Degree Requirements

Students should consult Section I of the Law School Academic Regulations for a complete list of the requirements for the J.D. degree. Following are some of the most important requirements:

• Total credits required. You must complete 86 credit hours with a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better.
   
• Required upperclass courses. In addition to the required first-year courses, you must successfully complete Civil Procedure B (for students entering Fall 2009 or thereafter) and Professional Responsibility and the Legal Profession.
   
• Upperclass writing requirement. To satisfy the upperclass writing requirement you must participate in a class or activity offering a rigorous writing experience after your first year. Qualifying activities include Criminal Appellate Practice, Advanced Legal Writing, a directed study paper, and participation on Wayne Law Review, the Journal of Law in Society or Moot Court. You may also satisfy the requirement by taking any other course, clinic, workshop or seminar with a substantial writing requirement, but only if you submit to the Records Office a signed certificate by the appropriate deadline.
   
• Professional skills requirement. If you started at the Law School in the Fall 2005 semester or later, you must complete the professional skills requirement by taking a curricular offering of two or more credits that provides substantial instruction in professional skills beyond traditional legal research, writing and analysis. The courses that meet this requirement are:
  

  Clinics: Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic, Criminal Appellate Practice, Disability Law Clinic, Transnational Environmental Law Clinic, and Small Business Enterprises and Nonprofit Corporations Clinic.
  
  Internships: Criminal Justice Internship, Government Agency Internship, In-House Counsel Internship, Judicial Internship and Public Interest Internship.

  Courses and Seminars: Business Planning: A Transactional Approach, Contract Drafting Seminar, Criminal Pretrial Advocacy, Effective Oral Communication for Lawyers Seminar, Negotiation, Patent Application Preparation, Practicum in Dispute Resolution, Pretrial Advocacy and Trial Advocacy.
  
  You may not use the same course, seminar or clinic to satisfy both the upperclass writing requirement and the professional skills requirement.

• Residence credit requirement. You must complete three years in residence. A student who completes 10 credits or more in a given semester will receive one-half year of residence credit. A student who completes fewer than 10 credits in a semester will receive residence credit based on the ratio of the number of credits hours completed and 10 credit hours. You may not earn more than one-half year of residence credit during one semester, and credit hours earned in one semester cannot be applied to residence credit in any other semester
   
• Time limit for completing graduation requirements. While transfer between programs is possible, a J.D. student who enters the Law School as a full-time student must complete the requirement for the J.D. degree within five years of starting the program, and a student who enters as a part-time student must complete the requirements within six years.
   
• Limitation on applied and skills courses. Students may take not more than 14 credits of applied and skills courses toward completion of degree requirements. Applied and skills courses include internships, Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic, Advanced Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic, Transnational Environmental Law Clinic, Advanced Environmental Law Clinic, Free Legal Aid Clinic, Disability Law Clinic, Civil Rights Litigation Clinic, Small Business Enterprises and Nonprofit Corporations Clinic, Wayne Law Review, Journal of Law in Society, Moot Court, and Student Trial Advocacy Program.
   
• Transfer Credits. The Law School will transfer credits from all ABA-approved law schools for courses in which the student received a grade of “C” or better. If a course is graded on a Pass/Fail or No Credit scale, the Law School will only transfer credits with a certification from the institution that a Pass is equal to a grade of “C” or better. The Law School will transfer the credits upon receipt of an official transcript sent directly from the credit-granting institution. Transfer credits are reviewed by the Assistant Dean of Students in conjunction with the Registrar. The student’s Law School transcript will show credit, but not grades, for courses carried and completed at other law schools. A transfer student may only receive credit for a course taken at the Law School that substantially overlaps with coursework taken at another school with the advance permission of the Assistant Dean of Students. Wayne Law does not have any formal agreements with other schools for the purpose of facilitating transfer of credit between institutions (“articulation agreements”).

The above represents only a summary of the requirements for graduation. To be sure you under- stand all of the requirements you should carefully consult the Law School Academic Regulations.