2024-2025 Law School Catalog > Academic Rules and Regulations > Degree Requirements > Day Division

Day Division

[Revisions to Rule I. B approved by law faculty on 11/30/17]

The Day Division course of study consists of three academic years (6 semesters) of full-time study. Day Division students must devote a substantial amount of time to the study of law. First-year students in the Day Division are expected to treat the study of law as their sole occupation during the academic year. Upper-class students in the Day Division are strongly encouraged to limit employment and volunteer work to no more than 20 hours per week during the academic year. Additional limitations on outside commitments, including employment, may be set for students subject to action under Rule II.C. (Academic Standing Requirements).

1.Credit Hour Requirements: The academic year consists of two semesters, the first or fall semester, commencing in August and the second or spring semester, commencing in January. The Day Division course of study requires six semesters of class work. Completion of a total of 84 credit hours is required in order to earn the Juris Doctor degree.

2. Credit Hour Policy: The study of law, as well as its practice, requires diligent preparation, engaged attention, and thoughtful reflection. In order to prepare students thoroughly for legal practice, the Law School adheres to the federal and ABA definitions of a credit hour. Standard 310(a) of the American Bar Association Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools requires that: “A law school shall adopt, publish, and adhere to written policies and procedures for determining the credit hours that it awards for coursework.” ABA Standard 310(b) provides:

A "credit hour" is an amount of work that reasonably approximates:

(1) not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week for fifteen weeks, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or

(2) at least an equivalent amount of work as required in subparagraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including simulation, field placement, clinical, co-curricular, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

The Law School adheres to ABA Standard 310 concerning credit hours. The following policies and procedures are intended to comply with Standard 310.

(a) Credit for Classroom Instruction

The number of credit hours awarded for a course is a representation of the amount of work that the course requires. A credit hour signifies a certain minimum amount of classroom or instructional time, plus time for out-of-classroom student work expected in the course, such as class preparation, homework assignments, papers, projects, exam study, and examinations. In general, the definition of credit hour calls for two hours of out-of-classroom work to be required for every hour of classroom instruction.

The specific number of weekly classroom and out-of-classroom hours required to satisfy the definition of a credit hour depends on the length of the relevant academic term, as set forth below.

(i) Fall and spring terms

The Law School’s fall and spring terms each consist of a thirteen-week session and a two-week examination period. Fall and spring term courses must adhere to the following minimum requirements, except as otherwise provided in subparagraphs (c)-(f) below.

In courses with a final examination scheduled during the examination period, students will ordinarily be required to: meet for 55 minutes per credit each week for thirteen weeks; sit for a final examination during examination period of at least one hour per credit, but not to exceed three total hours in duration; and spend, on average, at least 2 hours and 10 minutes per credit each week on out-of-class work for thirteen weeks plus the week of the final examination.

Table 1 illustrates the application of these minimum requirements to fall and spring courses ranging from 1-4 credits.

Table 1 (Fall and Spring Courses)

If a fall or spring class is scheduled to meet for fewer than 13 weeks (not including an examination week), it must: meet for a total of no less than 715 minutes per credit; require a total of no less than 1690 minutes per credit of out-of-class student work over the period of time for which it is actually scheduled; and require a final examination of 60 minutes per credit, but not to exceed three total hours, entailing no less than 130 minutes per credit of out-of-class preparation time, or assessments/projects entailing an equivalent amount of work.

If a fall or spring class does not have a final examination scheduled during examination period, students in the class must be required to complete other assessments or projects sufficient to ensure that the absence of the examination does not cause the total amount of work required for the course to fall below 2595 minutes per credit, or 10320 total minutes for a 4-credit course.

Any faculty member who misses or cancels a regularly scheduled class session must schedule a make-up class and/or assign an equivalent amount of out-of-class work.

(ii) Summer term

The summer term includes one twelve-week session and a one-week examination period. Summer term courses must adhere to the following minimum requirements, except as otherwise provided in subparagraphs (c)-(f) below.

In courses with a final examination scheduled during the examination period, students will ordinarily be required to: meet for 60 minutes per credit each week for twelve weeks; sit for a final examination during examination period of at least 60 minutes per credit, but not to exceed three total hours in duration; and spend, on average, at least 2 hours and 20 minutes per credit each week on out-of-class work for thirteen weeks plus the week of the final examination.

Table 2 illustrates the application of these minimum requirements to summer courses ranging from 1-4 credits.

Table 2 (Summer Courses)

If a summer class is scheduled to meet for fewer than 12 weeks (not including an examination week), it must: meet for a total of no less than 715 minutes per credit; require a total of no less than 1680 minutes per credit of out-of-class student work over the period of time for which it is actually scheduled; and require a final examination of 60 minutes per credit, but not exceeding three total hours, entailing no less than 140 minutes per credit of out-of-class preparation time, or assessments/projects entailing an equivalent amount of work.

If a summer class does not have a final examination scheduled during examination period, students in the class must be required to complete other assessments or projects sufficient to ensure that the absence of the examination does not cause the total amount of work required for the course to fall below 2600 minutes per credit, or 10340 total minutes for a 4-credit course.

Any faculty member who misses or cancels a regularly scheduled class session must schedule a make-up class and/or assign an equivalent amount of out-of-class work.

(iii) Winter session

The winter session, also known as “intersession,” is a one week term with an examination, paper, or project. Winter session courses ordinarily meet for 750 minutes per credit during the week. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 30 hours per credit on out-of-class work during the week, or an equivalent number of hours over a longer period of time if a paper or project is due on a date after the end of the winter session.

(iv) Special sessions

Any law programs (e.g., overseas law programs) offered for academic credit by the Law School that are not scheduled to correspond to a standard fall, spring, summer, or winter session will be designed to ensure an allocation of weekly classroom time and out-of-classroom work sufficient to satisfy the definition of a credit hour as set forth above.

(b) Out-of-class Student Work in Courses that Involve Classroom or Direct Faculty Instruction:

Out-of-classroom work within the definition of a credit hour may include, but is not limited to: reading assignments; case briefing; study groups and review sessions; written assignments other than examinations (including preparatory memos, journals, and reflections on readings or experience); solving problem sets; participating in out-of-class simulations and role-playing exercises; research assignments; online assessments; posting to an online discussion board; court or other observations; conferences with the instructor, academic support instructors or teaching assistants; and other work that assists in comprehension of course content such as outlining and studying for examinations.

As guidance for approximating the length of time to complete reading assignments, faculty may choose to rely upon academic literature indicating that, on average, a law student can read ten to thirty pages in 60 minutes, depending on the difficulty of the material. This estimate of time to complete a reading assignment does not include time to complete additional study and preparatory work typically required to understand and analyze the reading, such as briefing of cases, review of supplemental material, outlining, practice questions and examinations, CALI exercises, and participation in study groups and review sessions.

All course instructors shall ensure that their course syllabi describe all required out-of-classroom work in sufficient detail to support a determination that such coursework meets the requirements of Standard 310(b)(1) as specified in section 2(a) of this policy. The Associate Deans for Academic Affairs shall keep all course syllabi on file and review them periodically to confirm that the amount of work assigned in each course complies with those requirements.

All proposals for new courses must include a paragraph justifying the number of credit hours to be awarded. The Associate Deans for Academic Affairs shall keep these justifications on file. If a new course requires approval by the Curriculum Committee, the Committee shall make a determination of whether the number of credit hours sought for the proposed course complies with Standard 310(b).

(c) Credit for Clinics and Externships

Clinics and externships consist of a classroom component and a casework component (in the case of in-house clinics) or fieldwork component (in the case of externships). With respect to the classroom component for both in-house clinics and externships, a credit hour may be awarded for 55 minutes of classroom or direct faculty instruction per week, while students are expected to spend, on average, a minimum of 2 hours on out-of-class work per week during the semester performing clinic or externship work, preparing for class, completing class assignments or other academic work related to the course assigned by the supervising faculty member and supervising attorney.

For the casework component of in-house clinics or the fieldwork component of externships, students must complete, at a minimum, 42.5 hours for one credit; 85 hours for 2 credits; 127.5 hours for 3 credits; and 170 hours for 4 credits.

Students enrolled in an in-house clinic or for-credit externship must complete the required hours and submit detailed time logs or otherwise document their time for review by their supervising attorney or faculty instructor in accordance with established clinic and externship policies.

(d) Credit for Directed Study

Students enrolled in an independent Directed Study may be given one or two credits. Students must complete a minimum of 42.5 hours of research and writing work for one credit and 85 hours of research and writing work for two credits.

Students are responsible for keeping a detailed log of their hours and submitting the log to their primary supervising faculty member at the end of the semester. Students will be evaluated on a credit/no credit basis.

(e) Credit for Student-Edited Law Journals

Student members of law journals are eligible to receive one credit per semester for performing at least 42.5 hours of journal-related work, which may include completion of a note or comment, reading and evaluating journal submissions, and editing and cite-checking articles.

Students are responsible for documenting this time in a manner approved by the faculty advisor of the journal. Students will be evaluated on a credit/no credit basis.

(f) Credit for Moot Court and Mock Trial Competitions

Depending on the competition, students who participate in mock trial or moot court competitions are eligible to receive up to two credits per semester for competition-related work, such as brief writing, appellate advocacy, trial advocacy, arbitration advocacy, negotiation or mediation. Students are responsible for documenting this time in a manner approved by their faculty advisor/coach. Students must complete a minimum of 42.5 hours of work for one credit and 85 hours of work for two credits. Students may elect not to receive credit for participation in interscholastic competitions. Students will be evaluated on a credit/no credit basis.

(g) Credit for Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants

Students who serve as teaching assistants for a course are eligible to receive two hours of credit per semester for performing at least 85 hours of course-related work, such as, assisting with course design and administration, conducting review and discussion sessions, and mentoring students on study skills, time management, exam preparation, legal writing, or other academic skills. Students who serve as research assistants for a faculty member are eligible to receive two hours of credit per semester for performing at least 85 hours of work relating to the supervising faculty member’s project, such as conducting legal research, writing memoranda, editing, and cite checking. Student teaching assistants and research assistants are responsible for keeping a detailed log of their hours for review by the supervising faculty member at the end of each semester. Students will be evaluated on a credit/no credit basis.

(h) Credit for Distance Education Courses

Students may receive credit for distance education courses that are in compliance with ABA Standards, subject to the requirements of Regulation II(L) below. Distance education courses for which students receive credit, whether offered in synchronous or asynchronous format, or a combination, shall require at least 42.5 hours of student work per credit hour. The academic deans shall collect and review distance education course syllabi on a regular basis to determine whether such courses comply with Standard 310(b).

3. Credit Enrollment Requirements: Day students not participating in the Accelerated JD Program are required to enroll in a minimum of 27 credits each year (not including summer sessions) and 12 credits each semester for 6 semesters (not including summer sessions), except otherwise provided in these Rules and Regulations. Enrollment in more than 27 credits in one academic year will not reduce the 27 credit minimum requirement in any subsequent year, except as otherwise provided in these Rules and Regulations.