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 degree may be earned: J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration).
The School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, litigation, tax law, intellectual property, patent law, and computer/cyberspace law. In addition, clinics worth 5 credits are available to any third-year student who possesses an intern’s license. Seminars are open to any student with upper-level standing. Topics include constitutional law, civil rights law, and poverty law. An internship in the area of patent law is open to upper-level students who have taken a patent law course. Externships are available in Law and Technology as well as Health Care Law. Research programs may be undertaken with individual law faculty members. Second- and third-year law students are able to act as law clerks to area judges for 3 credits. Special lecture series include the Law and Technology Symposium and the Honorable James J. Bilvary Symposium on Law, Religion, and Social Justice. The voluntary Academic Excellence Program is designed to assist first-year students from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds and is conducted by law faculty and upper-level teaching assistants for no credit. The Dean of Students is also available for individual consultations. A summer clerkship program, in conjunction with the Dayton Bar Association, is intended to provide summer legal employment for some minority students. The Thurgood Marshall Society provides mentors for minority students. The most widely taken electives are Evidence, Tax, and Corporations.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 87 total credits, of which 36 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: Constitutional Law I, Contracts I and II, Legal Profession I and II, Legislation, Property, and Torts I and II. Required upper-level courses consist of Constitutional Law II, Legal Profession III, and Professional Responsibility. The required orientation program for first-year students is a 3-day program primarily aimed at introducing students to the structure of their course of studies, to administrative matters such as registration and notebook computer setup, and to provide them with an opportunity to gather in social settings to establish relationships with fellow students, faculty, and staff.
To graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.