6.1     Course of Study

(a)    All first-year students shall take the required first-year courses.

(b)    All students shall successfully complete the upper-level required courses and a course or courses satisfying the Experiential Course Requirement as listed on the law school website.

(c)    Experiential Course Requirement. All law students matriculating in law school must complete six credits of experiential learning, drawn from any combination of:

(1)  legal clinics,

(2)  externships for credit, and

(3) simulation classes satisfying the Experiential Course Requirement as listed on the law school website.

(d)    Cross-cultural Competency Requirement. All students matriculating in law school must complete:

         (1)       First year Orientation workshop focused on cross-cultural competency;

         (2)      1L Seminar module focused on cross-cultural competency;

         (3)     All students shall successfully complete an upper-level course satisfying the Cross-cultural Competency as listed on the law school website. This list of courses can be expanded by request of a professor to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs who, with the assistance of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, will decide to add the course;

(4)     3L Meeting workshop focused on cross-cultural competency; and

(5)     If, for any reason, a student cannot satisfy subparagraph 3 above, such student must:

a.      Complete a series of facilitations, offered only in Spring Semesters, to be coordinated by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion or their designee; or
 

b.     In the event subparagraph 5(a) cannot be satisfied, write a ten (10) page paper on a topic involving bias, cross-cultural competency or racism using Bluebook format, with a minimum of three (3) research authorities. This paper is to be turned into the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion or their designee for approval before matriculating.

(e)  Full-time students must take upper-level required courses during their second year of law school, except a student in good standing may defer not more than two upper-level required courses until the student’s third year. Legal Research & Writing III, however, must be taken in the second year and may not be deferred to the third year. The law school does not guarantee that each required course will be offered each semester.

6.2

(a)  Subject to subparagraph (b) below; no law student shall be permitted to register for more than 18 hours for credit toward a J.D. degree in any semester.

(b)  No law student in a combined degree program shall be permitted to register for more than 21 hours during any semester. No more than 18 hours of those 21 hours shall be hours for credit toward a J.D. degree.

(c)  No law student may register for any law school or other Creighton University course the scheduled meeting times of which conflict with another such course for which the student has registered.

(d)  No student may receive credit for online or distance education courses except those specifically approved by the law school and in compliance with ABA standards. No student may receive credit for more than 10 credit hours required for the J.D. degree for distance education courses during the first one-third of a student's program of legal education. No student may receive credit for more than one-third of the credit hours required for the J.D. degree for distance education courses.

6.3    No student shall enroll in a course in a school other than Creighton Law School without the prior consent of the Dean. (See also Academic Rules 6.9 and 6.10.)

6.4    A student's registration may be changed in the following manner:

(a)    Courses may be added or dropped without receiving a "W" for withdrawing during the first seven calendar days of a Fall or Spring semester and during the first three calendar days of a summer term.

(b)   Except as prohibited by other rules, such as Rule 6.1, a student may withdraw from a course, except externship, clinic or trial practice courses, any time before the last day of class, provided the student is not in violation of the attendance requirements for the course and, based on the course work completed, the student has not already earned a failing grade in the course.

(c)    A student may withdraw from an externship, clinic, or trial practice course only with the consent of the instructor or the Dean.

(d)     A student withdrawing from the law school is subject to the University's Withdrawals and Refunds policy. A student is considered in attendance until the student has formally notified the law school in writing of their withdrawal.

(e)    All changes in registration, including withdrawal from law school,  must be made through the Office of the Dean by contacting the Associate Registrar.

6.5    Second- and third-year students who may audit a course with the consent of the instructor. No student who has audited a course may register for credit in that course. A student receives no credit for auditing a course, and auditing a course fulfills no graduation requirement.

6.6    Course prerequisites may be waived for individual students by the instructor concerned.

6.7

(a)    Second- and third-year students may receive academic credit for participation in activities which do not involve attendance at regularly scheduled class sessions in law school if:

(1)     The participating student receives a significant educational benefit from the activity;

(2)     The time and effort expended by the participating student is commensurate with the hours of credit received;

(3)     The activity is conducted or periodically reviewed by a Faculty member to ensure that in actual operation (a) the educational objectives of the program are being met, and (b) the time and effort expended by the participating student are commensurate with the credit being allowed;

(4)     The activity does not involve an actual or potential monetary payment (other than a scholarship) which may be rewarded on the basis of the student's participation in the activity;

(5)     The faculty has approved the granting of credit and the number of credit hours in advance of the student’s participation, pursuant to established procedures for curriculum approval; and

(6)    The competitions listed below at 6.7(b) may qualify as experiential learning credit under Academic Rule 6.1(c), if there is a classroom instructional component.

(b)     The regional or national interschool competitions which have been approved as satisfying the requirements of Rule 6.7(a) are the following:

(1)    Advanced Appellate Advocacy Competitions, including the American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition, Jessup International Moot Court Competition, National Moot Court Competition, Pace Environmental Moot Court Competition, Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, and substantially equivalent competitions in which the Dean has approved participation;

(2)    Negotiation Competitions, including the American Bar Association Negotiation Competition and substantially equivalent competitions in which the Dean has approved participation;

(3)    Arbitration Competitions, including the American Bar Association Arbitration Competition and substantially equivalent competitions in which the Dean has approved participation;

(4)   Client Counseling Competitions, including the American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition and substantially equivalent competitions in which the Dean has approved participation.

(5)  Mediation Competitions, including the International Academy of Dispute Resolution's International Law School Mediation Tournament and substantially equivalent competitions in which the Dean has approved participation;

(6)     Transactional Law Competitions, including the LawMeets' Transactional Team Competition and substantially equivalent competitions in which the Dean has approved participation.

Students participating in approved moot court competitions will receive two non-class credits for the participation, provided that the student both prepares a satisfactory brief for the tournament and participates satisfactorily in oral argument at the tournament. A student participating in an approved tournament where no brief is required shall receive one non-class credit.

Credit may be denied for inappropriate conduct by a student during a competition.

(c)  Members of approved student organizations are entitled to receive one hour of non-class academic credit for each forty-five hours of approved non-classroom educational activities if:

(1)  They otherwise are not receiving credit for these activities; and

(2)  They satisfy the requirements of all other applicable academic rules, including Academic Rule 6.7(a).

        (d)  The following non-class educational activities have been approved for the purpose of Rule 6.7(c):

                 (1)     problem drafting;

                 (2)     editing;

                 (3)     bluebooking, page-proofing, and spading;

                 (4)     judging or critiquing performances;

                 (5)     preparing a bench brief;

                 (6)     legal research and writing;

          (7)     serving, or preparing to serve, as a client, negotiator, trial witness, counsel, or judge in mock proceedings;

                 (8)     preparing students for participation in mock proceedings by means of formal demonstrations or practice rounds; or

                 (9)     evaluating briefs, articles, or other documents.

The hours completed pursuant to Rule 6.7(c) shall be certified each semester by the faculty advisor(s) of the appropriate student organizations.

Students may accumulate hours in approved activities toward credit under this rule over more than one semester and with more than one approved student organization.

Students may receive no more than three hours academic credit in any one semester under Rule 6.7(c). See also Rule 6.10, providing that at least 72 of the required 90 hours be earned in required courses and regularly scheduled class sessions in the law school.

6.8 

     (a)  As a condition for graduation, a student must successfully complete a course of study of not less than 90 credit hours of which at least 72 credit hours are in courses in the law school that require attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction. The 90-credit hour requirement may include up to 18 credit hours not requiring attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction. Courses requiring attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction include:

6.9    Students may register at academic units of the University other than the law school or at academic institutions other than Creighton University to take courses for which no credit toward the J.D. degree shall apply only upon receipt of prior approval of the Dean.  Approval is in the discretion of the Dean but shall not be granted if the student holds a law school grade point average less than 2.0 at the time the student seeks approval.

6.10     Up to six hours in courses in other divisions of Creighton University or other fully accredited institutions (excluding law schools, the credit hours from which are governed by Rule 6.3) may be taken for elective credit to satisfy the J.D. degree requirements. Hours being used to earn a separate degree at any institution may not be used under this option to apply towards the law degree.

    Hours applied towards a combined degree program approved by Creighton University are not included in this rule.

    This option is available to second- and third-year students in good standing who receive approval from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to take such courses. Application for such approval must be made prior to registering for the course and at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the course. 

    In order to secure approval for such a course, the applicant must demonstrate that the proposed course is related to the study of law and is not available in the curriculum of the law school. The Associate Dean will not approve a course which is so similar to a course previously taken by the student that it will not further the student's legal education.

    For those students who have received such approval, law school credit will be awarded for such courses in which a grade of B or higher has been received.  However, the grade transferred to the School of Law will be recorded and computed on a pass-fail basis.

6.11     A student may receive credit for up to 12 hours of credit for law-related courses earned at Universidad Pontifica Comillas de Madrid (“Comillas”) to satisfy the law degree requirement of 58 credit hours beyond the first year. These credit hours will be elective credit hours and are governed by Rule 6.8(b)(2). 

    This option is available only to second- and third-year students in good standing who qualify to participate in the program under the Law Student Exchange Program Agreement between Creighton University School of Law (the “Law School”) and Comillas and who comply with the requirements established by the Law School. Any student wishing to participate in the program must apply to the Dean for acceptance into the program. After acceptance by the Dean, the student’s academic program and course of study at Comillas must be approved in advance and monitored by a faculty advisor designated by the Dean.

    A student in the program will receive credit only for hours where the equivalent of a C or higher has been received. The grade transferred to the School of Law will be recorded and computed on a pass-fail basis.

Rule 6.12 Field Placements/Externships

     (a)        Students enrolling in a field placement/externship

           (1) Must have satisfactorily completed all required 1L coursework prior to their field placement/externship enrollment;

           (2) Must enroll in the 1-hour field placement/externship class concurrently with that student’s initial field placement/externship experience;

           (3) Must enroll in a 3-hour field placement/externship, excluding the 1-hour field  placement/externship class;

          (4) Cannot be enrolled concurrently in a law clinic;

          (5) Must register for the field placement/externship and, if required, the 1-hour field placement/externship class, no later than the first day of the semester or term. All required paperwork must be completed and submitted by the first day of the semester or term;

          (6) May not change the externship credit hours after the first day of the semester or term; and

          (7) May not withdraw from the field placement/externship, including the 1-hour field placement/externship class, except as provided for in Academic Rule 6.4 (b) and (c).  

      (b) In exceptional circumstances the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may waive the 3-hour requirement in Rule 6.12 (a)(3),

      (c) All field placements/externships must be with non-profit or governmental entities and may be paid or unpaid.

     (d) Students may not register for more than a total of two field placements/externships.

     (e) All field placements/externships must be pre-approved by the faculty member overseeing the externship program. New field placement/externship sites are submitted annually to the faculty for review.

     (f) All field placements/externships must (i) provide substantial lawyering experiences that are reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks under the supervision of a licensed attorney or an individual otherwise qualified to supervise the student and (ii) otherwise comply with ABA Standard 304.

Rule 6.13 Selected Research

     (a) For students participating in selected research, also known as independent study, opportunities, the student and faculty member serving as the faculty supervisor shall agree on a course of research and drafting. For every selected research project, the student shall:

          (1) elect to be graded pass/fail or A-F and choose the number of credits;

          (2) craft a project proposal to be approved by a faculty supervisor;

          (3) draft a summary of the project (no more than one page) articulating the legal issue(s) to be discussed and stating the student’s thesis;

          (4) provide a detailed outline (3-5 pages) to the faculty supervisor;

          (5) provide a rough draft that is largely complete;

          (6) incorporate the faculty supervisor’s comments and feedback on the rough draft into the final draft of the paper;

          (7) submit the final draft paper after consulting with the faculty supervisor on the previous feedback received and how it was incorporated; and

          (8) comply with any other requirements as set by the faculty supervisor

     (b) Students should anticipate the following minimum page requirements (with footnotes) for their selected research projects: one credit – at least 20 pages; two credits – at least 30 pages; three credits at least 40 pages.

     (c) Students may only participate in one selected research project per semester.

     (d) Students may only receive as credit towards their J.D. degree a total of six hours of selected research, as provided in Rule 6.8(4).