual degree application to the law school registrar.

1.6.2 Concurrent Enrollment/Completion Requirements

Students are eligible to pursue dual degrees only if they are enrolled concurrently in both programs. Students who already have completed one program are not eligible for dual degrees or the transfer of credits that participation in such a program enables.

Students may begin either degree program first. Students must generally complete one full year of study in one
program, followed by a complete full year of study in the other, before taking courses in both degree program
simultaneously to complete their respective requirements.

All degree requirements of both programs must be met. Credits from the other degree program will not be applied toward the JD degree unless and until all the requirements of the former have been satisfied. The other degree program must be completed prior to or concurrently with completion of the JD degree.

1.6.3 Policies Regarding Courses and Credit

Students must limit their credits to 16 law credits per semester unless permission for 17 credits is granted by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. It is suggested that students limit their total credits for both programs to this limit as well.

The Graduate School will reduce the number of credits needed for students enrolled in a dual degree program.
This may vary by program. The School of Law will transfer twelve (12) credits from the graduate school to the law
program. These 12 are included in the 86 credits needed for degree completion. Credits transferred from a dual
degree program to the School of Law are done so without transfer of grade received (except in the case of cross
listed courses with the Business School as noted in the Appendix).

The list of courses law courses which reduce the number of dual degree program credits is subject to change and is at the discretion of the participating program.