First Year Courses
In the fall semester students take four courses after an introductory week of Foundations of Justice. This structure allows students to address more intellectually challenging problems and reduces the number of final exams. To assure feedback on progress, each fall semester course has a graded midterm examination or other midterm evaluation. In the spring semester, students take five courses. Professors are encouraged to provide feedback by offering midterm examinations or other midterm evaluations.
The first-year class is divided into two sections of approximately 85 students each. Each section is further divided into two sections of roughly 40 students each for Foundations of Justice and into four subsections of approximately 20 students each for Lawyering Skills I and II classes.
First Year Required Course Listing
Upper Level Courses
Required upper-level courses total 13 credits leaving students with 44 credits of electives. Two of the required courses (Lawyering Skills III and Professional Responsibility) must be taken in your second year. Elective courses are taught by both full-time and adjunct faculty, including some of the leading judges and practitioners in the Twin Cities. Because of the small size of the UST School of Law, the vast majority of upper level electives feature class sizes of 35 or fewer, with a significant number taught as seminars with enrollments of 25 or fewer. In addition, students are also required to complete a significant research paper under the supervision of a faculty member.
