Academics
Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 6 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration) and J.D./M.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration).
The College of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, labor law, litigation, sports law, tax law, and torts and insurance. In addition, The Zeke Giorgi Legal Clinic offers clinics in criminal defense, domestic abuse, elder law, and mediation. All students must complete a 3-hour seminar in their fourth or fifth semester. Seminars include Gender and the Law, E-Commerce, and Emerging Issues in Civil Procedure. Externships are offered in the Judicial Externship Program, which places students with state and federal judges; civil and criminal externships are also available with state criminal prosecutors and public defenders and appellate defender externships are available at the Illinois Appellate Defender Office. There is the annual Riley Lecture Series on Professionalism, the annual Land Use Symposium and the Marla Dickerson Lecture Series. Study abroad in Agen, France is available for law students as well as other options through the International Program Office. Tutors are available to first-year students upon request. The Academic Support Program is available for students who may need additional support during the first year of law school. Peer and faculty support programs are available for minorities. Speakers on a variety of topics are sponsored by the Women’s Law Caucus, International Law Society, BLSA, and LLSA. The most widely taken electives are Agency, Corporations, and Real Estate Transactions.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 90 total credits, of which 39 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Basic Legal Research I and II, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law I, Contract I and II, Criminal Law, Legal Writing, Advocacy I and II, Property, and Torts I and II. Required upper-level courses consist of a writing seminar, Constitutional Law II, and Professional Responsibility. The required orientation program for first-year students is a week-long orientation introducing briefing cases, case synthesis, outlining, exam preparation, and ethics and professionalism.
In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.