School of Law
Admission Policies
Every J.D. applicant must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), register for the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS), and earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally or nationally accredited college or university prior to matriculation. Every LL.M. applicant must have a J.D. degree from an accredited U.S. law school or a first law degree (J.D., LL.B., and Bachelor of Laws) from a foreign law school.
Academic Regulations
College/School-wide Degree Requirements
J.D.
Core Curriculum
For the Juris Doctor degree, the requirements are: (1) successful completion of 90 credit hours of law courses (70 of which must be graded credit hours and 70 of which must come from courses that meet in regularly scheduled classroom hours), including the courses specifically required for graduation, and (2) an overall grade-point average of 2.00 (C) or better. The curriculum and courses required for graduation are subject to change at any time without prior notice at the direction of the law faculty.
Required Courses
First Year
- Law 503 Civil Procedure I (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 507 Constitutional Law I (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 501 Contracts (6 credits, two semesters)|
- Law 568 Criminal Law (3 credits, one semester)|
- Law 514 & 515 Legal Research and Writ I & II (6 credits, two semesters)
- Law 504 Property (4 credits, one semester)
- Law 502 Torts (6 credits, two semesters)
- One Skills course (3 credits) (Courses fulfilling the skills requirement are designated each semester by the law faculty.)
Upper-level (Second and Third Years)
- Law 603 Legal Profession (3 credits, one semester)
- Two Skills courses (3 credits each)
- 1 Writing course (2-3 credits)
(Courses fulfilling the skills and writing requirements are designated each semester by the law faculty.)
Course Loads
Course loads range from 10 to 18 hours of work per semester during the fall and spring, and up to 7 hours per semester during the summer semesters. The law school does not offer a part-time program, although a student may obtain permission to enroll in fewer than 10 hours for special reasons. A student may also enroll in fewer than 10 hours during the student's final semester if the student needs less than 10 hours for graduation.
Credit from Other Institutions
A student who obtains prior permission may enroll in classes at other ABA-approved institutions as visiting students. Transfer course work completed with a grade of C or better will be credited toward the J.D. degree.
LL.M. in Air and Space Law
Core Curriculum
For the Master of Laws degree, the requirements are: (1) successful completion of 26 credit hours of air and space law course work, including the courses specifically required for graduation, and (2) an overall grade-point average of 2.00 (C) or better. The curriculum and courses required for graduation are subject to change at any time without prior notice at the direction of the law faculty.
Required Courses
LL.M. Required Courses
- Law 677 Comparative National Space Law (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 680 International Space Law (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 751 Private International Air Law (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 750 Public International Air Law (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 723 U.S. National Aviation Law (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 679 U.S. Domestic Space Law (3 credits, one semester)
- Law 797 Master's Thesis I (1 credit, one semester)
- Law 798 Master's Thesis II (1 credit, one semester)
- Law 799 Master's Thesis III (6 credits; one semester) The law faculty may also allow an LL.M. student to substitute a designated elective for a required course in prescribed circumstances.
Course Loads
For students in the full-time program, course loads are 10 credits during the fall and spring semesters, and 6 credits during the summer. For a student in the part-time program, course loads will vary. A part-time student will have 24 months to complete the program.
Credit from Other Institutions
The LL.M. program does not accept credit from other institutions.
Advising
For the J.D., the associate dean for academic affairs and the law registrar regularly advise students, along with members of the law faculty. The School of Law does not require academic advising. For the LL.M., the LL.M. program staff and instructors provide regular advising, along with other members of the law faculty.
Selecting and Changing Majors
Law schools, in general, do not offer majors. The School of Law, however, does offer three concentrations: 1) Concentration in Criminal Law; 2) Concentration in Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law; and 3) Concentration in Business Law. Each of these concentrations allows a student who devotes 27 hours of J.D. study to the specific field to earn the relevant notation in addition to the J.D. degree. LL.M. programs, in general, do not offer majors.
Honor Code Policy
Law students must abide by the honor code of the School of Law, which governs the professional conduct of law students during their academic study. The code is administered by the Honor Council, which investigates the matter and conducts a hearing, if necessary.