University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School JD candidates are required to complete 86 semester hours at graduation during 6 semesters in law school residence. Each JD student is required to complete, in addition to the required first-year curriculum, one course in Professional Responsibility, 6 semester hours of experiential learning, the Pro Bono Requirement, and a scholarly research and writing project (the Senior Writing Requirement). The details of each requirement and restrictions on co-curricular credits are explained below.
Juris Doctor (JD):
Candidates for the JD degree need to complete 86 semester hours at graduation during six semesters in law school residence.
Full-Time Attendance: students must enroll in at least 12 semester hours each semester and may enroll in no more than 17 semester hours per term toward the JD degree.
Students may receive up to 12 semester hours toward the JD graduation requirements for graduate-level courses taken in other departments upon establishing that these courses will contribute to one’s legal education.
Distance Education: effective fall 2023, no more than 12 semester hours can be earned in distance education courses (both synchronous and asynchronous online) toward the 86 semester hours required for the JD degree. It is important to also note that F1 visa holder make count only one online or distance learning class toward a full course of study each semester.
Experiential Learning: students must complete one or more experiential courses totaling at least six (6) semester hours. There are 60+ courses — including all clinics and externships — from the Law School’s curriculum designated as experiential. Experiential courses will be annotated on the course planning spreadsheet circulated by the Registrar each term; one can also search for experiential courses in the online Course Finder via the drop-down category menu. Contact the Law Registrar’s Office at reg@law.upenn.edu with any questions about the experiential learning requirement.
Co-Curricular Credit Restrictions: no more than 22 semester hours (of the 86 semester hours required for graduation) earned in co-curricular credit activities will count toward the JD degree. An additional restriction of 7 semester hours, of the total 22 semester hours, can be earned from sources listed in the column on the right below. No more than 12 semester hours (of the 22 co-curricular semester hour restriction) can be earned via pre-approved courses outside of the Law School. No more than 14 semester hours (of the 22 co-curricular semester hour restriction) can be earned in externships (both Gittis and ad hoc externships) - effective with the Class of 2025. Semester hours earned through clinics do not count towards the co-curricular credit restriction.
| Max 22 semester hours from: | Max 7 (of 22) semester hours from: |
| Courses Outside of the Law School (up to 12 semester hours) | Journals & Law Review |
| Externships/Ad Hoc Externships (up to 14 semester hours) | Keedy Prelims & Keedy Final Round |
| Student Projects (Independent Study, Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant) (up to 22 semester hours) | Moot Court & Mock Trial Competitions (*1Ls - see below) |
| Curricular Practical Training Independent Study (up to 22 semester hours) | Moot Court Board |
| Independent Research Seminar and Directed Reading Seminars |
* First-year students cannot receive academic credit for participation in activities during their first year, nor will the activity be noted on the transcript. We encourage first-year students to add their participation in co-curricular activities to their resume.
Pro bono is an integral part of Penn Carey Law’s unique approach to legal education. As part of the Law School’s belief that it is incumbent upon all lawyers, from all sectors to utilize the law to advance the public good, you must complete at least 70 hours of pro bono legal work as a graduation obligation.
The Toll Public Interest Center (TPIC) oversees the pro bono requirement and has relationships with hundreds of nonprofits, government and legal services agencies, and law firms locally, nationally, and globally. TPIC is home to more than 20 internally run pro bono projects, enabling you to satisfy your pro bono requirement while developing legal skills, building close relationships with your peers, and serving the causes and communities you care about.
Overview of requirement:
For more information and placement opportunities, please visit TPIC’s website or reach out via email.
Requirement and Goals: So that each JD student demonstrates proficiency in scholarly research and writing under close faculty supervision, you must participate in a scholarly research and writing project in either your second or third year. Your project should:
Faculty Input: Your supervising faculty member, whether full-time or adjunct, will provide close personal supervision and comment, and you will undertake revision and further writing in light of the critiques. The senior research and writing experience will involve the following steps, each with faculty consultation:
a) Selection of the topic
b) Submission of a first draft
c) Submission of a final, revised draft that meets, to the faculty member’s satisfaction, the standard of proficiency in scholarly research and writing
Deadlines: Your research and writing should be sustained over one or more semesters. Early and realistic deadlines should be set for initial drafts to permit adequate time for faculty comments and for your final draft preparation.
Ways to Satisfy the Requirement: The Senior Writing Requirement cannot be satisfied through a course that is also being counted towards a different graduation requirement, such as the experiential credit requirement or Professional Responsibility. Provided that the rules and standards set forth above are met, the senior writing requirement may be satisfied in many ways, including (without limitation):
b) Work in independent studies
c) Papers in lieu of examinations in regular law school courses (always confirm such an arrangement with your faculty member at the start the semester)
d) Notes or comments written for student journals
e) Work as a faculty research assistant, provided that you are not also being compensated
Your research and writing project need not be graded or receive academic credit in order to satisfy the senior writing requirement.
Documentation: You are responsible for identifying a faculty member to supervise your senior writing project. Once you have secured the faculty member’s agreement to supervise, you must submit a Faculty Agreement to Supervise Senior Writing form to the Registrar’s Office. Please note that the submission of the Faculty Agreement form does NOT signal the requirement has been met, but only that a faculty member has agreed to serve as a supervisor.
Satisfaction of the Senior Writing Requirement: Once the senior writing requirement has been satisfied, have your advising faculty member send a confirmation to the Registrar’s Office. Your transcript will then be updated to reflect completion of requirement.
All students are required to take a course in legal ethics. The requirement may be satisfied by completing any one of the professional responsibility courses.
Students entering on advanced standing are reminded that in order to satisfy the 86-semester hour requirement for the JD, they must also:
You may also be required to complete first-year courses offered by this Law School if you have not already completed them in your first year. The credits for these courses, however, may be counted toward the credits required for graduation. You will receive a letter from the Registrar that will indicate your degree requirements and required courses, if any, that must be completed. The courses to be completed or waived are Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, and Torts.
Throughout the course of your enrollment at the Law School, you have a continuing duty to report to the Dean of Students any matters involving your interactions with legal authorities, legal actions taken by or against you, or charges brought by University disciplinary offices. Such actions include but are not limited to arrests, citations, lawsuits, subpoenas, traffic violations, or violations of Penn policies. At the time you apply for Bar admission, the Bar authorities in each jurisdiction will seek to determine that information in your Bar application is congruent with your Law School student file. In order to simplify your admission to the Bar at such time as you are reviewed for “character and fitness,” you must make any such activity known to the Law School immediately on occurrence.