Academic Requirements

Quick Facts:

Academic Requirements.

Eighty-four academic credits are required for graduation. Academic credits are awarded in compliance with the Rutgers Law School Rules, Regulations and Policies. Completion of the program generally requires three years of full-time study or four years of part-time study. The courses required for graduation include the prescribed first-year program; 601:667 Professional Responsibility (2 credits); and a one-year course in legal research, writing and argument taught by full-time writing faculty.

Students also must earn 9 writing credits. The purpose of the writing credit program is to ensure that student have substantial and rigorous legal writing experiences supervised by the faculty after the first year of law school. Writing credits are earned by successful completion of courses designated as carrying writing credit. The work done for writing credit varies from research or seminar paper to shorter forms of analysis and can include writing more typical of legal practice.

Matriculated students in good standing who successfully complete the course of study are awarded the degree of juris doctor. Exceptional students may be awarded the degree with honors, high honors, or highest honors, in accordance with standards established by faculty.

The first-year full-time curriculum includes the traditional core legal courses and our highly nationally ranked yearlong course in research, writing, and analysis. Central to the curriculum is the lawyering program that engages students in simulated lawyering activities and practical applications of the law.  In the three-year program, all courses in the first year are required:

Students may pursue their legal studies in the full-time day program or the part-time program, available day or evening. Both programs are subject to the same rigorous admission and academic standards. Students enrolled in the full-time program must be able to devote full-time to their legal studies and may not work more than 15 hours per week during the academic year. 

The four-year program requires attendance an average of 10 hours a week, evenings, over four academic years, plus enrollment in at least one Summer Session (where classes are offered in the evening). Students should be prepared to attend classes on all weekday evenings, Monday through Thursday. In the first three terms, classes typically meet three evening per week, but thereafter attendance may be necessary on four evening per week.

During their third and fourth years, part-time students select their courses from among any upper-level courses offered by the school. Although most students in the four-year program enroll in evening classes, the school also welcomes part-time day students. Upper-class students can typically choose from more than 100 exciting elective courses each year, including electronic commerce, intellectual property, media policy, children's law, and international human rights.