Academic Requirements
- Academic Requirements Overview
- Good Standing
- Required Courses
- Public Service Requirement
- Upper Level Legal Writing Requirement
Academic Requirements Overview
The Sturm College of Law awards the degree of Juris Doctor to those students who successfully fulfill the following requirements:
- Completion of ninety [90] semester credit hours with passing grades. Only a grade of F constitutes a failing grade for purposes of this requirement. Students receive no credit hours toward graduation for courses in which they earn a grade of F.
- Maintenance of the required cumulative grade point average
- For students who enter the Sturm College of Law in the 2007 Fall, or any subsequent, semester: a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or higher
- For students who entered the Sturm College of Law before the 2007 Fall semester: a cumulative GPA of 2.2 or higher
- Successful completion of all required courses (as defined in the chart that follows this section). A student who receives a grade of F in a required course must retake the course and earn a passing grade. Both grades remain on the student’s transcript and affect the student’s cumulative GPA.
- Completion of the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement
- Completion of the Public Service requirement
- Resolution of all financial obligations to the University of Denver
- Completion of all credit hours within a specified time period following initial matriculation at law school. The American Bar Association requires law students to complete their legal educations within seven years. Full-time day-division students at the Sturm College of Law normally meet all JD requirements by the end of their third year. Part-time evening-division students at the Sturm College of Law normally complete all JD requirements by the end of their fourth year.
Good Standing
All students who enter the Sturm College of Law in the 2007 Fall, or any subsequent, semester must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.3 to remain in good standing.
All students who entered the Sturm College of Law before the 2007 Fall semester must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.2 to remain in good standing.
Students may check their Academic Progress Report on MyWeb. Students have the responsibility to check MyWeb carefully and to contact the Registrar’s Office if students note any discrepancy between their understanding and their Academic Progress Report. Students have the sole responsibility to ensure that they have completed all graduation requirements.
Required Courses
| – | Day Division | Evening Division |
| 1st Year Fall | Civil Procedure (4) Lawyering Process I (3) Two of the following 4-credit courses: Contracts, Criminal Law, Property,Torts (4) |
Civil Procedure (4) Lawyering Process I (3) One of the following 4-credit courses: Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts (4) |
| 1st Year Spring | Lawyering Process II (3) Constitutional Law (4) Two of the remaining 4-credit courses: Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts (4) |
Lawyering Process II (3) Two of the remaining 4-credit courses: Contracts, Criminal Law, Property ,Torts (4) |
| 2nd Year Fall | – | Constitutional Law (4) One of the remaining 4-credit courses: Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts (4) |
| 2nd Year Spring | – | – |
Other Required Courses:
All students must successfully complete the following courses in any semester prior to graduation:
- Legal Profession (3)
- Evidence (4)
- Administrative Law (3)
All students who enrolled prior to fall 2010 must also complete a Perspective Elective course in any semester prior to graduation:
- Perspective Elective (3)
[Students may fulfill the Perspective Elective requirement by successful completion of one of the following courses: American Legal History, Comparative Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Law or Jurisprudence]
Other Graduation Requirements:
Completion of (1) the Upper Level Legal Writing Requirement and (2) the Public Service Requirement
Public Service Requirement
All law students must satisfy the Public Service Requirement in order to graduate. To satisfy the requirement, each student must perform a minimum of 50 hours of supervised, uncompensated, legal public service work. Students are strongly encouraged to complete this requirement before their last semester of law school.
After a student has completed a minimum of thirty (30) academic credit hours, the student may satisfy the Public Service Requirement by participation in one of the following:
- An Externship for credit at a government agency; a judicial agency; a nonprofit (501©(3)) organization; or in a private law firm doing 50 hours of pro bono work under the auspices of the Legal Externship Office.
- The Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center Child Advocacy Practicum associated with the Legal Externship Office
- An approved Public Interest Practicum for either zero or one credit under the auspices of the Public Interest Office.
- A Sturm College of Law student law clinic under the auspices of the Student Law Office.
- A pre-approved Sturm College of Law course which has a practical public service component (current pre-approved courses are Street Law, the Graduate Tax Program’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, Trial Practice III: Mentor’s Practicum, the International Criminal Law Practicum, Wills Lab, and the Probate Practicum).
The Public Service Requirement has the following goals:
- Educate students about their professional responsibilities, particularly their obligation to perform public service work as practicing attorneys;
- Help students develop practical lawyering skills by supervising them in real work situations and teaching them to integrate the theory and practice of law;
- Raise awareness among students of meaningful career and public service opportunities.
Students can find further details about the requirement here »
Upper Level Legal Writing Requirement
All law students must satisfy the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement prior to graduation. The requirement provides students additional instruction and practice in research, organization and expression.
To satisfy the requirement, each student must:
- Complete a written product of at least ten (10) pages on an appropriate legal subject determined by a professor and the student.
- Secure the professor’s written comments as to the substance and style of the student’s written project
- Prepare a second draft of the written project in response to the professor’s comments to the professor’s satisfaction.
Students may satisfy the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement in the following ways:
- Advanced Legal Writing Course
A student can enroll in and successfully complete the upper level legal writing course entitled “Advanced Legal Writing.” - Designated Seminar Classes or Clinics
A student can enroll in and successfully complete a seminar that satisfies the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. The student also can enroll in and successfully complete a clinical course that satisfies the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. Clinics and seminars do not necessarily satisfy the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. Students must clarify with individual professors whether the seminar or clinic will satisfy the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. A student who elects to fulfill the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement under this option must make certain that the Registrar’s Office receives certification from the professor that the student successfully fulfilled the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. Only after the Registrar’s Office has received official certification has the student completed this graduation requirement. - Directed Research Projects
The student may enroll in and successfully complete a 2-3 credit hour Directed Research Project with a full-time faculty member. If the student successfully completes a Directed Research project that fulfills the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement, the professor must certify to the Registrar that the student has completed the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. A student who elects to fulfill the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement under this option must make certain that the Registrar’s Office receives certification from the professor that the student successfully fulfilled the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. Only after the Registrar’s Office has received official certification has the student completed this graduation requirement. - Certification by Professor
Any full-time or adjunct professor can offer a student the opportunity to complete the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement within the course taught by the professor or independently of the course taught by the professor. Upon successful completion of the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement, the professor must certify to the Registrar that the student has completed the requirement. A student who elects to fulfill the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement under this option must make certain that the Registrar’s Office receives certification from the professor that the student successfully fulfilled the Upper Level Legal Writing requirement. Only after the Registrar’s Office has received official certification has the student completed this graduation requirement.