General Law Program
Although George Mason 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 George Mason law students, whether pursuing a specialty track or the General Law Program, are required to satisfactorily complete 84 credit hours for graduation. Forty-five of those credit hours are in general courses; thirty-nine credit hours are in elective courses. In addition, students must complete the School of Law's writing requirement.
All students must take the following required courses during their tenure at George Mason University School of Law:
| Required Courses | Credit Hours |
| Legal Research, Writing and Analysis I | 2 |
| Contracts I | 3 |
| Property | 4 |
| Civil Procedure | 4 |
| Torts I | 3 |
| Economic Foundations of Legal Studies | 3 |
| Legal Research, Writing and Analysis II | 2 |
| Torts II | 3 |
| Contracts II | 3 |
| Criminal Law | 3 |
| Appellate Writing | 2 |
| Constitutional Law | 4 |
| Legal Drafting | 2 |
| Administrative Law | 3 |
| Professional Responsibility | 2 |
| Constitutional Law II* | 2 |
* Note: Constitutional Law II is a requirement for students who entered law school in Fall 2003. This means that it is first required in Spring 2005.
Schedule of Required Courses for the General Law Program
| First Year - Fall | First Year - Fall | ||
| DAY DIVISION | EVENING DIVISION | ||
| Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis I | 2 | Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis I | 2 |
| Torts I | 3 | Torts I | 3 |
| Contracts I | 3 | Contracts I | 3 |
| Property | 4 | Economic Foundations of Legal Studies | 3 |
| Economic Foundations of Legal Studies | 3 | Total | 11 |
| Total | 15 | ||
| First Year - Spring | First Year - Spring | ||
| Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis II | 2 | Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis II | 2 |
| Torts II | 3 | Torts II | 3 |
| Contracts II | 3 | Contracts II | 3 |
| Civil Procedure | 4 | Civil Procedure | 4 |
| Criminal Law | 3 | Total | 12 |
| Total | 15 | ||
| Second Year - Fall | Second Year - Fall | ||
| Appellate Writing | 2 | Appellate Writing | 2 |
| Constitutional Law | 4 | Constitutional Law | 4 |
| Electives | 6-9 | Property | 4 |
| 12-15 | 10 | ||
| Second Year - Spring | Second Year - Spring | ||
| Legal Drafting | 2 | Legal Drafting | 2 |
| Administrative Law | 3 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| Constitutional Law II* | 2 | Constitutional Law II* | 2 |
| Electives | 5-8 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| Total | 12-15 | (Electives) | 0-2 |
| Total | 10-12 | ||
| Total Hours: | 84 | Total Hours: | 84 |
* Note: Constitutional Law II is a requirement for students who entered law school in Fall 2003. This means that it is first required in Spring 2005.