I. Requirements for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree

Wayne State University Law School (Law School) is approved and accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and is governed by the current ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools (ABA Standards).  To the extent that any provision of these Academic Regulations (Regulations) is determined not to comply with an applicable ABA Standard, the ABA Standard shall govern. 

1. Summary of requirements                                                                                 
2. Bachelor's degree or equivalent
3. Required courses                              
4. Credit and grade point average (GPA) requirements
5. Length of study requirements
6. Upper-level writing requirement (ULWR)
7. Experiential learning requirement (ELR) and other rules governing clinics, externships, and simulation courses
8. Rules governing seminars and directed studies
9. Rules governing co-curriculars
10. Academic eligibility and probation
11. Professionalism, Professional Identity, and Cross-Cultural Lawyering Requirements. 

II. J.D. Courses

1. Course elections and assignments
2. Changes in course elections
3. Maximum course load

III. Attendance, participation, and limits on remunerative work

1. Attendance and class preparation required
2. Instructor implementation of attendance and class preparation requirements
3. Involuntary withdrawal for student barred from final examination
4. Notice to students of course attendance and participation policy
5. Notice to student in jeopardy of certain adverse actions
6. Discretionary additional coursework
7. Grade adjustments in anonymously graded courses to reflect attendance/participation
8. Limits on remunerative work         

IV. Examinations, papers, re-examinations, and other assessment procedures

1. Instructor's grading policy
2. Take-home examinations
3. Proctored examinations
4. Rules regarding the use of laptop computers and other electronic devices in proctored examinations   
5. Courses with papers and written coursework other than examinations
6. Course repetition and re-examinations

V. Grades

1. Transcript to show all grades received
2. Grading norms for required courses
3. Letter grades
4. Non-letter grades
5. Grades for co-curricular activities and courses taken outside Law School
6. Pass-No Credit grading
7. Procedures and restrictions on instructor grade changes
8. Calculation of GPA
9. Withdrawal
10. Special rules regarding the grade of Incomplete
11. Grade review and appeal
12. Determination of honors

VI. Student conduct issues

1. University Student Code of Conduct governs. All students enrolled at the Law School are subject to the University's Student Code of Conduct (Student Code of Conduct). Issues involving Law School student behavior that potentially violates the Student Code of Conduct (including without limitation allegations of plagiarism and cheating) will be handled in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.
2. Reporting to Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. Issues involving Law School student behavior that potentially violates the Student Code of Conduct should be reported to the Law School's Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.
3. Reporting to bar admission authorities. Behavior by any Law School student that is found to violate the Student Code of Conduct will also be reviewed by the Dean or the Dean's designee to determine the Law School's obligations under the applicable legal ethics rules, which may require reporting such behavior to the bar admission authority for a jurisdiction to which a student (or former student) has applied for admission. The Law School's obligations with regard to bar admission authorities will be determined by reference to applicable legal ethics and jurisdiction-specific bar admission rules, which may or may not parallel the Student Code of Conduct.
4. Serious Misconduct.  If a student is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or admits to the commission of a misdemeanor or felony (whether on or off campus) while enrolled at the Law School that calls into question the student's character or fitness to engage in the practice of law, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs can request that the Dean or the Dean's designee consider the student's fitness to continue.

VII. Readmission

1. Petition for readmission
2. Review and action by Readmissions Committee
3. Readmission procedure

VIII. Concurrent degrees

IX. Applicability

Credit hours policy (Appendix A)

Grading norms (Appendix B)

COVID-19 (Appendix C)

Grading policy for fall 2020 semester (Appendix D)

The J.D. Academic Regulations were revised in May 2019 and approved by the faculty on May 7, 2019. The regulations are effective as of May 20, 2019. Appendix C was approved by the faculty on March 31, 2020. Appendix D was approved by the faculty on Dec. 21, 2020. 

Print-only version (This version does not include Appendix D. To print Appendix D, see below)

Print-only version of Appendix D