2023-2024 Law School Catalog

Credit for Clinical and Other Non-Classroom Activities

1. Cumulative limit on credits for non-classroom work and clinical fieldwork. A student may count no more than 16 credits of non-classroom work and clinical fieldwork toward the degree. A student may not count more than 12 credits of clinical fieldwork toward the degree. These limits do not apply to the seminar component of an in-house clinic or an externship.

Example: Student takes an eight-credit in-house clinic, for which four credits are assigned to the seminar component and four to the fieldwork. Only the four credits for fieldwork count toward the credit restrictions in this subsection.

Example: Student takes an externship that includes a two-credit seminar and three credits for fieldwork. Only the three credits of fieldwork count toward the credit restrictions in this subsection.

2. Limit on non-classroom activities in one semester. A student may not receive more than two units of credit in any semester for non-classroom ungraded activities, as opposed to regular course work. Non-classroom ungraded activities which count toward the two-credit-per-semester limit include directed study, law journal work (including Law Review, Transnational Law Review, Journal of Health and Biomedical Law, Journal of High Technology Law, Moot Court, including Moot Court teams and Journal of Trial and Appellate Advocacy, research assistantships, and concentration thesis credits. The fieldwork component of an externship does not count toward this two-credit limit.

Example: Student takes an externship which includes a two-credit seminar and three credits for fieldwork. The student may still receive two credits in that semester for other non-classroom activities.

Example: Student receives two credits for work on a law school journal. The student may not receive additional credits in the same semester for a directed study, research assistantship or concentration thesis. The student may receive credits for the fieldwork component of an externship in that semester.

3. Limit on enrollment in in-house clinics and externships. A student may only enroll in one in-house clinic while obtaining the Juris Doctor degree, unless the student is granted a waiver by the Director of Clinical Programs. Students may not enroll in an in-house clinic and an externship during the same semester. A student may not enroll in more than one externship for credit during a single semester.

4. Credit/ no credit grades for non-classroom activities. Non-classroom activities which are not graded under the law school’s generally applicable grading rules and fieldwork credits for externships shall be graded on a Credit/ No Credit basis. The grade of Credit shall be a satisfactory grade. The grade of No Credit shall be the equivalent of the grade of F. Students will receive a letter grade under the Law School’s general grading rules for the seminar component of an externship and for the seminar and fieldwork components of an in-house clinic.

5. The instructor in any non-anonymously graded course may elect to grade the course on an Honors/Pass/Low Pass/Fail basis. Such grades will not be calculated into a student’s cumulative average. An instructor must notify the students at the first meeting of the course if the instructor elects the Honors/Pass/Low Pass/Fail basis of grading. Prospective students in a clinical course will be notified at the time of application if the instructor intends to utilize the Honors/Pass/Low Pass/Fail basis of grading. For all purposes under these Regulations, the grades of Honors, Pass, and Low Pass shall be satisfactory grades, and the grade of Fail shall be the equivalent of a grade of F.