Graduation Requirements (Dean Richardson)
- Attendance
- Regular attendance must be certified to the bar for most states
- Faculty members may have strict attendance requirements. Some faculty members have prevented students from taking their final exams if they have NOT regularly attended class
- Those with flu-like symptoms should report online (http://www.law.uchicago.edu/students/life/absencereport), but should NOT come to class until they have been free from symptoms for 24 hours
- 105 credits (Please check your transcripts NOW to make sure that you will have enough credits to graduate)
- Minimum of 9 credits per quarter (We recommend a "light" (9 credit) quarter during the Spring quarter because of the overlap with bar classes, so please plan ahead)
- Professional Responsibility Class (Legal Profession - offered Winter & Spring, if you are not taking it now)
- Professional Skills Course (list of courses is online; contact the registrar if you think your course qualifies and it is NOT listed)
- Two (2) substantial writing papers are required:
- If your class has NOT been designated as one that qualifies for substantial writing credit, and you are planning to write your paper with a lecturer, you will need to obtain permission from the Dean of Students (DOS). Please contact your professor first, and ask them to respond in writing copying the DOS. The DOS will then contact your professor to notify them regarding the writing requirements.
- Please plan to complete both papers by the end of winter quarter, if at all possible
- Failure to complete substantial writing papers is the number #1 reason why students do not graduate on time
Academic Matters
- Seminar Policy (Jenni Fry, Registrar)
- The "one seminar per quarter" rule is the same as it has always been but is now being enforced in order to ensure that our students have an academic experience that is well balanced between core courses with resident faculty and distinguished lecturers. Please review email from Dean Richardson (9/29)
- Greenberg Seminars, Legal Profession Class, and Advanced writing courses are exempt from the requirement
- Petition process is still available, and consideration will be given to other courses taken at the same time, to papers outstanding, and to the total balance of your academic portfolio (seminars/core courses)
- Course Selection (Maureen Sheehan, Associate Director of Student Affairs)
- Please review listing of core courses in the student handbook at Section1.8
- Students were encouraged to take course with some of our resident faculty who are experts in their fields
- Discussion of the "common language" shared in practice among our alumni that you can share by taking courses with faculty who typify the Chicago Law School experience
- Students were also encouraged to take core classes that would prepare them well for their particular area of interest and for the bar exam
- Students can register for an independent study during any quarter with a resident faculty member (with permission) and can complete a substantial paper in a mutually agreed upon area of interest
- Students can take 1 -2 courses per quarter across the Midway (up to a maximum of 12 credits overall) in any graduate division (exception for Language courses). Students must petition the DOS and indicate why the course is related to the study of law or to legal practice
- No academic credit is awarded for externships/internships/outside moot court
- Miscellaneous
- Looking for ways to distinguish yourself at the Law School
- Hinton Moot Court Competition
- Semi-final and final round briefs qualify for substantial writing credit
- Outside moot court competitions
- Must not conflict with class
- Very limited funding is available
- Topic Access Program (Law Reviews)
- Printing Policy (David Blood)
Graduation
- Saturday, June 12, 2010
- University Ceremony immediately followed by a Law School Hooding Ceremony
Bar Requirements
- Bar Applications
- Go to NCBE (National Conference of Bar Examiners) website to look at the bar requirements for your state including application deadlines, etc. and begin to make plans to complete your application
- Notaries (Lisa Alvarez and Amy Wahl are both notaries)
- Fingerprints (in January)
- Bar Disclosure
- Please disclose to the DOS any contact with law enforcement (even if the incident has been expunged) that you have not previously reported, so that your law school records will match the information that is disclosed on the bar application. Consistency is very important!
- Bar Courses
- BarBri, Kaplan/PMBR, and Themis were all represented
- Law School does not endorse a particular course, but we recommend that you take one
- Bar course may begin before your final exams are complete (again, please plan Spring quarter accordingly)
Non-Academic Matters
- The more things change (things that have changed since last year) . . .
- South Campus Dining Facility and Convenience Store
- Campus Police are our new neighbors (61st and Drexel)
- Lighting initiative on South Campus
- Increased shuttle service to South Campus
- Building Hours (reduced during the school year to midnight due to census (not enough people in the building between 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. to justify opening) and safety issues BUT hours will be increased during reading period and finals. Law students only (with exceptions) policy will be in place then as well)
- The more they stay the same (things that haven't changed or changed only minimally since last year) . . .
- Coffee Mess (9:15 a.m. on Wednesdays) and Wine Mess (3 - 5 on Friday)
- Plum Café
- Parking Situation
- 3L Parking Lottery (now closed)
- Fewer spaces available in the lot
- Resources and Services
- Student Counseling and Resource Center (702-9800)
- Let'sTalk (Drop-in, anonymous counseling)
- Mondays, Rockefeller, Uncommon Room (10 - 12 p.m)
- Tuesdays, I-House, Suite 291 (2:30 - 4:30 p.m.)
- Fridays, 5710 S. Woodlawn (1-3 p.m.)
- Dean-on-Call (702-8181 for after hours emergencies)
- Student Care Center (702-4156) (appointments)
- H1N1 (Please self-isolate, come in for treatment but NOT to test for virus)
- Unlawful Harassment Complaint Advisors (Campus-wide)
- Bias Response Team (Maureen Sheehan is a member)
