Graduation Requirements

A student must successfully complete all of the following to be eligible for graduation from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

  • 88 Credits
  • 64 Credits earned "in regularly scheduled class sessions"
    View information regarding classroom contact hours »
  • 6 semesters of full time enrollment (minimum of 10 credits per semester)
  • All required first year courses
    View First-Year Courses »
  • Legal Profession (Ethics)
    Courses satisfying the Legal Profession requirement provide substantial instruction in the history, goals, structure, values, rules, and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members.
    View courses that fulfill the LP Requirement »
  • Upper Level Legal Writing Requirement (ULW) This requirement is satisfied by a paper of at least twenty pages requiring the student to explore, on the basis of significant research in legal sources, the interrelationships of issues presented in a complex context, and must be fulfilled through a seminar, legal writing independent study or other course specifically designated as meeting the upper-level writing requirement.  Only members of the full-time faculty may supervise papers to satisfy the ULW requirement.  A paper must receive a grade of B- or better to satisfy the ULW requirement.   

Further details »
View courses that fulfill the ULW Requirement »

  • Experiential Learning 
    Every student must complete at least 6 credits of experiential courses that engage students in performance of the experiential skills generally regarded as necessary for effective and responsible participation in the legal profession.
    Further details »
    View courses that fulfill the Experiential Learning Requirement »
  • International/Comparative Law requirement
    Each student must complete an international law/comparative law course in the second or third year, choosing from a menu of courses designated as satisfying the international/comparative law requirement.  
    View courses that fulfill the IC Requirement »
  • Foundations of Legal Research (1 credit) 
    Must be taken during the second year. It is strongly recommended to take the course in the Fall, but there is also a Spring offering of the course. At least three sections of this course will be offered each Fall semester, and one section in the Spring (if needed)..
    View sections of Foundations of Legal Research »
  • Writing Requirement ("W")
    This requirement is fulfilled by completing either
    1. a second/separate seminar, legal writing independent study, or course meeting the upper level legal writing (ULW) requirement as described above or
    2. one course designated as satisfying the W requirement. 
      View courses that fulfill the W Requirement »
  • Additional graduation requirements apply for those students whose grade point averages place them in the bottom 15% of their class at the end of their first or second year.  For more information about those requirements, please contact Dean of Students Kevin Deasy at deasy@pitt.edu.
  • Graduation Requirements Checklist: All students who are applying to graduate must download and complete the updated Graduation Requirements Checklist. It is the student’s responsibility to monitor their records to ensure they have completed all of the graduation requirements. Information that will assist you in completing the checklist is available online. You can locate the information by logging into the Student Portal at my.pitt.edu. Once there, go to Student Services, then to the Student Center, Self-Service and Academic Records. You can view all the courses you have completed as well as your current term registration.
  • University Application for Graduation All students must complete the University Application for Graduation. Joint degree students must submit a graduation application to both schools in order to receive the degree from either school. You can find more information regarding the online application process on the University Registrar’s website.  On that same page, you will find information about graduation with honors which you should disregard.  The Law School has its own criteria for honors
  • Certificates
    Certificate program students should verify with the Certificate Program Administrator that they have completed the requisites to be awarded the certificate upon graduation.