The J.D. program at Penn State Law is a three-year, six-semester course of study offered in University Park, Pennsylvania. The first-year curriculum and certain upper-level courses are required; all other courses are elective. For the full list of degree requirements, see J.D. Degree Requirements.  

Faculty Statement of Learning Outcomes

The Penn State Law faculty has adopted the following Statement of Learning Outcomes:

1.  Students will understand the fundamental principles of Civil and Criminal Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Constitutional Law, and Torts.

2.  Students will understand the fundamental principles of advanced topics in law through elective courses.

3.  Students will be able to engage in legal analysis, reasoning, and problem solving.

4.  Students will be able to perform legal research.

5.  Students will be able to communicate effectively orally and in writing regarding legal matters.

6.  Students will be able to recognize and resolve ethical issues and discharge professional responsibilities within the legal system.

Policy on Course Learning Objectives and Assessments

To help implement the foregoing, Penn State Law faculty members shall provide in the syllabus distributed to students for each course each semester: 

1.  A statement of course learning objectives; and

2.  A statement of the method(s) by which the faculty member will assess student achievement of course learning objectives.

Required Courses

First Year - Fall

• Civil Procedure (4 credits)
• Criminal Law (3 credits)
• Applied Legal Analysis and Writing I (3 credits)
• Legal Research Tools and Strategies (2 credits)
• Torts (4 credits)

First Year- Spring

• Required Professional Development Program that takes place in January of the student's first year. Please see academic calendar for dates.
   
• Criminal Procedure (3 credits)
• Constitutional Law I (3 credits)
• Contracts (4 credits)
• Applied Legal Analysis and Writing II (2 credits)
• Property (4 credits)

Second or Third Year

Professional Responsibility

Required Experiential Learning Credits

Required Upper Level Writing Seminar Course

Required ABA Standard 303(c) Course

Penn State Law trains international lawyers for the global marketplace. Our LL.M. program is designed to train students to think, communicate, and practice as international legal experts with the confidence to practice anywhere in the world.

Penn State University is consistently ranked among the top research and teaching institutions in the world according to the Times Higher Education and the Institute of International Education. Home to more than 44,000 students and 5,000 international scholars, University Park offers a diverse intellectual community and vast opportunities for LL.M. students to engage in scholarly activities within the Law School and throughout the University community, which is in one of the safest towns in the United States.

All law students are assigned a full-time faculty member as an academic advisor. Your academic advisor information is available on LionPATH in your Student Services Center. Faculty who are away on sabbatical or other leave for a semester or more will receive no 1L advisees. That faculty member’s 2L and 3L advisees will be temporarily assigned to other faculty. When the faculty member returns, they will reestablish their relationship with their advisees in coordination with the faculty who substituted for them during their leave. Advisees of faculty members who retire or otherwise leave PSL permanently will be reassigned to other faculty.  

Specialized Fields of Study may be a useful tool if you are looking to speak with faculty in a specific area of expertise.

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is available to advise any student.

In addition, the Office for Academic Success offers a tutoring program for first-year law students.

A student may not drop or add a course after the expiration of the drop/add period except with the permission of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may permit a student to drop a course after expiration of the normal, one-week drop-add period and before the final work product for the course is due (either the examination date or the date when the final paper or similar product is to be submitted) if the student demonstrates, in writing and in the judgment of the Associate Dean, adequate justification for dropping the course. Examples of adequate justification include:

1. hardship, especially if at the close of the normal drop-add period the circumstances or the events precipitating the hardship were unknown to and could not have been reasonably anticipated by the student; and
2. uncertainty from the reasonable perspective of the student, continuing until the time when application to drop the course is filed, as to whether the student needs the course credit to meet usual academic requirements necessary for that student to complete his or her studies in ordinary course (e.g., the student took the course only because he or she was uncertain as to whether he or she might win a position on a law review or on an appellate or trial team for which credit is awarded upon successful completion of a competition.) The Associate Dean should make a prompt decision on any request to drop a course and should, in ordinary course, ascertain whether the course professor has reason to object.

Note:  If a late drop, or add, is approved, please note that the university charge is $6 per transaction. For example, a person who drops one course and adds another would be charged for two separate transactions.

Because law school course work requires full-time application, students are cautioned not to place excessive reliance on employment for financial support.  First-year students are strongly advised to refrain from any employment.  All students are forbidden from working more than twenty hours per week during the fall and spring semesters. By registering for classes each semester, students certify compliance with this throughout the semester.    Under the Academic Standing Rules, the Rules Committee will not consider employment during the semester as an excuse for poor academic performance.

Please review the following information each semester in preparation for final exams.

• Final Exam Schedules:
  • Fall 2024 Final Exam Schedule
• Final Exam Numbers 
• Final Exam Regulations (J.D. and LL.M.)
• Final Exam Computer Procedures
• Penn State Law's Honor Code

Grading Deadlines are available on the semester academic calendars.

J.D. Grading Norms

The Law faculty had established this grading norm for all J.D. students in: (1) all required courses; (2) electives with an enrollment of 30 or more; and (3) seminars and electives with an enrollment of 29 or fewer, as follows:

These norms are suggested guidelines as opposed to rigid requirements.

LL.M. Grading Norm

The Law faculty has established this grading norm for LL.M. students. A grade is given solely on the basis of the instructor’s judgment as to the student’s scholarly attainment. A (EXCELLENT) indicates exceptional achievement; B (GOOD) indicates substantial achievement; C (SATISFACTORY) indicates acceptable but substandard achievement; D (POOR) indicates inadequate achievement; and F (FAILURE) indicates work unworthy of any credit, and suggests that the student may not be capable of succeeding in LL.M. study.

MLS/CLS Grading Norm

The Law faculty has established these grading norms for MLS/CLS students. A grade is given solely on the basis of the instructor’s judgment as to the student’s scholarly attainment. Grades in the “A” range (EXCELLENT) indicate exceptional achievement; grades in the “B” range (GOOD) indicate substantial achievement; grades in the “C” range (SATISFACTORY) indicate acceptable but substandard achievement; “D” grades (POOR) indicate inadequate achievement; and “F” grades (FAILURE) indicate work unworthy of any credit, and suggest that the student may not be capable of succeeding in the MLS/CLS program.

Academic Honors*

Academic Honors are awarded as follows: cum laude to graduates who rank in the top 30 percent of the graduating class, magna cum laude to those who rank in the top 15 percent and summa cum laude to those who rank in the top 5 percent of their class. Please refer to Class Ranking for information about how the law school calculates rank in class, and the number of graded credits a student must earn to be ranked in a particular class.

• Students who rank in the top 30 percent (cum laude), 15 percent (magna cum laude) and 5 percent (summa cum laude) of the graduating class based on rank after five semesters will be listed provisionally as honors recipients in the commencement program at Spring commencement. However, final awarding of honors is based on rank in the graduating class after six semesters, determined after Spring commencement.

• Final honors will appear on the diploma and transcript. Provisional honors will not appear on the transcript or diploma and students who are recognized for provisional honors but do not earn final honors should not represent that their degree was earned with academic honor.

Woolsack Honor Society

The Woolsack Honor Society was founded in 1920 for the purpose of recognizing academic excellence. It was reestablished in 1981. Membership in the Society is extended to: 1) Students who rank in the top fifteen percent of the graduating class after 5 semesters; and 2) Students who do not qualify for membership after 5 semesters but who rank in the top 15 percent of the graduating class after six semesters.

• Students who qualify for membership in Woolsack Honor Society based on class rank after five semesters are notified by the Dean in February before Spring commencement. Students who qualify after six semesters are notified after Spring commencement.

• The notation “Woolsack Honor Society” will appear on the transcript for all students who qualify for membership.

• Fall members' names are listed in the commencement program and are recognized during the spring commencement ceremony.

• Once inducted, membership is permanent.

Honors and Woolsack - Transfer Students

Academic Honors eligibility applies to students that have completed Penn State’s first year J.D. curriculum. Woolsack honors require at least 5 semesters of enrollment at Penn State and a cumulative rank in class. Transfer students will not receive a cumulative rank in class as grades from their prior law school cannot be calculated toward a Penn State Law class rank. Therefore, students transferring into Penn State Law will not be eligible for Academic Honors or Woolsack.

CALI Awards

The “CALI award” is given to the J.D. student with the highest grade in a class, as determined by the Penn State Law professor. Awardees receive a printed certificate, which includes a permanent URL VirtualAward that the student can link to from their online resumés or biographies.  The Penn State Law Registrar places the CALI Award certificates in the Katz Building student mail folders approximately one month after final grading is completed each semester. In the spring semester, CALI Award certificates for graduating 3L students are mailed to their diploma mailing address, or permanent address if there is no diploma mailing address listed in the student's Student Services Center in LionPath.

*Prior to February, 2020, the academic honors policy was:

Any graduate of Penn State Law prior to February 2020 was subject to this policy, and not the current honors policy explained one above.

The Law School hosts three scholarly journals:

• Penn State Law Review  
• Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs
• Arbitration Law Review

Students are selected for journal membership at the end of their first year of legal study on the basis of academic performance and achievement in the annual Writing Competition, held in May. For more information on eligibility and membership requirements for the scholarly journals, contact the editor-in-chief listed on each journal’s website, and visit the Writing Competition Group in CANVAS.
 
Transfer students are eligible for membership in the scholarly journals.  For more information, transfer students should review the Collective Policy on Transfer Students, and request a copy of the Transfer Student Instructions for the writing competition from the Admissions Office.

Joint degree students are eligible for membership on a scholarly journal and may participate in the writing competition. However, J.D./M.B.A. joint degree students must defer law journal membership while enrolled in full time MBA coursework, which normally occurs in the year following the 1L J.D. year. 
 
The Penn State Environmental Law Review was published from 1992 to 2011, and provided a forum for articles in the traditional realm of environmental law, as well as risk assessment, toxicology and epidemiology.  Past issues are available here.

The Penn State International Law Review was published from 1982 to 2011, and included articles on public and private international law written by foreign and domestic government officials, legal scholars and private practitioners. Past issues are available here.

Students may elect to take a course Pass-Fail during the first three weeks of the semester. The following rules apply to Pass-Fail courses:

Students may not elect to take Professional Responsibility or courses meeting the graduation writing requirement Pass-Fail.   Experiential Credit courses may be taken Pass-Fail, if designated by the professor. Courses graded credit/no credit are not pass/fail courses under this policy. 

1. A student may take only one course (maximum of 4 credits) Pass-Fail during their entire J.D. program. Note: Fundamental Skills for the Bar Examination (BAREX 900) is graded on a pass/fail basis, but does not count against the one pass/fail course a student may take.
    
2. A student who receives a grade below C+ in a Pass-Fail course, including in Fundamental Skills for the Bar Examination (BAREX 900), will have the letter grade actually earned entered on the transcript and used for all purposes. A student who earns a grade of C+ or higher will have a "P" entered on the transcript; the course is then ignored in the computation of grade point averages; the actual letter grade is not provided to the student. Students electing pass/fail grading may not elect to receive the course letter grade earned after the semester pass/fail election period is past.
    
3. In addition to Fundamental Skills for the Bar Examination (BAREX 900), only courses designated "Pass-Fail eligible" by the professor, as listed in the registration materials, may be elected Pass-Fail.

A paper submitted in a Seminar or an Independent Study or any other paper submitted in partial or full satisfaction of a course requirement is due no later than the last day of regularly scheduled classes for the semester.

1. A paper or papers submitted in a Seminar must total at least ten double spaced, typed pages per credit, excluding footnotes, with the maximum length to be set by the course professor.
2. All papers must have margins of one inch at the top and bottom and on the right-hand edge and one and one-half inches on the left-hand side.
3. Citations shall conform to "The Bluebook".
4. An original manuscript, whether in hard copy or electronic copy, must be submitted. Photocopies or other reproductions are not acceptable.
5. The final grade in a Seminar will be based on attendance and on oral classroom work different in both kind and degree from that ordinarily expected in other courses, in addition to the quality of the paper or papers.
6. A major academic purpose of a Seminar, Independent Study, or other paper written to satisfy credit requirements is to develop and test the student's research and writing skills. The following rules regarding the preparation and use of such papers should be interpreted with this purpose in mind. Each course professor may issue instructions or interpretive guidelines to supplement these rules.
   1. Plagiarism or other dishonesty or deception in a Seminar paper or in any other written work submitted for credit is not tolerated. Anyone guilty of such conduct may receive grade sanctions and/or be denied credit for the course, and may be subject to such other sanctions as might be imposed under the Honor Code.
   2. A student shall not receive excessive assistance or make excessive use of the work of someone else in preparing a paper, regardless of whether he or she gives credit to the person who renders assistance or whose work is used.
   3. Except as provided hereinafter, all research, writing and other work of the student used in the preparation of a paper shall be done by him or her during the current semester and solely for the purpose of satisfying the course requirement for which the paper is to be submitted. A student may prepare a paper with the additional purpose of offering it for publication in a law review or journal (other than to fulfill membership duties) or entering it in a writing competition. A student who desires to use work in preparing a paper that he or she did before the semester or for another purpose or to prepare a paper with a second purpose other than those mentioned above shall submit a request to the course professor stating all relevant facts and asking for an exception. The course professor may grant an exception when to do so is not inconsistent with the academic goal stated in the first sentence of paragraph 6.
   4. A course professor may take into account any violation of the rules in paragraphs (B) and (C) when grading a paper. It is assumed that the course professor will make whatever inquiry is needed to assure that a deduction is warranted. The course professor shall award a grade of F if he or she deems the violation egregious. The award of a low grade and denial of course credit is not punishment and shall not preclude disciplinary sanctions appropriate for violations of these rules.
   5. These explanatory notes are intended to provide guidance in interpreting and applying the rules on plagiarism and other improprieties; they are not meant to be conclusive.

      For the law school’s definition of “plagiarism” see Honor Code Section 2.1.F.

      What constitutes receiving "excessive assistance" or "making excessive use of the work of someone else" is a matter for the course professor to decide and communicate in a timely manner to the students. Unless the course professor gives different instructions, the ideas formulated by the Academic Rules Committee to define "excessiveness" should be followed. In pertinent part those ideas appear below.

      The words "excessive assistance" should be construed with reference to the academic purpose of the paper requirement-to develop the student's research and writing skills and to test his or her developed skills. The rules contemplate that a student may receive some counsel and suggestions from other people, e.g., another student, a typist, the course professor, so long as the paper is, in both the pedagogical and literary senses, the work of the student. For example, it would not be excessive for a student (i) to engage in general discussions about the topic while working on the paper; (ii) to have someone else read and generally criticize a draft, or (iii) to follow suggestions of a typist or proofreader for correcting errors of spelling, grammar, syntax, or citation form so long as the student understands the errors and agrees with the corrections. On the other hand, it would be excessive for a student (i) to allow someone else to make basic decisions regarding scope of the research, organization, and analysis of materials and conclusions, (ii) to use a major rewrite of the student's work done by someone else, or (iii) to give a carelessly prepared draft to a typist, counting on the typist to produce a technically correct and literate final version.

      What constitutes "making excessive use of the work of someone else" has reference to the use of books, articles, unpublished manuscripts, research notes, and other existing work done by someone else. Even if the student gives full and unambiguous credit to his or her sources, avoiding problems of plagiarism, dishonesty, and deception, it would be "excessive use" for a student to do such things as (i) basing a paper largely on one or two published or unpublished sources, slavishly using their research or organization and analyses, (ii) using many lengthy quotations from the works of others, or (iii) writing substantial parts of the paper by slavishly paraphrasing the language of other works.

      Course professors and students should view preparation of a paper as a valuable learning and testing opportunity. A course professor should not issue unduly restrictive instructions that limit the pedagogic worth of the experience. A student should not adopt a quibbling approach to the rules.

Ordinarily, it is expected that all full-time J.D. students will maintain full-time resident status during their six semesters at the law school. However, any student may apply toward their J.D. a maximum of 6 credits of non-required upper-level coursework offered at another ABA-accredited law school upon prior written approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. In a rare case, the student may seek an Academic Dean's approval to waive the 6 credit limit by demonstrating a compelling reason. Circumstances reasonably foreseeable to the student, such as the desire to seek employment elsewhere, to relocate to be closer to a significant other, or to lower the costs associated with attending the Law School, do not meet the standard. Law School required courses typically must be completed at Penn State Law. Additionally, students may not transfer credits from online courses offered by another law school, with the exception that for synchronous online courses offered by another law school to be taken during Spring Semester 2022, students may apply for permission to transfer credits from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Penn State law students attending another institution will be enrolled in VISAW 903 by the law school registrar's office. VISAW 903 provides the following benefits to the student: if applicable, financial aid can be awarded and processed, various enrollment reporting processes (i.e. health insurance, loan deferment) will report the student enrolled, and the student's Penn State Access Account will remain active. Penn State assesses a $50 flat fee for VISAW 903; this fee is in addition to any fees assessed by the other institution.

To receive credit for any course work completed at another law school, the student must receive a grade that corresponds to at least a C. Any credits earned at another law school are included on the student's transcript by reference only, and no attempt is made to convert grades to Penn State Law equivalents. Except for students who transfer into the second year, no credit will be awarded for a course taken on a Pass-Fail or similar basis when the student had the option of receiving a number or letter grade for the course.

It is the responsibility of the student to have an official transcript from the law school they attended sent to the law school registrar’s office. If the transcript is not received by the law school registrar in a timely manner, the VISAW 903 credits will convert to a NG (no grade) and eventually to an F.

Semesters of Residence

Pennsylvania Bar Admission Rule 321 and similar rules in other states authorize appearances in court under certain circumstances by students who have completed three semesters of law school. Those rules typically require that the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs certify students as being of good character and competent legal ability and as being adequately trained to perform as a certified legal intern.

Students seeking certification in Pennsylvania should obtain the proper form and instructions on completing the form from the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners website (pabarexam.org). From the Board of Law Examiners homepage, select "Application Information" from the menu on the left side of the screen. Then select the link to "Application for Rule 321 and 322." A student seeking certification in another state should consult the appropriate student practice rule and meet with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to effect compliance with that rule.

Upon completing the Pennsylvania Application for Certification, students should submit the form to the Registrar’s Office for certification of good standing and eligibility. Once the form is Certified by the Registrar, the student should submit it to the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

To enable a student to serve as a legal intern following second-year fall semester examinations, the school will tentatively presume that the student has successfully completed three semesters at the end of examinations for the third semester. Should this presumption be overcome by the student's performance in the third semester, the school will withdraw the student's certification. Students who have taken courses on a part-time basis will be considered, for certification purposes, to have completed the equivalent of three semesters when they have completed 43 credit hours.

Ordinarily, it is expected that all full-time J.D. students will maintain full-time resident status during their six semesters at the law school. However, any student may apply toward their J.D. a maximum of 6 credits of non-required upper-level coursework offered at another ABA-accredited law school upon prior written approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. In a rare case, the student may seek an Academic Dean's approval to waive the 6 credit limit by demonstrating a compelling reason. Circumstances reasonably foreseeable to the student, such as the desire to seek employment elsewhere, to relocate to be closer to a significant other, or to lower the costs associated with attending the Law School, do not meet the standard. Law School required courses typically must be completed at Penn State Law. Additionally, students may not transfer credits from online courses offered by another law school, with the exception that for synchronous online courses offered by another law school to be taken during Spring Semester 2022, students may apply for permission to transfer credits from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Penn State law students attending another institution will be enrolled in VISAW 903 by the law school registrar's office. VISAW 903 provides the following benefits to the student: if applicable, financial aid can be awarded and processed, various enrollment reporting processes (i.e. health insurance, loan deferment) will report the student enrolled, and the student's Penn State Access Account will remain active. Penn State assesses a $50 flat fee for VISAW 903; this fee is in addition to any fees assessed by the other institution.

To receive credit for any course work completed at another law school, the student must receive a grade that corresponds to at least a C. Any credits earned at another law school are included on the student's transcript by reference only, and no attempt is made to convert grades to Penn State Law equivalents. Except for students who transfer into the second year, no credit will be awarded for a course taken on a Pass-Fail or similar basis when the student had the option of receiving a number or letter grade for the course.

It is the responsibility of the student to have an official transcript from the law school they attended sent to the law school registrar’s office. If the transcript is not received by the law school registrar in a timely manner, the VISAW 903 credits will convert to a NG (no grade) and eventually to an F.

Semesters of Residence