The University of Colorado at Boulder Law School

Requirements for Graduation

The Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree is the basic law degree and the only one offered by the School of Law. It is awarded upon a student's satisfaction of these requirements:

1. Completion of 89 semester hours with a numerical grade point average of 72.00, subject to the following limitations:
   1. No more than 14 of the 89 hours may be in courses designated practice courses. These courses presently include all clinical courses (Legal Aid Clinics, American Indian Law Clinic, Appellate Advocacy Clinic, Immigration Clinic, Natural Resource Litigation Clinic), Trial Advocacy courses (Trial Advocacy, Trial Practice, Advanced Trial Advocacy, and Motions Advocacy), and Law Practice Management.
   2. No more than 8 of the 89 hours may be for work on the Law Review or either Journal or for appellate and trial competitions.
   3. No more than 6 of the 89 hours may be for nonlaw courses.
   4. No more than 4 hours of externships, except if you have petitioned successfully to allow for 7 total credit hours.
2. Completion of required courses:

Contracts — 4 hours
Civil Procedure — 5 hours
Torts — 4 hours
Criminal Law — 4 hours
Property — 5 hours
Legal Writing — 2 hours
Appellate Court Advocacy — 2 hours
Constitutional Law — 4 hours
Evidence — 3 hours
Legal Ethics and Professionalism — 3 hours (must be taken during second year)
Seminar — 2 or 3 hours
Practice Requirement — fulfilled by taking any of the courses listed above that are so designated

3. Additional requirements are imposed for the J.D. with Tax Emphasis program at the Law School and for the Environmental Policy Certificate. Similarly, students must follow the specific requirements for a joint degree program if they are participating in one – i.e, with the Business School, the Graduate School of Public Affairs, the Telecommunications Program, or the Environmental Studies Program.
4. Completion of six semesters or the equivalent in residence at this or some other accredited law school, with a minimum of 45 semester hours completed at the University of Colorado Law School. If a student is not in residence at the School during the last two semesters, a minimum of 60 hours is required. A semester of residence is defined as successful completion of a minimum of 10 hours of study in the classroom or under direct supervision of an instructor. A semester of residence may be completed by taking two summer sessions with a minimum of 5 hours each summer. No residence credit is earned for summer sessions of fewer than 5 hours.

See Rules 3-1-1 and 3-2-3 of the Law School Rules for detailed information on these requirements. The Rules are on reserve in the Law Library or available on the Web at www.colorado.edu/law/about/rules.