III-A-2. Residency and Course Load Requirements

 

A. Maximum/Minimum Course Load

Students must take 31 credit hours in the first year, all of which are in first-year required courses. In the second and third years of law school, in the fall and spring semesters, students may take a maximum of 16 credit hours per semester, and must take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester. Enrolling in more credit hours than the maximum or fewer than the minimum requires good cause and the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, but such approval does not in any way change the residency requirement set forth below. In no case will a student be permitted to register for 18 or more credit hours in a fall or spring semester. The maximum credit hours permitted in a summer semester is 7.

 

B. Residency Requirements

1. Basics

The American Bar Association accreditation standards require six (6) semesters of residency or its equivalent. The purpose of the residency requirement is to assure that the study of law will be spread over a minimum period of time. (The requirements regarding a student’s course load set forth above, i.e., the number of credit hours in which a student enrolls in a given semester, are different from this residency requirement.)

Accordingly, except as set forth below with respect to transfer students and visiting students, candidates for the J.D. degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law must have six (6) semesters of residence credit at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. A student receives one semester of residence credit at the University of St. Thomas School of Law for each semester in which the student is registered for and satisfactorily completes 12 credit hours of courses recognized by the law school.

 

2. General Residency Exceptions

A student may receive one (and only one) semester of residence credit pursuant to each of the exceptions set forth below:

a. First, a student may receive residence credit for one semester in which the student is registered for 12 or more credit hours of courses recognized by the law school, but in which unsatisfactory grades cause the number of credit hours satisfactorily completed to fall to 10 or 11 credit hours.

b. Second, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, for good cause, may grant residence credit for one semester in which the student satisfactorily completes at least 8 credit hours of courses recognized by the law school. If a student entering the sixth residency semester has fewer than 12 credits remaining to complete the 88 credits required for graduation, it shall be considered “good cause” for an exception in that semester, under this subsection, allowing the student to take no fewer than 8 credits.

 

3. Exceptions for Transfer Students

In addition to fulfilling the graduation requirements as set forth above, a student who transfers to the University of St. Thomas School of Law from an ABA-accredited law school must complete at least three semesters of residence credit at the University of St. Thomas School of Law to receive a J.D. degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

 

4. Exception for Joint Degree Students

A candidate for a joint degree in an approved program may apply 12 hours of credit and one full semester of residency successfully completed in the second discipline toward the requirements of the J.D. degree, provided the student satisfactorily completes the requirements set out for the joint program by the faculty conferring the second degree.

 

5. Exception for Students Visiting Other ABA-Accredited Law Schools

A student who will complete at least four semesters of residence credit at the University of St. Thomas School of Law may petition the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for permission to visit for one or two semesters at an ABA-accredited law school. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will not grant permission absent good cause. Students requesting study away at an ABA-approved law school must provide a written statement showing good cause to the Associate Dean. For requests to visit at another ABA-accredited law school, good cause includes, for example, the petitioning student’s need to relocate in order to provide care to a family member of to accompany his or her spouse to a new job. Good cause requires circumstances beyond personal convenience or financial considerations.

Students approved to visit at another ABA-accredited law school must satisfy the graduation requirements of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, but a course required by St. Thomas may be taken at the host institution with the advance approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The student must have the written agreement of the Mentor Director concerning how the student will satisfy the Mentor Externship requirements outside the formal program during the semester(s) of the visit. The student must complete at least 12 credits of course work at the host law school during each semester of the visit.

Students studying away are charged an administrative fee by UST Law. The Assistant Dean for Administration will provide information on the current fee.

 

6. Exception for Students Visiting at Foreign Law Schools

A student who will complete at least four semesters of residence credit at the University of St. Thomas School of Law may petition the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for permission to visit at a non-ABA approved foreign law school when permitted under the ABA's Standards for Approval of Law Schools. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will not grant permission absent good cause, which requires a finding that the petitioning student is mature, has well-defined career goals, and that foreign study will enhance the student’s preparation for the practice of law. The petitioning student carries the burden to establish clear academic objectives related to career goals, along with sufficient maturity, academic capability, and foreign language skills to meet these objectives.

A student applying for foreign study carries the burden to ensure that he or she complies with all ABA Standards with respect to such study. Only in the most exceptional circumstances where a student shows personal hardship will the Associate Dean approve study at a non-ABA approved foreign law school for more than one semester. The visit cannot extend beyond two semesters under any circumstances.

Students approved to visit at a foreign law school must satisfy the graduation requirements of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, but a course required by St. Thomas may be taken at the host institution with the advance approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The student must have the written agreement of the Mentor Director concerning how the student will satisfy the Mentor Externship requirements outside the formal program during the semester(s) of the visit. The student must complete at least 12 credits of course work at the foreign law school during each semester of the visit.

A student applying for foreign study must meet the following additional requirements:

a. The student must find, and obtain written confirmation from, a UST Law full-time faculty adviser both to approve the student’s foreign study program in advance and to monitor the student’s foreign study. The student and the UST Law faculty adviser must first agree on a written plan to be submitted to the Associate Dean that defines how the foreign study will achieve clear academic objectives related to career goals, and explains how the student has sufficient maturity, sufficient academic capability, and sufficient language capability to realize the academic objectives. The written plan must define the methods of evaluation to measure whether the student’s educational objectives have been attained.

b. The student will secure a full-time faculty adviser at the foreign law school.

c. The student will work with the UST Law faculty adviser to obtain written confirmation from the foreign law school faculty adviser that the student’s educational objectives can be attained.

d. The student will secure all syllabi of courses to be taken and provide them for the review of the UST Law faculty adviser.

e. The UST Law faculty adviser will review both the confirmation from the foreign law school adviser and the syllabi and provide a written recommendation, attaching these documents, to the Associate Dean indicating what credit UST Law should give for the courses taken at the foreign law school.

f. At the end of the foreign law school study, the student shall provide to the UST Law faculty adviser and the Associate Dean an official transcript of the student’s grades and a portfolio of the student’s work. The UST Law faculty adviser will certify to the Associate Dean that the work has satisfied the student’s written plan outlined in paragraph A above.

g. Students requesting study away at a non-ABA approved foreign law school must satisfy all the requirements of the Statement of Educational Objectives for Foreign Study at a Non-ABA Approved Foreign Law School, available from the Dean of Students or the Associate Dean.

Students studying away are charged an administrative fee by UST Law. The Assistant Dean for Administration will provide information on the current fee.

Upper-Level Writing Requirement III-A-3