College of Law

Academics

Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 8 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in women’s studies), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), J.D./M.C.P. (Juris Doctor/Master of Community Planning), J.D./M.S.W. (Juris Doctor/Master of Social Work), and J.D./Ph.D. (Juris Doctor/Doctor of Philosophy in political science).

The College of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, international law, litigation, tax law, and international human rights. In addition, clinics include Sixth Circuit, Domestic Violence, and Ohio Innocence Project. Seminar topics include corporate law, constitutional law, and jurisprudence topics. An externship program is offered to 50 or 60 students and is worth 3 credit hours. Both judicial and legal externships are available. Individual research projects are also available. Speakers can be heard at the Human Rights Institute, which invites international human rights scholars, the Center for Corporate Law, Institute for Law and Psychiatry, and the Corporate Law symposium. The college has a student exchange program with the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. An academic success program is also available. The most widely taken electives are Corporations, Wills, and Secured Transactions.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 90 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: Advocacy, Civil Procedure I and II, Constitutional Law I and II, Contracts, Criminal Law, Introduction to Law, Legal Research and Writing, Property, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of a seminar requirement, lawyering course, and writing requirements. Externships or a clinical experience are strongly encouraged. The required orientation program for first-year students is 1 week and includes the Introduction to Law course, registration, assignment of faculty and student advisers, a meeting with student advisers, a social event with upper-level students, information about the law library, and bar association membership opportunities.

In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0, have completed the upper-division writing requirement, and have completed the Lawyering course.

Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 1293 applied, 454 were accepted, and 120 enrolled. Twenty transfers enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 82; the median GPA was 3.63 on a scale of 4.0. The lowest LSAT percentile accepted was 13; the highest was 99.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. The most important admission factors include GPA, LSAT results, and academic achievement. A 6-member committee reads all files in their entirety under a fall review process. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is March 1. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a personal statement, TOEFL for international applicants, WES transcript analysis, a nonrefundable application fee of $35, and 2 (through LSAC) letters of recommendation. Notification of the admissions decision is on a rolling basis. The latest acceptable LSAT test date for fall entry is February. The law school uses the LSDAS.

Financial Aid

About 90% of current law students receive some form of aid. The average annual amount of aid from all sources combined, including scholarships, loans, and work contracts, is $25,000; maximum, $34,000. Awards are based on Scholarships are awarded in an effort to attract an academically talented and diverse student body. Required financial statements are the FAFSA and scholarship application. The aid application deadline for fall entry is March 1. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application within 2 weeks of acceptance.

Students

About 46% of the student body are women; 17%, minorities; 8%, African American; 5%, Asian American; 3%, Hispanic; and 1%, Native American. The majority of students come from Ohio (65%). The average age of entering students is 24; age range is 20 to 43. About 60% of students enter directly from undergraduate school, 10% have a graduate degree, and 40% have worked full-time prior to entering law school. About 1% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 96% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the University of Cincinnati Law Review, Immigration and Nationality Law Review, Human Rights Quarterly, and Freedom Center Journal. Students compete at the Jessup International Law Moot Court, the J. Braxton Craven, Jr. Memorial Moot Court, and the Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court in patent law. Also, the College of Law hosts the National Product Liability Competition and participates in all other national competitions. Law student organizations include the ABA-Law Student Division, International Law Society, and Intellectual Property Society. There are local chapters of Order of the Barristers and Order of the Coif.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered days only. There is no part-time program. New students are admitted in the fall. There is no summer session. Transferable summer courses are offered.

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