The following requirements are subject to all other requirements and exceptions set forth on the Law School's website:
1. The degree of Juris Doctor (JD) is granted to students who, having met the entrance requirements before beginning law school, have completed three academic years of full-time study (including two years of full-time resident study) within 72 months (and in exceptional circumstances approved by the Assistant Dean of Students and the Vice Dean, 84 months) of matriculation; have received a passing grade (for these purposes, a D or higher) in courses totaling 88 semester hours; have earned at least 64 credits in regularly scheduled class sessions at a law school; have satisfactorily completed such other work as may be prescribed from time to time; and have complied with the scholarship and graduation requirements set forth here.
It is the student's responsibility to ascertain that the 88-credit-hour requirement, the 64-credit requirement for in-class law school work, and other requirements for graduation have been met. Each student can receive an academic record or unofficial transcript from the University Registrar. You must present your University of Pittsburgh I.D. and be in good academic standing to receive your free copy.
Students may also access this information in their degree progress reports in PeopleSoft. Please carefully review this information to ensure the correct number of credits, courses, and grades are listed. Any errors should be reported immediately to the Law School Registrar.
2. The scale of grading is as follows: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F.
3. Any student whose record in grades, attendance, or classroom performance at the end of any semester in residence, including the first, indicates a lack of capacity, interest, or diligence may be excluded or placed on academic probation at the discretion of the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards.
4. To advance to the second year, A student must attain an average of at least 2.25 for all the work in the first year. Failure to attain this independent yearly average for the first year will automatically be excluded from the school. JD students whose cumulative GPAs are in the bottom 30% of the class and who are not excluded will be automatically designated as academically at risk for the following academic year.
5. To advance to the third year, A student must attain a cumulative average of at least 2.25 at the end of the second year. Failure to attain the cumulative average will automatically be excluded from the school. JD students whose cumulative GPAs are in the bottom 30% of the class and who are not excluded will be automatically designated as academically at risk for the following academic year.
6. Any JD student whose cumulative GPA at the end of the first semester of their first or second year of law school is 2.40 or less will be automatically designated as academically at risk for the following semester.
7. Petition for Reinstatement on Probationary Status
(a) Petition Process: A student subject to automatic exclusion under paragraph 4 or 5 may, within 45 days of receipt of the letter of exclusion from the Vice Dean, petition the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards to be placed instead on academic probation. The Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards may grant a Petition for Reinstatement if: (1) the student makes an individualized demonstration that their prior poor performance is the result of compelling circumstances, or (2) the student makes an affirmative showing that they possess the requisite ability, and will make the requisite effort, to complete their studies with a final GPA of 2.25 or higher.
The student must submit an Academic Success Plan with the petition demonstrating that the student’s prior poor performance is not likely to continue. In particular, the Academic Success Plan must include (i) an outline of how the student will achieve success despite the prior difficulties that led to exclusion, (ii) specific academic undertakings the student is committed to achieving academic success, including outlining, case briefing, practice test taking, and notes review (iii) a demonstration by the student that the student has the time and space available to the student to achieve ultimate success in law school, and (iv) any other personal documentation that demonstrates the student’s readiness for academic success at Law School.
In considering whether to grant a Petition for Reinstatement, the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards shall consult with the Vice Dean, the Assistant Dean of Students, and the Director of Academic Success and Bar Exam Services respecting any petitions for probation. If the decision of the Committee is unanimous, there is no further review. If the decision of the Committee is split, the student may, within five business days of being informed of the outcome, seek review from the faculty Steering Committee. Per ABA Standard 501, if the decision is to grant probation, the Committee decision shall include a statement of the Committee’s reasons for granting probation consistent with the requirements of this paragraph. The student's record shall include a copy of the Committee's decision.
(b) Students on Probation: As part of its decision to place a student on probation pursuant to item 7 above, the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards may require such student to re-take all or part of the first-year curriculum to the extent the student received a grade below C in any given course. Consistent with existing policy in Academic Standard 13, the original grade given in any repeated course will continue to appear on the student's transcript but will not be calculated in the cumulative grade point average and will not count for the total number of course credits needed to graduate.
(c) Other Terms of Probation: Students on probation may be subject to any further requirements that the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards may deem appropriate, including but not limited to advising, limits on University activities, restrictions and prescriptions on courses taken, and tutoring. Probation will end if the student achieves a 2.40 cumulative semester average at the end of any semester.
8. A student who has taken unauthorized leave or withdrawn from the School of Law on the student’s initiative may submit a Petition for Admission Reflecting Prior Record to the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards. The Committee shall consider all relevant factors as if the student were applying for admission to the School of Law de novo. Relevant factors shall include, but not be limited to, the student’s academic conduct and other record during the student’s prior enrollment period at the School of Law, the reason(s) for the student’s withdrawal, and the reasons for seeking re-admission. If, at the time of such student’s unauthorized leave or withdrawal, the student had a GPA that would have resulted in automatic exclusion from the School of Law, the student shall also submit proof of unique, compelling circumstances and an Academic Success Plan complying with paragraph 7 (a), above. The decision of the Committee on such Petition for Admission Reflecting Prior Record shall be final and unappealable.
9. A JD student must attain a cumulative average of at least 2.0 at the time of graduation to graduate from the school. Failure to attain the cumulative average will automatically be excluded from the school.
10. An LLM student must attain a cumulative average of at least C to be graduated from the school. Failure to attain the cumulative average will automatically be excluded from school.
11. A student who accumulates ten semester hours of F grades at any time is automatically excluded from the school immediately upon such accumulation.
12. A student who accumulates 12 semester hours of D or F grades at any time is automatically placed on academic probation for the semester following this accumulation.
13. A student on academic probation or designated as academically at risk is required to meet the following conditions:
- The student will be informed in the letter sent by the Vice Dean concerning the student’s probationary status that the student’s GPA places the student at heightened risk of failing the bar;
- The student must meet with someone appointed by the Academic Dean at the beginning of the next academic semester concerning the heightened risk of failing the bar.
- The student must also meet with someone appointed by the Vice Dean at least once each semester for individual counseling concerning the student’s selection of courses, extracurricular activities, and ongoing academic performance.
- The student must participate in the remedial opportunities required by the law school for students on academic probation or who are considered academically at risk.
- The Vice Dean may add additional requirements in individual cases by the Vice Dean with the approval of the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards.
- Failure to meet the conditions of academic probation will result in an automatic exclusion from the school.
14. If a student does not submit a petition for readmission upon exclusion from the school for any of the reasons set forth herein within 45 days of receipt of a letter of exclusion from the Vice Dean or if a student’s petition for immediate reinstatement on probationary status is denied, then the student will be eligible to submit a readmission petition to the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards only after one year has passed since the date of the student’s exclusion. If the decision of the Committee is unanimous, there is no further review. If the decision of the Committee is split, review may be sought from the faculty Steering Committee. Among other conditions of probation, the Committee may limit the extent of the readmitted student’s participation in University activities. Per ABA Standard 501, if the decision is to grant readmission, the Committee decision shall include a statement of the Committee’s reasons for granting readmission, consistent with the requirements of paragraph 4(a). The student's record shall include a copy of the Committee's decision.
15. In computing grade averages, the following numerical equivalents will be used: A+ = 4.00; A = 4.00, A- = 3.75; B+ = 3.25; B = 3.00; B- = 2.75; C+ = 2.25; C = 2.00; C- = 1.75; D = 1.00; F = 0. The required average must be fully attained rather than approximated. For example, to earn a C average, a student must have a numerical grade average of at least 2.000 (the total integral value of C on the numerical equivalent scale). A numerical grade average of 1.999 would not constitute a C average.
16. the faculty's policy is not to permit a student who has received a grade in a course to take a reexamination or to repeat the course to receive credit or raise the course grade. This policy will not always apply to courses that the faculty designate as courses that must be completed as a condition of graduation, and the faculty may relax the policy in other exceptional cases. The Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards may waive the policy in other exceptional cases. When permission has been granted to retake a course or examination, both grades will appear on the transcript. The first grade will receive no credit. The second grade will receive credit. The Petitions Committee will decide on a case-by-case basis whether the second grade should be reported on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory or letter-grade basis.
17. A cumulative grade average will be the only criterion to determine class rank and honors. A student's cumulative grade average will include all previous semesters of graded coursework completed by the student at the school. Students who have spent a year at another law school will be eligible for honors and awards based on the cumulative grade average for work completed at Pitt Law. Learn more about transfer student eligibility for Order of the Coif.
18. In addition to the standard grading scale, certain courses are offered on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis or an Honors/Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.
19. Students are expected and required to attend all regularly scheduled Law School classes in which they are enrolled. Attendance includes preparation. Any student who fails to attend at least eighty percent of regularly scheduled classes for any course will be certified out and will receive a “U” (“unsatisfactory”) for the course. Faculty members may impose a greater class attendance requirement for a particular course. View the Law School's attendance policy.
20. As noted in Paragraph #14 above, the Steering Committee has the appellate jurisdiction to review only non-unanimous decisions of the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards in cases where a student has been excluded from the School of Law for any reason and has sought readmission by Petition to that Committee. The standard for review of such Petitions is "abuse of discretion." In all other cases, see, e.g., Rule #16, including unanimous decisions of the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards on exclusion Petitions and unanimous or non-unanimous decisions on all other Petitions, all decisions of the Faculty Committee on Petitions and Academic Standards are final, and the Steering Committee lacks the appellate jurisdiction to review them.