Academics
In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. 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), J.D./M.Ed. (Juris Doctor/Master of Education in sports studies), J.D./M.H.P. (Juris Doctor/Master of Historic Preservation), J.D./M.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration), and J.D./M.S.W. (Juris Doctor/Master of Social Work).
The School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, entertainment law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, labor law, litigation, sports law, tax law, and torts and insurance. The clinics offered to students include the Criminal Defense Clinic, the Prosecutorial Clinic, and the Land Use Clinic, all of which have varying credit amounts. Seminars, worth 2 credits, and supervised research and independent projects worth a maximum of 4 credits are also open to upper-level students. Students may intern with the Civil Externship Clinic, the Public Interest Practicum, and the Global Internship Program. The Dean Rusk Center for International and Comparative Law provides research programs. Field work opportunities for students includes Equal Justice Foundation Fellowships. Study- abroad programs may be undertaken with permission and include Georgia Law at Oxford, Brussels Seminar on Law and Institutions of the European Union and Community, and Georgia Law Summer Program in China. Several tutorial and mentoring programs are offered for no credit. The most widely taken electives are Constitutional Law I and II, Evidence, and Federal Income Tax.
To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 88 total credits, of which 33 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, Contracts and Sales, Criminal Law, Legal Research and Writing, Property, and Torts. Legal Profession is a required upper-level course. The required orientation program for first-year students is a 2-day program that provides an introduction to the school’s activities, programs, and requirements; to the case method and legal study; and to new and returning students.
To graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.