Graduation Requirements
Requirements for the receipt of the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Southwestern follow. Please consult the Student Handbook for detailed or additional information.
- Successful completion of 87 units. No course will be considered satisfactorily completed and no course or unit credit will be granted if a grade of F is received. A student may not graduate with a grade of incomplete on his or her transcript.
- A cumulative grade point average (GPA)
of at least 2.33 (2.00 for students who completed one or more semesters prior to the implementation of the new grading policy in Fall 2005), calculated on the basis of all work completed at Southwestern.
- Successful completion of all required courses as outlined in the Student Handbook, Part I, Graduation Requirements.
- All required courses must be passed with a grade of D- or higher. A student who fails a required course must repeat that course during the next semester in which it is offered. Failure to pass the required course a second time will automatically result in academic disqualification.
- Any student who anticipates graduation but has been academically disqualified and subsequently readmitted to the law school may be required to meet additional requirements as determined by the Admissions and Scholastic Standards Committee.
Bar Requirements
In
order to prepare for the California General Bar Examination, the
following is a list of applications that must be completed while
attending law school. All applications and fee schedules are available
in the Registration Office. The fees listed are set by the Committee of
Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California, except for the MPRE fee
which is set by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
The following
subjects are tested on the California Bar Exam: Business Associations;
Civil Procedure (including California code of Civil Procedure);
Community Property; Constitutional Law; Contracts (including Sales);
Criminal Law and Procedure; Evidence (including California code of
Evidence); Professional Responsibility; Real Property; Remedies; Torts;
Wills and Succession.
Students should visit the California State Bar website for current fees and deadlines.
Registration as a Law Student
Every
student intending to seek admission to practice law in California must
register within 90 days of the start of the study of law.
Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)
This exam may be taken after completing Legal Profession. Exams are usually scheduled in March, August, and November.
Application For Determination of Moral Character
After
an initial positive moral character determination, application is valid
for 24 months. Students are encouraged to file an application 8-10
months prior to the date of being admitted to practicing law.
Application to take the California Bar Examination
Filing deadlines are November 1 for the February General Bar Examination and April 2 for the July General Bar Examination.
