2024-2025 Student Handbook

ACADEMIC RULES AND REGULATIONS

I.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

A.

General Requirements

A candidate for the degree of Juris Doctor must be in good academic standing and comply with the following requirements:

1. A candidate must have completed at least six semesters of full-time study in law school or at least eight semesters of part-time study in law school. A student in good academic standing may, in extraordinary circumstances and with the permission of the Dean of Students Office, complete an upper-class year of study at another ABA-accredited law school (see policy on Visiting Out, Study Abroad, and Electives at Non-Suffolk Programs.) 2. A student admitted with advanced standing based on course work completed at another ABA accredited law school must complete at least four semesters of study at Suffolk University Law School in order to receive the Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University. In exceptional circumstances this requirement may be reduced at the discretion of an Associate Dean. 3. A candidate ’s complete law school record must (i) show a cumulative weighted average of at least 2.000; and (ii) show unsatisfactory grades outstanding in no more than three courses. A student in good academic standing but in violation of Regulation I(A)(3) may submit a petition to remedy such violation by fulfilling conditions to be determined by an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Conditions may include retaking a final examination or rewriting a final paper in a course in which the student received an unsatisfactory grade, or repeating a course in its entirety. Completion of such conditions will not affect GPA or credits earned. The conditions set by the Associate Dean for a student to remedy a violation of Regulation I(A)(3) shall be final and not subject to appeal.Regulation I(A)(3) does not supersede the academic standing provisions of Regulation II(C). Satisfying the requirements of Regulation I(A)(3) does not entitle a student who is not in good academic standing under Regulation II(C) to be restored to good academic standing. 4. The ABA, as a national accrediting authority for law schools, has established in ABA Standard 311(a) that a law school shall require, as a condition for graduation, successful completion of a course of study of not fewer than 83 credit hours, at least 64 of which shall be in courses that require attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction at the law school. Suffolk University Law School requires all students to complete at least 84 credit hours of study in order to be eligible to graduate. The Law School adheres to the definition of “credit hour” established in ABA Standard 310(b), as set forth in Regulations I(B)(2) and I(C)(2). 5. Prior to graduation, every student must satisfactorily complete: a. six credits of upper-level experiential learning courses (as defined by ABA Standards 303 and 304), b. two continuing legal education seminars, c. a minimum of 50 hours of practice-based learning completed in any of the following ways: i. First Year Summer Internship Program placement; ii. 50 hours of legal work completed through the Pro Bono Program; or iii. 50 hours of legal work completed under the supervision of an attorney, and d. one course from the Race, Equity, and Law (REAL) menu. Students completing Sections b and c of this requirement must submit certification of completion to the Academic Services Office.

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