A student must complete all the following to be eligible for graduation from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Additional graduation requirements apply to students whose grade point averages place them in the bottom 15 percent of their class at the end of their first or second year.
- 88 Credits
- 64 Credits earned in regularly scheduled class sessions
- 6 semesters of full-time enrollment (minimum of 10 credits per semester)
- All required first-year courses
The first-year curriculum is comprised of the following required courses, as well as attendance at a minimum of five programs in the Pitt Law Academy:
Fall: Contracts (4 credits), Criminal Law (3 credits), Legal Analysis & Writing (2 credits, contingent on successful completion of both semesters of this course), Legislation and Regulation (3 credits), Torts (4 credits).
Spring: Civil Procedure (4 credits), Constitutional Law (4 credits), Legal Analysis & Writing (2 credits), Property (4 credits).
Pitt Law Academy (not for credit; year-long speaker series).
- Legal Profession (Ethics) [LAWPRORES]
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. The courses that fulfill Legal Profession Requirement are Comparative Professional Responsibility (3 credits) and Professional Responsibility (3 credits).
- Upper-Level Legal Writing Requirement [LAWULW] This requirement is satisfied by a paper of at least twenty pages requiring the student to explore, based on 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 designated explicitly as meeting the upper-level writing requirement. Only full-time faculty members may supervise papers to satisfy the ULW requirement. A paper must receive a B- or better grade to satisfy the ULW requirement.
- Experiential Learning [EXPRLRNG]
Every student must complete at least six credits of experiential courses that engage students in performing the experiential skills generally regarded as necessary for effective and responsible participation in the legal profession.
- International/Comparative Law requirement [LAWINTCOM]
In the second or third year, each student must complete an international law or comparative law course, choosing from a menu of courses that satisfy this requirement.
- Foundations of Legal Research (1 credit) [LAWFDSLGRE]
Foundations of Legal Research is a one-credit practical skills course that builds on basic research skills learned in the first-year Legal Writing program and emphasizes legal research as an integrated part of law practice. The course will integrate traditional print resources with online databases and “free” Internet resources, emphasizing efficiently and cost-effectively locating resources. It must be taken during the second year. It is strongly recommended that you take the course in the Fall, but there is also a Spring offering. At least three sections of this course will be offered each Fall semester and one section in the Spring (if needed).
- Writing Requirement ("W") [LAWAW]
This requirement is fulfilled by completing:- A second/separate seminar, legal writing independent study, or course meeting the upper-level legal writing (ULW) requirement as described above or
- One course is designated as satisfying the W requirement.
