The Juris Doctor Program
The Curriculum
The University of Miami School of Law provides a solid grounding in all the traditional subjects that are basic to an understanding of the law and required for admission to state bars throughout the nation.
Our philosophy, however, is that our educational scope should extend well beyond the basics. We therefore offer several ambitious programs designed to teach students the craft as well as the theory of the law, to develop the research and writing skills critical to the legal profession, and to expose students to other skills necessary for effective professional service (such as negotiation and trial advocacy).
The Law School’s curriculum also addresses the problems of a changing society by offering courses that emphasize the international, economic, sociological, and psychological aspects of the law.
Juris Doctor (J.D.) Requirements
Students enrolled in the full-time program usually complete the degree requirements in three years. A minimum of 88 credits is required for the degree. Full-time students register for 16 credits each semester of their first year and a minimum of 12 credits each semester thereafter.
The University of Miami School of Law grades students according to the traditional four-point system, in which a D converts to one point and an A to four points. A cumulative average of 2.0 or above is required for the J.D.
The First Year
Classes for first-year law students provide a basis for understanding the theory and substance of the law, as well as an essential foundation for exploring the political, commercial, and social dimensions of legal institutions. All full time students are required to take the courses listed below in their first year.
Full Time First Year Schedule
First Semester |
|
| Course | Credit Hours |
| Contracts | (4) |
| Torts | (4) |
| Elements | (3) |
| Civil Procedure I | (3) |
| Legal Research & Writing I | (2) |
| 16 | |
Second Semester |
|
| Course | Credit Hours |
| Property | (4) |
| Criminal Procedure | (3) |
| U.S. Constitutional Law I | (4) |
| Elective * | (3) |
| Legal Research & Writing II | (2) |
| 16 | |
* Spring 2007 electives included Administrative Law, Analysis of Evidence, Civil Procedure II, European Community Law, Introduction to Financial Accounting for Lawyers, and Substantive Criminal Law. Some joint degree students may choose electives from within their graduate programs. |
Academic Support
Countering the well-publicized notion that law schools foster a dog-eat-dog environment, students, faculty and administrators at UM Law collaborate on a unique and overwhelmingly popular program to help first-year students adapt to the rigors of legal study. The Academic Achievement Program (AAP), better known as the “Dean’s Fellows Program,” assigns outstanding second- and third-year students (“Dean’s Fellows”) to work with students in first-year classes. On a weekly basis, each Fellow meets with students in a classroom setting and facilitates regularly scheduled study group sessions. Additional components of the AAP include the AAP Writing Center and the Fall and Spring Exam Workshop Series. Although participation is voluntary, approximately 90 percent of our first-year students take advantage of this highly effective program.
James Weldon Johnson/Robert H. Waters Summer Institute
Even before classes begin, a select group of students accepted for admission to the Law School are invited to participate in our five-week James Weldon Johnson/Robert H. Waters Summer Institute. This enrichment program includes an intensive legal writing course and two substantive law courses. The Institute is named for James Weldon Johnson, an author, lawyer, educator, diplomat, civil rights activist, and the first black admitted to The Florida Bar, and in memory of Professor Robert H. Waters, who founded the program.
Beyond the First Year
While we ensure that our students receive a broad-based legal education, we also want to give them the option of concentrating on special areas of interest. Accordingly, after the first year, the list of courses, seminars and workshops offered is extensive— including traditional classroom courses, specialized legal skills courses, seminars designed to provide intensive research and writing opportunities, workshops that enable students to apply theoretical skills to practical problems, and courses that deal with timely issues. Students must take one course in legal professionalism but have substantial flexibility in selecting the rest of their curriculum.
Upper Division Courses
The University of Miami School of Law has curricular strength in a variety of areas, as shown on this page.
Summer Session
The summer session, which takes place during the months of June and July, typically offers six or seven upper division courses in a variety of subjects. These courses are scheduled in the evening or on Saturday. A maximum of seven credits may be earned in the summer.
Credits also can be earned in our Summer Abroad Programs.
Joint Degree Programs
Students at the University of Miami School of Law have the opportunity to combine their J.D. degrees with master's degrees in Business Administration, Public Health, or Marine Affairs, and J.D./LL.M. degrees in Taxation, Inter-American Law, International Law, or Ocean and Coastal Law, realizing savings in time and tuition money over earning the degrees separately.
Click one of the links below for more information on specific joint degree programs:
- Joint JD/Marine Affairs Program
- Joint JD/MBA Program
- Joint JD/Masters in Public Health Program
- Joint JD/LLM Program (Inter-American Law, International Law or Ocean & Coastal Law)
- Joint JD/LLM Program (Taxation)
Career Planning Center
Every effort will be made by the advisors in the Law School's Career Planning Center and the graduate schools to counsel joint program students in the pursuit of their career objectives. Students are advised to seek guidance early to determine whether their career objectives will be better served by taking classes during the summer to complete their joint degree programs more quickly, or by taking the more traditional approach of pursuing legal clerkships during the summer.
Financial Aid
Students requiring financial aid should request information from the Office of Financial Aid at the Law School. It is essential that applicants seek counseling from a financial aid advisor in order to determine the feasibility of obtaining adequate student loans to cover tuition costs for both the J.D. and the joint graduate degree, as well as the additional funds required for living and incidental expenses. The availability of adequate financial aid is dependent upon the student's credit status and amount of debt incurred from prior educational loans. Prospective students should inquire as to financial aid deadlines and all deadlines must be observed.
Students may be eligible for scholarships and assistantships or to participate in the Federal Work-Study Program in order to help cover their expenses. Information regarding this and answers to most financial aid questions can be found at www.law.miami.edu/finaid.
A State of Florida tuition subsidy is available to a limited number of degree-seeking students in the M.P.H. program, who have been Florida residents for non-tuition purposes for at least 12 months prior to program admission. The subsidy covers up to 75 percent of tuition costs for public health courses taken toward the M.P.H. degree. However, the number of students and credits requested limits the number of M.P.H. credits granted at a reduced rate.
Students should also be aware that while they are full time law students there are restrictions placed on the number of hours they may work and still maintain full time status. While part-time work may be an option to assist students in financing their education, because of the intensive nature of the joint degree program, outside work is discouraged and will prolong the period necessary to obtain both degrees.
Quick Links: |
Additional Information
For additional information and an application to the School of Law, visit www.law.miami.edu or contact Office of Admissions, Attention Joint Programs, University of Miami School of Law, P.O. Box 248087, Coral Gables, FL 33124-8087; Telephone: 305-284-2523; Facsimile: 305-284-3084; E-mail: admissions@law.miami.edu.
For additional information about financial aid application procedures, visit www.law.miami.edu/finaid or contact the Office of Financial Aid at the address above; Telephone: 305-284-3115; Facsimile: 305- 284-5868; E-mail: finaid@law.miami.edu.
For additional information on the graduate program in taxation, visit www.law.miami.edu/tax or contact the University of Miami School of Law, Attention Program Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Taxation, P.O. Box 248087, Coral Gables, FL 33124-8087; Telephone: 305-284- 5567; Facsimile: 305-284-1588; E-mail: taxllm@law.miami.edu.
For additional information on the J.D./LL.M. in Inter-American Law, International Law or Ocean & Coastal Law visit www.law.miami.edu/ifp or contact the University of Miami School of Law, Attention International and Foreign Graduate Programs, P.O. Box 248087, Coral Gables, FL 33124-8087; Telephone: 305-284-5402; E-mail: intl-llm@law.miami.edu.
For an application to the School of Business Administration and for information about the GMAT visit www.bus.miami.edu/grad or contact the Graduate Business Programs, School of Business Administration, University of Miami, P.O. Box 248505, Coral Gables, Florida 33124-6524; Telephone: 305-284-4607 or 800-531-7137; Facsimile: 305-284-1878; E-mail: mba@miami.edu.
For additional information and an application to the Teaching Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health visit www.biomed.miami.edu/epi or contact the Teaching Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health, Attention: Joint J.D./M.P.H. Program, University of Miami School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, P.O. Box 016069 (R669), Miami, Florida 33101; Telephone: 305-243- 6759; Facsimile: 305-243-6436; E-mail: gpph@med.miami.edu.
For additional information and an application to the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Division of Marine Affairs & Policy visit www.rsmas.miami.edu or contact the RSMAS Graduate Studies Office, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149; Telephone: 305-421-4155; Facsimile: 305-421-4771; E-mail: gso@rsmas.miami.edu.
The Application Process
Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout the year. Your application will be sent to the Committee as soon as all required documents have been received. Completion of your application by February 4, 2008 or earlier is strongly advised to place you in the best position for admission. If you wish to be considered for scholarships, completion of your file by January 4, 2008 is strongly advised. Applications received after February 4, 2008 will continue to be accepted and reviewed on a space available basis until July 31, 2008. As most scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis, it is in the applicants’ best interest to complete their files before the end of the year.
To be considered for admission, you must receive a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university prior to enrolling at the School of Law. The Law School admits first-year students only in the Fall semester. The Faculty Admissions and Financial Aid Committee and the assistant dean of admissions review files as they become complete. Their decisions are then mailed to the applicants, on a rolling basis, usually beginning in December. A completed admissions file consists of the application form and processing fee, Law School Data Assembly Service report (LSDAS), two letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. Students who are admitted are required to submit a deposit by the specified deadline.
In evaluating your file, UM Law, like most schools, will carefully review your undergraduate record and Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) score(s). However, we also give careful consideration to your personal information, such as obstacles overcome, graduate studies, job history and significant extracurricular and community activities. Special care is taken in the review process to ensure that the entering class is a highly talented and select group, representing a wide variety of cultural, racial, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds.
The University of Miami takes great pride in the diversity of its students and faculty, viewing these differences as a major strength. Attorneys must develop the flexibility and understanding that comes with exposure to the viewpoints of people whose life experiences have been different from their own. You are strongly encouraged to include a personal statement describing how your experiences and background would add to the enrichment of our student body.
Students are admitted to the School of Law from almost every academic discipline. The Admissions Committee is interested in your overall performance and the courses you selected to enhance your logical reasoning and writing skills. In recent years, the most popular majors for entering students were political science, history, English, psychology, criminal justice, economics, biology, finance, government, international relations, journalism, accounting and philosophy.
The 75th percentile LSAT score and grade point average of the 2007 entering class are a 160 LSAT and 3.64 G.P.A. The 25th percentile LSAT score and G.P.A. for the same class are a 155 LSAT and 3.23 G.P.A. Note that multiple LSAT scores are averaged in the admissions process. The attrition rate is approximately 10 percent and many students who withdraw usually do so for nonacademic reasons.
The application can be accessed at http://www.law.miami.edu/admissions/jd_application.php
Applicants with Foreign Degrees
As a law school with special strength in international and comparative law, we also have much to offer students who have undergraduate or law degrees from accredited foreign schools and plan to work in the United States or with United States clients in their home countries. Moreover, we have made it easy for them to apply for admission.
The University of Miami School of Law requires that foreign transcripts be submitted through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) JD Credential Assembly Service. If you completed more than one year of postsecondary work outside the U.S. (including its territories) or Canada, you must use this service for the evaluation of your foreign transcripts. This service is included in the LSDAS subscription fee. A Foreign Credential Evaluation will be completed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), which will be incorporated into your LSDAS report. Applicants whose native language is not English, and whose undergraduate education is from outside the U.S., are required to submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. If this applies to you, you must contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and request that your TOEFL score be sent to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). LSAC’s TOEFL code for JD Credential Assembly Service is 0058. Your score will be included in the Foreign Credential Evaluation document that will be included in your LSDAS report. Students applying to the Juris Doctor program must posses a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. regionally accredited institution, or an equivalent degree from a foreign institution. The evaluation from the LSAC JD Credential Assembly Service will clarify if foreign degrees meet this requirement. Questions about the JD Credential Assembly Service can be directed to LSAC at 215-968-1001 or LSACINFO@LSAC.org.
The application can be accessed at http://www.law.miami.edu/admissions/jd_application.php
Transfer Applicants
The University of Miami School of Law welcomes applications from students who have compiled strong records at other American Bar Association-approved law schools and wish to transfer. Admission decisions in the Law School are made by a Faculty Committee that evaluates each applicant’s potential for excellence in the study of law at the University of Miami. The standard indicator of such potential for transfer students is prior performance in law school; however, your undergraduate record and LSAT score are also considered in the admissions process. To be considered for transfer, the University of Miami School of Law normally requires applicants to have a “B” average or better, or to be in the top 20 percent of their class at an ABA accredited law school. Exceptions may be made for students from highly competitive institutions. Normally 30 credits are required for transfer; however, if fewer credits comprise the full first-year, full-time curriculum at your school, your application will be considered. Transferring with less than two years of law study remaining is highly unusual. The School of Law is committed to a policy of further enhancing the diversity of its student body and encourages applications for transfer from members of all minority groups.
We act upon applications as soon as they are completed. Although there is no formal deadline for transfer applications, you are encouraged to submit your application and all supporting documentation as early as possible. Transfer applicants may enroll for spring, fall, or summer semesters. The Law School requires an updated LSDAS report from each transfer applicant. We recommend that the report includes the final undergraduate transcript, confirming receipt of the bachelor’s degree, and a current law school transcript. It is not necessary to re-register with LSDAS for this purpose, since there is an extended LSDAS service for law school candidates.
Transcripts submitted through LSDAS, while required to process your application, are not official transcripts. In keeping with American Bar Association standards, we require that an official transcript from the degree-granting institution be sent to us directly by the registrar’s office. All acceptance offers are conditional upon receipt of your official transcript. In order to process your application, it is necessary that we receive an official transcript reflecting a full year of law school work. No application will be considered on the basis of one semester’s grades. Upon completion of your first year of law school, we require a letter from the registrar or office of the dean at your present law school indicating whether or not you are in good standing and are eligible to return. This letter should also state your class rank. If your school does not rank its students after the first year, the letter from your dean or registrar should state that fact.
Students transferring to the University of Miami School of Law who have completed one year of study at another ABA accredited law school should inquire as to their eligibility for membership on the University of Miami Law Review and the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review. A transfer student admitted to the School of Law will normally be added, upon admission, to the list of students eligible to participate in the writing competition for the Law School journals, when the student’s class rank at the other law school would result in inclusion in the list had that class rank been earned at the University of Miami School of Law. Inquiries should be made to the Office of Admissions at 305-284-2523.
If you are admitted as a transfer student, all placement materials normally sent to beginning second-year students will be mailed to you at your current address on file. Because time is essential in arranging second-year clerkships, you should notify the Admissions Office promptly of any address changes.
The application can be accessed at http://www.law.miami.edu/admissions/jd_application.php
