Juris Doctor (J.D) degree

  • Earn at least 87 credits.
    • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.5
    • Per Academic Rule 22, at least 65 credits of the 87 or more earned credits shall be in attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction at the Law School.  1L required courses, upper-class required courses (Criminal Procedure, Evidence and Professional Responsibility) and the six required bar staple courses account for 60 to 64 credits of the required 65 regular classroom/direct faculty instruction credits.
  • Succesfully complete the following courses: Civil Procedure; Constitutional Law: Structure, Separation of Powers, Federalism; Constitutional Law: Individual Rights and Liberties; Contracts; Criminal Law; Lawyering Skills I; Lawyering Skills II; Property; Torts; Evidence; Criminal Procedure: The Investigative Process (Criminal Procedure I); and Professional Responsibility.
  • Satisfactorily complete the upper-division writing requirement:
    • One "Practice-Oriented" writing course and One "Academic/Scholarly" writing course, or two "Practice-Oriented writing courses.  **Please note - students who fulfill the upper-level writing requirement with two practice-oriented writing courses can use only one such course to fulfill any portion of the six-credit Experiential Learning Requirement.
      • Practice-Oriented writing courses include:
        • Appellate Advocacy
        • Legal Drafting
        • Applied Portfolio course
      • Academic/Scholarly writing courses include:
        • Law Journal Writing
        • Directed Research (with Academic Legal Writing seminar)
        • Qualifying Course Paper (with Academic Legal Writing seminar)
  • Satisfactorily complete the six-credit Experiential Learning Requirement, with at least three of the six credits fulfilled via a transition-to-practice (clinic or capstone) course.  
  • Satisfactorily complete at least six of the following "staple" courses:
    • Administrative Law
    • Agency or Agency & Partnership
    • Commercial Transactions
    • Conflict of Laws
    • Corporations
    • Family Law
    • Federal Income Taxation
    • Remedies
    • Sales and Leases
    • Trusts and Estates
  • Meet the minimum residency requirement.
    • Equivalent of six full-time semesters for full-time (day) students.
    • Equivalent of eight part-time semesters for part-time (evening) students.
  • View 6 honor/ethics lectures.

LL.M (Domestic Program) degree

  • Earn at least 24 credits hours while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.15.
  • Complete at least 16 credits hours in courses directly related to the concentration area.
  • Satisfactorily complete one course with a writing component as part of its coursework.
  • Prior to commencing study, complete a written academic plan under the supervision of the faculty adviser.

LL.M. (International Program with Jagiellonian University) degree

  • Earn at least 22 credit hours.
  • Complete at least six credits in three courses taken within the International Business and Trade Law Program offered by Catholic Law in Krakow.
  • Complete at least 9 credits in the American Law Program at Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
  • Complete 6 or 7 credits during a two-month stay in Washington, D.C.

M.L.S. degree

  • Earn at least 26 credit hours.
  • Satisfactorily complete Introduction to American Law and Legal Methods.
  • Satisfactorily complete a final project.