J.D. First, Second and Third-year Requirements

Residency Requirement

Effective for fall 2025 entering classes and beyond

A minimum of 90 hours of academic credit is required for graduation. At least 65 hours of the 90 must be in law school courses with regularly scheduled classes, and all 90 hours must be completed within a period of no less than 28 months and no more than 84 months. At least 55 hours must be completed at the College of Law itself, and students must have a 2.3 cumulative GPA or better to graduate.

A student may not graduate without having been registered as a student for at least six semesters (exclusive of summer semesters). However, a student who possesses a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or better as of the end of both their fall 2L and spring 2L semesters will be eligible to graduate after having been a student for a total of five semesters (exclusive of summer semesters).

First Year

The first-year curriculum provides the basic building blocks of a rewarding professional career by developing a fundamental understanding of the law, legal analysis and the legal process.

Orientation

The first-year experience begins with an orientation introducing academic and organizational skills you must master to successfully complete law school. Topics presented during orientation include:

• The importance of ethical and professional behavior in law school and the profession
• Case briefing, synthesis, note taking, IRAC and exam writing
• Learning styles and time management

First-year students also get to know College of Law faculty, staff and upper-level students during informal social events held during orientation.

First-year Courses

All first-year courses are required. Full-time first-year students are automatically registered for all courses. No additional courses may be added. You are not permitted to change from one section to another in a required course without the permission of the Dean's Office.

Upper-level Requirements

• Constitutional Law II (600) and Legal Writing & Advocacy II (701) must be taken in the first semester of the second year.
• Introduction to Lawyering Skills (720) must be taken during the second year.
• Other requirements for graduation include Professional Responsibility (643), the upper-division writing requirement and participation in a clinic, externship or the Prisoners' Rights Project.

Writing Requirement

All students at the College of Law must satisfy an upper-level writing requirement, typically during your fourth or fifth semester of enrollment at the College of Law. The requirement may be satisfied by completing any one of the following (all references are to the Student Handbook:

• a writing seminar meeting the description in §3.18.1
• a note for law review meeting the description in section §3.18.2
• a qualifying Directed Research (794-796) project meeting the description in §3.18.3

See the Student Handbook sec. 3.18 for additional information about the upper-level writing requirement.

Electives

• To graduate, a student must have satisfactorily completed 90 semester hours of credit, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.20 or better.
• The additional courses needed to fulfill the 90 semester hours required for graduation may be selected from a broad range of upper-level elective courses that provide training in litigation and other lawyering skills and expose students to the full range of legal practice areas. Typically, several seminars are offered each semester. Past topics include civil rights litigation, corporate governance donative transfers, educational law, environmental law, family law, Illinois constitutional law, immigration law, international business, medical malpractice, sports and entertainment law, and tax policy.
• The College of Law also offers six certificate programs that enable students to focus on specialized areas of the law.