VI. Courses and Course Enrollment

A. Adding and Dropping Courses

Students enroll in courses initially via a course “lottery” administered by the Student Records Office and Law IT several weeks prior to the start of the semester, and thereafter, students can make course enrollment adjustments via their Student Information System (SIS) accounts during an announced “Add/Drop” period.  Students are strongly advised to review their schedules in SIS at the end of each add/drop period to confirm that their course schedules match their intentions. Once the add/drop period has ended, students are expected (absent compelling and exceptional circumstances justifying withdrawal) to complete the requirements for all courses in which they are enrolled.

NOTE: The add/drop policy governing January Term and short courses is different (see section VI.I and VI.N).

NOTE: Students who have added a clinical course to their schedule cannot add a second clinic until (1) after the add/drop deadline passes and a seat remains open in the second clinic, AND (2) both clinic directors have signed SRO’s form authorizing the dual enrollments.

B. Auditing Courses

Students wishing to enroll in courses as an auditor must obtain instructor authorization and submit a form showing instructor authorization to the Student Records Office by the end of the Add/Drop period. If open seats in the course are plentiful, the Student Records Office may approve the request earlier than the add/drop deadline. If seats in the course are competitive, the Student Records Office will wait until the add/drop deadline to prioritize those students who seek to take the class for credit. Approvals to audit will be on a first-come, first-served space-available basis. 

No credit (degree credit or otherwise) is awarded for an audit; the annotation “AU” will appear on the student’s transcript noting the audit. To secure such a notation, students must attend at least 80 percent of the scheduled class sessions.

The credit values of audited courses are not included in calculating the minimum course load of 12 credits. Students may discontinue auditing a course at any time during the semester by notifying the Student Records Office.

NOTE: An audit enrollment may not be changed to a graded enrollment; similarly, a graded enrollment may not be changed to an audit enrollment.

C. Course Load

J.D. Students

J.D. students must not be enrolled in coursework in a single semester that exceeds 20 percent of the total coursework required for graduation. Accordingly, law students at Virginia are limited to a maximum of 17 credits to be applied toward the degree during any semester. To satisfy residency requirements, students must enroll in a minimum of 12 “degree” credits each semester. Students who wish to enroll in fewer than 12 credits must petition the assistant dean for student affairs; such petitions are granted only for exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control.

1) FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS 
All first-year students must enroll in the required fall curriculum composed of five courses totaling 16 credits. In the spring semester, first-year students must enroll in required and elective courses totaling at least 15, but not more than 17, credits. First-year students may not enroll in more than 17 credits in either semester, nor may they enroll in clinical courses, nor may they enroll in non-law courses. Exception: First year students who are admitted or have applied to a combination-degree program may enroll in one spring elective course that is taught by another department or school and cross-listed at the Law School with the express permission of the faculty advisor for the combination-degree program and the assistant dean for academic services. This exception does not void the 17-credit limitation. Consult the Student Records Office for details.

2) UPPER-LEVEL STUDENTS 
All second- and third-year students must enroll each semester in at least 12 credits to be applied toward the degree and no more than 17 credits to be applied toward the degree each semester. Note that taking only 12 credits per semester as an upper-level J.D. student will not make a student eligible to graduate in three years; a student must average between 14 and 15 credits to be applied toward the degree per semester to complete the J.D. degree in three years.

LL.M. Students

All LL.M. students must enroll in at least 12 credits to be applied toward the degree and no more than 14 credits toward the LL.M. degree each semester. Students who wish to enroll in more than 14 credits must obtain the approval of the assistant dean for graduate studies. Students who wish to enroll in fewer than 12 credits (on a part-time basis) must demonstrate exceptional circumstances and obtain the approval of the Vice Dean. LL.M. students are strongly advised to study and adhere to the credit hour and credit type (such as in-classroom vs. non-classroom credits) eligibility requirements of any jurisdiction where they may seek bar admission.

D. Course Withdrawal

Once the add/drop period has ended, students are expected to complete the requirements for all courses in which they are enrolled. Course withdrawal petitions will be considered only for good cause, such as illness or other circumstances beyond the student’s control. Being enrolled in too many credits, journal participation, not needing a course to graduate, not attending the first class session, faculty changes, changes in course expectations, extracurricular or job-related activities, etc., do not justify withdrawing from a course after the add/drop period has ended. Withdrawal petitions must be submitted to the assistant dean for academic services. Students granted course withdrawals will be assigned W (withdrawn) grades.

E. Courses in Other University Departments

Students may supplement their law school curriculum with courses from other schools and departments in the University.

Enrollment in non-law courses is subject to the following:

1) To qualify for credit toward the J.D. degree, the course must be a graduate level non-language course numbered 5000 or higher directly relevant to the student’s intellectual development in the study of law that is not graded on a pass/fail (or similar) basis.

2) Students who wish to enroll in a non-law course must submit a completed non-law course request form to the Student Records Office. If seeking degree credit, the petition must include a copy of the course syllabus and a statement of its direct relevance to the student’s intellectual development in the study of law.

3) Except for combination-degree participants, no more than one non-law course may be taken in a given semester. J.D. students may not enroll in more than a combined total of 17 Law and non-Law credits toward the J.D. degree at any time. Exception: Some combination-degree students enrolled exclusively in a required first-year program in another department or school may enroll in more than 17 credits in a semester. Consult the Student Records Office for details.

4) With the approval of the assistant dean for academic services, students may apply up to six non-law credits toward the J.D. degree. Students who wish to receive more than six non-law degree credits must submit a petition to the assistant dean for academic services to be approved by the Curriculum Committee. This petition must describe not only the direct relevance of the additional non-law courses to the student’s intellectual development in the study of law, but must make the case that the particular set of non-law courses selected forms part of a coherent educational plan. A maximum of 12 non-law degree credits may be applied toward the J.D. degree. 

5) With the approval of the assistant dean for graduate studies, LL.M. students may apply a total of three non-law credits toward the LL.M. degree.

6) Unlike Law School courses, many courses in other schools and departments require the permission of the instructor to enroll. The Student Records Office will accept e-mails from non-law course instructors as authorization for enrollment.

7) Non-law courses often begin and end on different dates than Law School courses, and they may have different exam periods. Students taking non-Law classes are responsible for knowing and adhering to the calendar promulgated by the department hosting the class.  

8) It is the student’s responsibility to arrange courses so that full attendance is possible. No credit will be granted for any course, including a non-law course, which conflicts in time with another course in which the student is enrolled, no matter how minuscule the overlap. In addition, no credit will be granted for courses that are scheduled so close together that full attendance is unlikely. At least 15 minutes should be allowed between consecutively scheduled courses not on the same campus (North Grounds and Main Grounds are considered separate campuses for purposes of this rule). Note that other schools’ enrollment schedules may differ from the Law School’s, and the Student Records Office may not learn of a time conflict until after the add/drop period has ended. Nevertheless, a student will be dropped from one of the conflicting courses when a conflict is discovered. This rule applies to all non-law courses, whether taken by combination-degree or non–combination-degree students.

9) Nothing in this section is meant to discourage students from taking courses in other schools and departments of the University and not applying the resulting credit toward the J.D. degree. For example, fluency in a foreign language can be of obvious value in many types of legal practice and scholarship. Language courses, however, are not directly relevant to a student’s intellectual development in the study of law and do not qualify for degree credit.

10) Non-law course grades are not included in the calculation of Law School grade point averages or in the consideration of Law School honors.

Index

Courses and Course Enrollment (continued)