The Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) Program

• Introduction
• Graduation Requirements
• Grading Scale
• Course Load

Introduction

The Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) is the degree required for admission to the bar in nearly all U.S. states and territorial jurisdictions. The J.D. program is designed to provide a general background in law. Although concentration or specialization is neither required nor encouraged, the law school curriculum is broad enough that students may, through their choice of electives, emphasize a particular area of the law. These areas include the following:

• Administrative Law
• Business Associations
• Commercial Law
• Criminal Law
• Environmental and Natural Resource Planning
• International Law
• Judicial Administration and Procedure
• Litigation
• Property and Estate Planning
• Public Interest Law
• Tax Law

Graduation Requirements

To be recommended for the J.D. degree by the faculty, a student must successfully complete a minimum of 90 semester hours, normally accomplished in six semesters or five semesters and two summer sessions. A cumulative average of 2.0 is required for graduation. Other academic requirements for graduation and for maintaining good standing are contained in the "Rules and Regulations of the School of Law," which is given to students upon their initial registration and is available upon request.

Grading Scale

The grading scale is as follows:

Course Load

The average academic attrition rate for first-year students during the past five years is about 9 percent. The Law School offers a full-time program. Part-time enrollment is not permitted, and classes are offered only during the day. A student may not take more than 17 or less than 13 hours in any semester without special permission. Twelve hours is considered full time. There is no minimum course load requirement for students during a summer session, although 8 hours is considered full time and students may not register for more than 10 hours.

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