Academics

Concentrations

Full details about these academic concentrations can be found in the Course Guide.

Concentration in Advocacy Skills

Students may pursue a Concentration in Advocacy Skills by satisfying the curricular requirements outlined in this section. The concentration would follow one of two tracks: the Civil Practice Track or the Criminal Practice Track. The curriculum for the concentration consists of three required core classes shared by both tracks, a variety of advanced courses common to both tracks, and advanced elective courses specific to each track. A student would complete a minimum of 24 hours to achieve the Advocacy Skills Concentration.

Students must receive a “satisfactory” completion of any clinical course requirement in the concentration. They also must complete the concentration with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all of the graded courses in the concentration and must attain a grade of B- in each course counted toward the concentration. A student who receives a grade below B- in one of the elective courses cannot count that elective toward the concentration requirements, but may enroll in an additional course from the list of elective courses within the concentration to satisfy the requirement.

Students wishing to pursue the concentration must register their intent with the Recorder. For students who complete the Concentration in Advocacy Skills, documentation of the concentration will be included on their official law school transcript.

» Track Breakout (extracted from the Course Guide)

Concentration in Criminal Law

Students may pursue a Concentration in Criminal Law by completing a minimum of 20 credits in Criminal Law courses, including three core classes, as well as completing upper level electives and a capstone course, while maintaining a 3.2 GPA* in the courses applied to the Concentration.

Required Core Courses – Must take all of the following:

Criminal Procedure: Adjudication (3 cr.)
Criminal Procedure: Investigation (3 cr.)
Evidence (4 cr.)

Upper Level Courses – Must take at least two of the following:

Criminal Sentencing (2 cr.)
Representing the Government (2 cr.)
Neuroscience and the Law (2 cr.)
Juvenile Justice (2 cr.)
Law and Forensic Science (2 cr.)
Law of the Death Penalty (3 cr.)
State Constitutional Law (2 cr.)
White Collar Crime (2/3 cr.)
Psychiatry and the Law (2 cr.)
Seminar in Cybercrime (2 cr.)
Appellate Practice (2 cr.)
International Criminal Law (2/3 cr.)

Research or Experiential Capstone – Must take at least one of the following:

Externship (2 cr.) [Prosecution or Criminal Defense]
Supervised Research (variable cr.) [criminal law/criminal procedure/criminal evidence topic] [with topic approval of Criminal Law faculty]
National Moot Court Competition [criminal law/criminal procedure/criminal evidence topic] (1 cr.)
Law Review Note (1 cr.) [criminal law/criminal procedure/criminal evidence topic] [with topic approval of Criminal Law faculty]
Law and State Government Placement (2 cr.) [w/ criminal law agency] [with topic approval of Criminal Law faculty]
State Appellate or State Trial Court Externship [with substantial criminal/criminal procedure/criminal evidence content]
Criminal Defense Clinic (3/4 cr.)
Criminal Procedure Advocacy Skills (1 cr.)
Wrongful Conviction Clinic (2/3 cr.)
Advanced Course-related Experience (1-2 cr.)[criminal law-related]
Appellate Clinic (2 cr.)

*GPA note: In the case of a student who takes more than the minimum number of qualifying courses, the student's best grades in those courses will be used to calculate his or her Criminal Law GPA.

Concentration in Intellectual Property Law

Students may pursue a Concentration in Intellectual Property Law by completing a minimum of 15 credits in IP courses, including three core classes, as well as completing an IP research paper, and maintaining a 3.2 GPA* in the IP courses applied to the concentration. (see lists below).

Required Core Courses:

Intellectual Property Law (not required only if a student completes separate courses in Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Law)
Copyright Law or Patent Law or Trademark Law
A third course from above, or Patent Prosecution or Patent Litigation or IP Transactions and Licensing or Right of Publicity or Internet Law.

Elective Courses:

Administrative Law
Antitrust Law
Art, Museum, and Publishing Law
Biotechnology Law
Copyright Law
Drug Innovation and Competition Law
Entertainment Law
Food and Drug Law
Intellectual Property of Pharmaceutical Products and Medical Devices
Intellectual Property Transactions and Licensing
International Intellectual Property Law
Intellectual Property Law Litigation
Intellectual Property Valuation
Internet Law
Seminar in Law and Technology
New Genetics: Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues
Patent Law
Patent Litigation
Patent Prosecution
Right of Publicity
Sports Law: Individual, Amateur and Olympic Sports
Sports and Entertainment Law
Trademark Law
Unfair Trade Practices

Writing Requirement:

All candidates must complete a major research paper on an intellectual property law topic. Students may meet the writing requirement in one of three ways: 1) completion of a law review note that is approved by an IP core faculty member on an intellectual property law topic for one of the law school’s student-run journals; 2) completion of a paper approved by an IP core faculty member written for any of the approved elective courses listed above; 3) completion of a paper for any class or independent study if the student obtains the prior written approval of the Director of the IP Center.

*GPA note: In the case of a student who takes more than the minimum number of qualifying courses, the student's best grades in those courses will be used to calculate his or her IP Law GPA.

More info available at the Program Site

Concentration in International and Comparative Law

The International and Comparative Law Concentration will be awarded to students who complete a minimum of 15 credits in International and Comparative Law courses, including two of three core classes, as well as completing upper level electives from both the international and comparative law baskets, and an International and Comparative Law capstone course (a writing, practical, cultural immersion, or skills course) while maintaining a 3.2 GPA* in the International and Comparative Law courses applied to the Concentration.

Required Core Courses – Must take at least two of the following

International Law (3 cr.)
Comparative Law (3 cr.)
International Business Transactions (3)

Upper Level Courses – Must take at least three of the following, including at least one from each of the International Law and Comparative Law baskets:

International Law Basket:
International Criminal Law (3 cr.)
International Human Rights Law (3 cr.)
International Commercial Arbitration (2 cr.)
International Legal Transactions (2 cr.)
International Environmental Law (3 cr.)
International Trade Law (2 cr.)
WTO Law (3 cr.)
International Intellectual Property Law (2 or 3 cr.)
Seminar in Illicit International Markets (2 cr.)
International Tax (3 cr.)

Comparative Law Basket:
International and Comparative Family Law (2 cr.)
European Union: Foundations (3 cr.)
European Union: Doing Business (3 cr.)
Japanese Law (2 cr.)
Law and Society of China (2 or 3 cr.)
Comparative National Security Law (2cr.)

Experiential Courses - Writing, Practical, Cultural Immersion, or Skills – Must take at least one of the following:

International Human Rights Law Internship (4 cr.)
China Study Abroad ( 2 or 5cr.)
ACrE (Advanced Course Related Experience) (variable cr.) [international and comparative law topic]
Advanced Field Research (2-4 cr.)
Center for Victim and Human Rights Externship (2 cr.)
Eli Lilly and Company In-House Tax Counsel Externship (2 cr.)
Supervised Research in International and Comparative Law (variable cr.)
Health and Human Rights Clinic (3-4 cr.)
Jessup Moot Court Competition (1 cr.)
European Union Moot Court Law (2 cr.)
Willem C. Vis in International Commercial Law and Arbitration (2 cr.)
Law Review Note [international and comparative law topic] (2 cr.)
International and Comparative Law Review note (2 cr.)
Global Crisis Leadership Forum

*GPA note: In the case of a student who takes more than the minimum number of qualifying courses, the student's best grades in those courses will be used to calculate his or her IC&L Law GPA.

More info available at the Program Site