JD Course Requirements

89 credits required to graduate

General Law Program

Although Scalia Law offers a number of structured specialization options, students are not required to specialize in their legal studies.  Many students enter law school without a clearly defined area of interest.  Those students may pursue a general course of study, choosing electives as their interests develop.

JD Course Requirements

All Scalia Law students, whether pursuing a specialty track or the General Law Program, are required to satisfactorily complete 89 credit hours for graduation.  Forty credit hours are in the general law courses listed below; the remaining credit hours are in elective courses.  Students must fulfill the following requirements through elective courses:

  • Students matriculating in or before Fall 2015 must complete the upper-level writing requirement.  (See Academic Regulation 3-3.2(b))
  • Students matriculating in Fall 2016 and later must complete the upper-level writing requirement and the experiential learning requirement. (See Academic Regulation 3-3.2(b) and 3-3.2(c))
Required General Law Courses
Course Name Required Time Semester Traditionally Offered
Introduction to LRWA 1st Yr. Fall
Contracts I 1st Yr. Fall
Torts 1st Yr. Fall
Economics for Lawyers (formerly Economic Foundations) 1st Yr. Fall
Property 1st Yr.* Fall
Trial-Level Writing 1st Yr. Spring
Contracts II 1st Yr. Spring
Civil Procedure 1st Yr. Spring
Legislation and Statutory Interpretation 1st Yr.** Spring
Criminal Law 1st Yr.*** Spring
Appellate Writing 2nd Yr. Fall
Constitutional Law I: Structure of Government (formerly Constitutional Law I) 2nd Yr.**** Fall
Legal Drafting 2nd Yr. Spring
Professional Responsibility Before Graduation Fall/Spring

* Part-time students typically take Property in fall of their 2nd year. 

** Part-time students who started in fall 2021 or later typically take Legislation and Statutory Interpretation in fall of their 2nd year.

*** Part-time students typically take Criminal Law in spring of their 2nd year.

**** Part-time students who started in fall 2021 or later typically take Constitutional Law I: Structure of Government in spring of their 2nd year.

Chart of JD Course Requirements in PDF form

Scheduling Considerations:

  • After the first year, students in the full-time division must maintain a credit load of 10-17 hours per semester, and students in the part-time division must maintain a credit load of 8-12 hours per semester. (See Academic Regulation 3-5.5)
  • In order to earn a JD, a student must have been in residence for a minimum of six fall or spring semesters. A student is in residence for a semester during which the student earns (with a passing grade) academic credit eligible to be presented towards their Juris Doctor degree.  (See Academic Regulation 3-3.3).
  • All students must complete 89 credit hours to graduate, 74 of which must be "in-class" credit hours, and no more than 15 credit hours may be graded "CR." (See Academic Regulation 3-3.1)
Schedule of Required Courses for the General Law Program 
Full-Time Division Part-Time (Before Fall 2021) Part-Time (Beginning Fall 2021)
First Year — Fall First Year — Fall First Year — Fall
Introduction to LRWA Introduction to LRWA Introduction to LRWA
Contracts I Contracts I Contracts I
Torts Torts Torts
Economics for Lawyers (formerly Economic Foundations) Economics for Lawyers (formerly Economic Foundations) Economics for Lawyers (formerly Economic Foundations)
Property    
First Year — Spring First Year — Spring First Year — Spring
Trial Level Writing Trial Level Writing Trial Level Writing
Contracts II Contracts II Contracts II
Civil Procedure Civil Procedure Civil Procedure
Legislation and Statutory Interpretation Legislation and Statutory Interpretation  
Criminal Law    
Second Year — Fall Second Year — Fall Second Year — Fall
Appellate Writing Appellate Writing Appellate Writing
Constitutional Law I: Structure of Government  Constitutional Law I: Structure of Government  Property
Electives Property Legislation and Statutory Interpretation
  Elective Elective
Second Year — Spring Second Year — Spring Second Year — Spring
Legal Drafting Legal Drafting Legal Drafting
Electives Criminal Law Criminal Law
  Electives Constitutional Law I: Structure of Government 
    Electives
Third Year — Fall Third Year — Fall Third Year — Fall
Electives Electives Electives
Third Year — Spring Third Year — Spring Third Year — Spring
Electives Electives Electives
  Fourth Year — Fall Fourth Year — Fall
  Electives Electives
  Fourth Year — Spring Fourth Year — Spring
  Electives Electives

Professional Responsibility and the upper-level writing requirement must be completed before graduation.

Students matriculating in Fall 2016 or later must also fulfill the law school's experiential learning requirement before graduation.

Schedule for the General Law Program in PDF form