Academics
The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration).
Students must take 12 hours credits in their area of concentration. The School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, environmental law, family law, litigation, tax law, torts and insurance, certificates in tax law, family law, natural resources law, advocacy, estate planning, and transactional law. In addition, Law Clinic may be taken as a one-semester elective for 4 to 5 credit hours by students with 50 or more credit hours and upon completion of prerequisite courses. In-house, live client opportunities exist in the areas of Family Law, Juvenile Law, Civil Law, Criminal Defense, Native American, and Transactional Law. A Directed Clinical Internship is available by permission for 1 to 3 credit hours after successful completion of Law Clinic. Second- or third-year students may take seminars for 2 to 3 credit hours in areas such as civil liberties, civil rights, constitutional litigation, family law, negotiation and settlement, and natural resources. Informal internships (part-time professional librarian positions) may be available in the law library for those with an MLS degree working toward a J.D. Research may be done as a student option through the Advanced Legal Research course for 2 credit hours or Directed Research for 1 to 3 credit hours. Externships are available in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Kansas Legislature for 1 to 2 credit hours. There are Kansas District Court externships for 2 credit hours; Environmental Law externships for 1 to 2 credit hours; and Government Agency, Private Practice, or Corporate Counsel externships for 1 to 2 credit hours. There is a Foulston and Siefkin Law Journal Lecture Series and special tort lectures available through the Ahrens tort-chair endowment. A 6-credit-hour summer program, with various courses in comparative law, is conducted at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, each year. A full semester program is also available at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. All first-year students are invited to participate in peer-facilitated groups which meet weekly to discuss difficult concepts encountered in Property, Contracts and Civil Procedure courses, as well as effective note-taking, outlining, and class preparation. At-risk second- and third-year students are invited to participate in individual and group tutorial and remedial assistance programs. Minority programs include active chapters of Black (BLSA), Asian (AALSA), Hispanic (HALSA), and Native American (NALSA) law student associations; supporting institution of CLEO program; Women’s Legal Forum; and Gay/Straight Alliance. Special interest group programs are offered at the Business Transactional Law Center, Children and Family Law Center, and Center for Excellence in Advocacy. The most widely taken electives are Business Associations, Civil Procedure II, and Decedents’ Estates.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 90 total credits, of which 43 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: Civil Procedure I, Constitutional Law I, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Legal Analysis, Research and Writing Seminar I and II, Property, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of a writing requirement, an oral presentation requirement, Constitutional Law II, Evidence, Perspectives on Law course—students choose from 12 listed, Professional Responsibility, and Secured Transactions. The required orientation program for first-year students is 1 week and contains an intensive academic component as well as administrative, social, and public service events.
In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0, have completed the upper-division writing requirement, and upper-level oral presentation.