Degree Requirements

Juris Doctor Degree Requirements

Degree requirements are as stated in the College of Law catalog in effect at the time of enrollment. For students who entered in fall 1994 or thereafter, requirements are as follows.

• Completion with a passing grade of courses totaling at least 88 semester credit hours, of which at least 59 must have been completed in this law school. No more than four of these credits can be earned through co-curricular activities. With permission from the Associate Dean for Students, upon good cause, work up to 29 semester hours from another ABA-accredited law school may be counted.
• Compliance with ABA Length of Study Rule: Standard (304c) requires that the course of study for the J.D. degree be completed no sooner than 24 months and no longer than 84 months after the student has commenced law study.
• Achievement of a 2.0 cumulative grade point average on all graded work attempted in the college.
• Satisfaction of Advanced Writing Requirement through the completion of a seminar (LAW 6936), an approved advanced course, an Independent Research—Advanced Writing Requirement course, an approved masters thesis or doctoral dissertation certified by a College of Law faculty member, or a note for any of the J.D. student journals, whether or not selected for publication, that has been written under the supervision of a faculty member, who must provide individual assessment of each draft.

*Students who enrolled prior to August 2020 take Appellate Advocacy; Students who enroll in August 2020 or later are required to take Legal Writing II: Persuasive Writing.