Graduation Requirements

College of Law

General Graduation Requirements

University of Wyoming College of Law graduation requirements1.  Students who matriculated at the College of Law prior to fall 2013 must complete 89 credit hours, 58 of which must be completed while at the University of Wyoming, with a grade point average of 2.000 or higher for graduation.  Students matriculating in fall 2013 or later must complete 90 credit hours for graduation, 59 of which must be completed while at the University of Wyoming with a grade point average of 2.000 or higher. At least 76 of the credit hours required for graduation must be in graded (A-F) courses. Courses taken for satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) grades count toward the 89/90 hours required for the JD degree if the course is offered for the S/U grade only.

2.  Fulfill an advanced writing requirement consisting of a research paper of a minimum length of 5,000 words. An appropriate standard citation form will be designated and followed. A detailed outline of the paper must first be submitted, and the paper must be rewritten at least once after it is reviewed. With the professor's approval, a student can meet the advanced writing requirement in any law school course as long as the above requirements are met. The professor must certify that the requirements have been fulfilled. (A seminar permits the student to fulfill the advanced writing requirement, as a seminar is required to have a writing component that meets the advanced writing requirement.) See list of courses where the advanced writing requirement can be fulfilled on the College of Law website. The advanced writing requirement can also be fulfilled through an Independent Study or for writing for Law Review.

3.  For students matriculating in the fall 2016 semester and after, as a condition of graduation, each student must successfully complete no fewer than 6.0 credit hours in experiential learning courses. An experiential learning course must be a simulation course, a law clinic, or a field placement.

 

Additional Requirements

1.  Second year students must enroll in and successfully complete Evidence and Professional Responsibility. All second and third year students must enroll in and successfully complete a minimum of 9 hours each semester.

2.  Second and third year students may take up to 6 of the 89/90 hours required for graduation in non-law school graduate level (5000 or above) courses. Second or third year students enrolled in a joint degree program may take up to 9 hours in non-law graduate level courses and apply them toward their law degree. In order to receive law school credit for the non-law school course, a student will be required to earn a grade of "B" or better in the non-law school course. The grade will not count, however, toward the student's law school GPA. (The course will be counted as a "satisfactory" grade for purposes of the student's law school GPA.) Students who wish to enroll in a non-law school graduate course on this basis must secure the prior approval of the course professor and of the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the College of Law. Approval will be based on the student's submission of a brief written statement explaining how the proposed coursework relates to and enhances the student's legal education.

3.  Students should be aware that non-law school graduate courses completed on this basis will not count toward the 76 hours that students must complete in graded courses as a requirement for graduation.The non-law school coursework will instead be counted as some of the 13/14  credits that law students are permitted to take on an S-U basis.

 
Contact Us

College of Law

1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3035

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-6416

Fax: 307-766-6417

Email: lawadmis@uwyo.edu

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