Fall Semester

• Torts—4
• Contracts I—3
• Criminal Law—3
• Civil Procedure I—2
• Lawyering and Legal Reasoning I—3

Total = 15

Spring Semester

• Contracts II—2
• Real Property—4
• Civil Procedure II—3
• Evidence—3
• Lawyering and Legal Reasoning II—3

Total = 15
Total First Year = 30

Fall Semester

• Constitutional Law I­—2

Spring Semester

• Constitutional Law II—3

Total Second Year = 5

The following courses are required and must be taken during the second or third year:

• Business Organizations—4 - Required to be taken no later than the fourth semester
• Wills, Trusts and Estates—3 - Required to be taken no later than the fifth semester
• Secured Transactions—3
• Professional Responsibilities—2
• Criminal Procedure I—3

Subtotal = 15
Including Second Year = 5
Total Upper Level Required Hours = 20

Students must graduate with six (6) hours of experiential learning courses. Courses that satisfy the experiential learning requirement will be designated by an E in the section.

*Effective for first-year class starting fall 2022

Pursuant to ABA Standard 303(a)(2), each student, after attaining 30-credit hours, must complete a supervised rigorous writing experience prior to graduation. To satisfy this requirement, each student must complete a course or seminar or other approved writing experience.

A course, seminar, or other approved writing experience will satisfy the writing requirement only if:

• it is for academic credit and graded (pass/fail courses do not qualify);
• it is taught by a member of the law school faculty;
• it contains a rigorous writing component that constitutes a substantial part of the grade in the course; and either
  • the professor provides substantial individualized feedback on multiple iterations of a substantial, well-written and properly cited graded writing project, including written feedback on at least one complete draft prior to the student’s submitting the final draft of the project, or
  • the professor provides substantial individualized feedback on multiple graded substantive writing projects assigned during the semester, including written feedback on at least one complete draft prior to the student’s submitting the final draft of each writing project.

Every student must produce an original analytic paper (or papers) showing original thought and analysis which has undergone a comment and draft process under the supervision of a faculty member. Typically, that process will include the preparation of a formal outline, a thesis statement, and multiple draft(s), all of which have been completed in consultation with the supervising faculty member.

A paper (or papers) containing a combined total of 7,000 words (inclusive of footnotes) and otherwise prepared in accordance with the requirements of this rule will satisfy the graduation writing requirement.

The graduation writing requirement may be satisfied by the student producing:

1. a traditional note or comment;
2. a research paper with substantive analysis;
3. a proposal for law reform with defense and commentary;
4. a memorandum of law or a brief addressing a substantial legal issue(s); or
5. any other equivalent substantive writing project that meets the above requirements.

The associate dean shall determine each semester which courses and seminars meet the above requirements and thus will qualify as courses that satisfy the graduation writing requirement. In making that determination, the associate dean shall consider the number and nature of writing projects assigned; the opportunities a student has to meet with a writing instructor for purposes of individualized assessment of the student's written products; the number of drafts that a student must produce of any writing project; and the form of assessment used by the writing instructor. Courses that satisfy the requirement then will be designated on the course schedule and other records with the designation "R" in their course numbers. Any course approved for “R” designation must comply with these graduation writing requirements.

The following will not satisfy the writing requirement:

• Experiential learning courses where grading is primarily based upon performance simulations;
• Externships;
• Courses that mimic the law firm clerking experience;
• Briefs and memoranda written for student competitions in which faculty supervision is not otherwise permitted; and
• Directed Research that is not designated as satisfying the above requirement.

Students must register for a course, seminar or other approved writing experience designated as satisfying the graduation writing requirement no later than the semester prior to the semester in which the student is slated to graduate.