Based upon the standards as outlined by the American Bar Association, the requirements for the Juris Doctor degree at the UConn Law are designed to provide students with the curricular and practice-based knowledge relevant in today’s legal community. All requirements for the degree are subject to change at any time by the faculty. No increase in the number of semester hours required are made effective for students enrolled at the time of such change who remain in continuous attendance. Students who are not in continuous attendance or who transfer from another law school are subject to the requirements in effect at the time of their re-entrance or admission. Show Credit RequirementsAll candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must successfully complete a minimum of eighty-six (86) credits, 65 of which must be in regularly scheduled class sessions. Three year day division students must complete all credits in a minimum of six semesters in residence, or the equivalent thereof, at this or another accredited law school. Evening division students must complete all credits in a minimum of eight semesters, or the equivalent, at this or another accredited law school. Credit may not be given for work taken before a student's regular matriculation in the first degree in law program. No course of study may be less than 24 months. Full-time students must complete all coursework for the Juris Doctor degree within five years; part-time students must complete coursework within six years. As a general rule, all students are required to be enrolled in academic credits in this law school during their last year of study. Grade Point Average RequirementsAll 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. To ensure that students are meeting the requirement, academic support and counseling is offered to students throughout their legal studies. Course RequirementsTo provide students with both the foundational knowledge necessary to excel, yet choose a curricular path that best meets their individual needs, specific course requirements have been carefully chosen, yet are kept purposefully minimal. A group of courses, known commonly as the 1L curriculum, includes Contracts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Property, Torts and Legal Practice. The Legal Practice curriculum covers research, writing, interviewing, counseling and oral advocacy. Taken together, these courses form a foundation of doctrinal knowledge and legal skills that upper division courses will build upon. The 1L curriculum also allows, and indeed requires, all students to take a statutory/regulatory course elective. This group of courses looks at law based on statute and regulations of administrative agencies as opposed to law based on decisions of the courts. The myriad of courses from a variety of legal disciplines that make up the list of statutory/regulatory courses allow students the ability to begin designing their curriculum early in their course of study. There is one required course beyond the 1L year. Students are required to successfully complete a course devoted to the issues of professional responsibility and legal ethics. At UConn Law this course is Legal Profession. Upper-Class Writing RequirementIn recognition of the importance of legal research and writing to the well-trained lawyer, students in the upper division are required to complete a scholarly paper. Drawing upon the research and writing skills taught in the 1L Lawyering Process and Moot Court courses, the upperclass writing requirement paper is done under the close supervision and guidance of a faculty member in a legal discipline of the student’s choosing. Students are mentored through various drafts and the final paper is often of such quality that students may seek publication of their work. The curriculum is designed so that seminar courses provide the backdrop to many of these scholarly papers. Students may also satisfy the upperclass writing requirement through an independent research project or written work for one of the Law School's legal journals. Practice-Based Learning RequirementFinally, to develop a student’s professional skills, all candidates for the Juris Doctor degree must successfully complete credits in any of the school’s clinical or field placement programs including any in-house, partnership or field placement clinics. Students may also satisfy this requirement in a practicum course or individual field placement so designated. New students enter only in the Autumn Quarter and must take the full-time load of required first-year courses. Because of the heavy course load, first-year students are strongly discouraged from attempting to work on even a part-time basis. The student's first-year requirements are as follows: Required Upper Level CoursesSecond- and Third-Year Courses To graduate, a student must complete the following requirements during their second and third years of law school: J.D. Residence RequirementTo be eligible for the J.D. degree, a student must complete at least eight quarters of study in residence. A quarter of residence credit is given for each quarter during which a student completes at least 12 credits of work. Two quarters, in each of which a student earns fewer than 12 but no less than 7 credits, may be combined to produce a quarter of residence credit. Full-time J.D. students must register a minimum of 12 credits per quarter. To complete the J.D. degree in three years, however, a student must average 15 credits per quarter. Course Load Approval is required for students seeking to register for fewer than 12 or more than 18 credits per quarter. Permission to register for 19 or 20 credits is granted only to students whose records demonstrate the capacity to assume such a program of study successfully. Students may not enroll in more than 20 credits per quarter. For students in concurrent degree programs, a full quarter of residence credit will be granted for a quarter in which a student completes a total of at least 12 credits of law courses and courses applied to the concurrent degree, whether or not the student will receive J.D. credit for the non-law courses. J.D. Public Service RequirementPublic Service Requirement for JD Students in the Class of 2020 and Beyond The public service requirement has three main goals: first, to educate students about the attorney's ethical responsibility to provide pro bono legal assistance, particularly to those who would not otherwise have access to the legal system; second, to foster in students a lifelong commitment to public service by providing the opportunity and training vital to the development of such a commitment; and third, to develop students' lawyering skills by providing them with work experience under the supervision of a judge, attorney, or otherwise qualified individual. J.D. students must perform at least 50 hours of uncompensated public service legal work, during their second and third year of law school, in a pre-approved course or program, under the supervision of a judge, attorney, or otherwise qualified individual. It is preferred that students fulfill this requirement by providing legal assistance to individuals who would otherwise be without access to such assistance. Students may also fulfill this requirement by participating in other law-related public service activities as described below. For purposes of satisfying this requirement, public service legal work is defined as:
The public service requirement can be fulfilled in any of the following ways:
Documentation: If you fulfill your public service requirement by successfully completing a Clinic, Public Service Externship, or Street Law NO ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED. If you fulfill your public service requirement through any method besides clinics, public service externships, or street law (e.g. activities 2-4 above), you will need to submit a Public Service Graduation Requirement Form to the Registrar’s Office before the last day of classes for your graduating quarter. J.D. Experiential Coursework RequirementBeginning with the Class of 2016, J.D. students must complete at least 9 credits of experiential course(s) in their 2L and 3L years. An experiential course may be a simulation course, a law clinic or an externship. A multi-quarter clinic may count towards the Experiential Requirement in one or two quarters and the Public Service Requirement in a third quarter. An externship in a For-Profit Small Firm (Law C530) may count towards the Experiential Requirement but it will not count towards the Public Service Requirement. The following courses satisfy the requirement: Other courses may be added to the list by the faculty at a future date. J.D. Advanced Writing RequirementIn this video, Professor Feldman explains how to fulfill the Advanced Writing Requirement. To receive a J.D. degree, a student must satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement (AWR). The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that each student develops skills in research, analysis, and writing by working on a writing project during the 2L or 3L year under faculty supervision. The project may take the form of a scholarly work such as a law review article. Alternatively, it may involve producing a practice-oriented document such as a brief, transactional document, or draft legislation. Whatever form it takes, the project must be substantial and demonstrate a high level of research, analysis, and writing. The project must also be completed under faculty supervision and involve at least one revision. Students must satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement by the end of the second-to-last quarter of enrollment before graduation. A faculty supervisor may also impose additional time constraints, as explained below. A student may satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement in one of two ways, so long as the completed work meets the above criteria: A course that is used to meet the advanced writing requirement may not also meet the public service or experiential requirements
Students should satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement by the end of the second-to-last quarter of enrollment before graduation, unless they will satisfy it in a seminar or course that continues into the last quarter of enrollment. Full-time faculty supervisors are required for LAW 600 Independent Study and LAW E 500 Independent Advanced Writing projects. Part-time faculty may supervise LAW E 500 Independent Advanced Writing projects only with the permission of an Associate Dean. How long is law school in CT?Full-time students must complete all coursework for the Juris Doctor degree within five years; part-time students must complete coursework within six years. As a general rule, all students are required to be enrolled in academic credits in this law school during their last year of study.
How many credits is a law degree UK?This degree has three stages, each comprising 120 credits.
How long is a qualifying law degree?Qualifying Law Degrees
Students who are successful in securing a placement year will complete a 4 year programme leading to an award including the wording “with a professional placement year".
What is the highest degree of law?Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)
A Doctor of Juridical Science degree is considered the highest level of a law degree and is designed for professionals who are looking to gain an advanced legal education after earning their JD and LLM.
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