Academics
In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/ Master of Business Administration).
Students must take 15 credits in their area of concentration. The School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, international law, juvenile law, labor law, litigation, maritime law, securities law, tax law, torts and insurance, and intellectual property (including entertainment, sports, and media law). In addition, clinical programs include International Human Rights Clinic (3 units), Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic (6 units), and the Child Advocacy Clinic (6 units). Seminars are offered in many subjects including International Business and Civil Dispute Resolution (3 units), Murder, A Study of Deadly Human Violence (3 units), and Legal Ethics and the Practice of Law (3 units). The Clinical Internship and Judicial Externship programs give students the opportunity to earn academic credit while working in legal agencies (3 to 6 units) or with federal and state judges (3 to 12 units) throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Students may earn 1 to 2 units of credit working on a directed research project, under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. Special lecture series includes the McCarthy Institute, and the annual symposia of the USF Law Review, the Intellectual Property and Law Bulletin, the Journal of Law and Social Challenges, and the Center for Law and Global Justice. USF offers three summer abroad study opportunities in Dublin, Prague, and Budapest. Additional opportunities are offered in Brazil, Spain, and Cambodia. Academic support is available to select incoming students for the first semester based on admission criteria. All first year students are eligible for academic support, as needed, after the first semester or when referred by a faculty member. Support is ongoing for those in need through a special second year course and in the final year through a series of bar preparation workshops. The Academic Support Program (ASP) was created to assist students of diverse backgrounds in succeeding in law school. Special interest groups include the Intellectual Property/Cyberlaw Certificate, International and Comparative Law Certificate, and Business Law Certificate. The most widely taken electives are Corporations, Wills and Trusts, and Remedies.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 86 total credits, of which 48 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 and II, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law (second-year part time), Criminal Procedure (second-year part time), Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis I and II, Moot Court (second-year part time), Property, and Torts I and II. Required upper-level courses consist of a research and writing requirement, Constitutional Law I and II, Evidence, and Legal Ethics and the Practice of Law. The required orientation program for first-year students is a week long orientation program which serves to welcome and inform incoming students. An introduction course provides essential initiation to first-year courses. Other meetings and events cover important topics and social activities designed to ease the transition to law school experience and environment.
In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement. Effective spring 2010 a 2.30 GPA will be required to graduate.