School of Law Professional Program
The essential mission of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law is to help lawyers and legal institutions to meet the demands of a rapidly changing legal and professional environment.
In serving its students, the school is committed to an active and inclusive spirit of community and to the effective, efficient, and congenial provision of service. In teaching, research, and public service, the School of Law aspires to conduct all of its programs at a nationally prominent level of quality that adds luster to the legal and business communities of Pittsburgh; that makes the school relevant to the key needs of this region's private, public, and nonprofit sectors; and that distinguishes it as one of the finest public urban law schools in the United States.
Among its first-professional degrees, the School of Law offers the
Juris Doctor (JD) degree; a number of joint
degree programs with other schools of the University,
leading to both a JD and a second master's
degree; and LLM degrees for foreign law graduates
as well as several certificate programs. The
School of Law also offers graduate programs
leading to a Master of Studies in Law (MSL)
and a Doctor of Jurisprudence (JSD) degree. For
further information on the graduate programs,
see the School of Law—Graduate
Programs section of this bulletin.
Contact Information
- Charmine C. McCall
- Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid
- School of Law
- Barco Law Building
- 3900 Forbes Avenue
- Pittsburgh, PA 15260
- 412-648-1413
- Fax: 412-648-2647
- E-mail: admissions@law.pitt.edu
- www.law.pitt.edu
Admission to the school's JD program is open to qualified graduates of accredited colleges and universities in the United States. If applicants have completed their studies outside the United States, it is required that the education be deemed by the University of Pittsburgh to be comparable to a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Required application materials include:
Completed application and personal statement
Registration with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)
Results of the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
Final, official undergraduate transcript
Non-refundable application fee of $55
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) if applicant's native tongue is not English
Letters of recommendation are not required but are strongly encouraged
Resume
All application materials must be completed and received by the Office of Admissions by March 1 (postmark date) of the year in which applicants wish to begin their legal studies. The School of Law employs a rolling admissions policy and recommends early application. Applications are available at www.law.pitt.edu/admissions/index.php.
Students in good standing at law schools that are members of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) and on the approved list of the American Bar Association (ABA) may apply for admission as transfer students. Students having completed two years at an accredited law school may enroll as a visiting student for their last year of law school.
The School of Law offers a flex-time program for students whose outside obligations necessitate a program with fewer hours each semester. Course loads are designed to result in graduation in four years rather than the normal three years with no fewer than 10 credits per semester. Courses are offered only during the day. Students in the flex-time program pay full tuition. All requirements for the JD program must be completed within six years of matriculation. Application materials are the same as for full-time students and must include a letter stating the reason for requesting flex-time.
The School of Law is responsible for the awarding of both merit and need-based scholarships while the University's Office of Admission and Financial Aid certifies federal and private loans. To apply for law school scholarships, students must complete the financial aid form located on the school's Web site. To apply for student loans, the following forms must be filed:
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (The Title IV code for the School of Law is 008815)
- Financial Aid Application Supplement (FAAS)
- Signed copies of the preceding year's federal tax returns
- Loan application(s)
Academic Standards
A student must attain a grade point average (GPA) of at least C (2.00) to advance from the first to the second year, to advance from the second to the third year, and to graduate. Failure to attain this cumulative average will result in automatic exclusion from the school.
Consistent with the residency requirements imposed by the American Bar Association, students may graduate in three years of study only if they complete six semesters in residence. To receive a semester's residence credit, a student must successfully complete a minimum of 10 credits of course work.
Students must graduate within six years of the date upon which they matriculate.
Regular and punctual class attendance is necessary to satisfy residence and credit requirements. Regular attendance is defined as attendance and preparation at not less than 80 percent of the classes held in each course or seminar. If a student fails to meet these attendance and preparation requirements, a faculty member may certify the student out of the course.
The School of Law Policy on Written Work for Credit, its Standards of Academic Integrity, the Grading Guidelines, and other academic policies of the school are included in the Standards section of the School of Law's Student Handbook.
The School of Law's Career Services Office provides educational programming, individual counseling, and print and electronic resources to aid students and graduates of the School of Law in making career choices, developing job search skills, identifying job opportunities, and securing meaningful employment.
Degree Requirements
In order to graduate, a student pursuing a JD must complete 88 credits, including the following:
A prescribed first-year curriculum (Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Process, Torts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Property, and Legal Analysis and Writing) The upper-level writing requirement
Legal Research and Writing, Constitutional Law
A course in Legal Profession
The upper-level writing requirement and other academic requirements are described in the Graduation Requirements section of the Student Handbook.
In addition to the JD, the School of Law offers several joint degree options with various schools within the University as well as in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University. Students who want to enroll in any joint degree program must first be admitted to the School of Law and the cooperating school. This can be done before matriculation in either program or after the completion of part of either program. The only requirement is that the first year in the School of Law be taken here in its entirety, with no outside courses. (Most students in the program will begin law school and then enter a joint master's degree program.) Students are required to fulfill the degree requirements of both schools as modified by participation in the joint-degree program. Substantial advanced-standing credit is given by each school for the degree to be awarded by the other. Both degrees must be completed concurrently. The joint degrees currently offered are:
| Program |
Degree(s) Offered |
| Law and Public Administration |
JD/MPA |
| Law and International Affairs |
JD/MPIA |
| Law and International Development |
JD/MID |
| Law and Business Administration |
JD/MBA |
| Law and Public Health |
JD/MPH |
| Law and Bioethics |
JD/MA |
| Law and Business Administration (Carnegie Mellon) |
JD/MBA |
| Law and Public Management (Carnegie Mellon) |
JD/MS |
| Law and Arts Management (Carnegie Mellon) |
JD/MS |
In addition, JD students not enrolled in a joint degree program have the interdisciplinary study option to take six pre-approved graduate-level, law-related credits outside the School of Law and count such credits toward their degree.
This program provides rigorous, integrated training for students preparing for a professional career that combines law and public and international affairs. Students in the joint-degree program gain a broadened knowledge base and a cross-disciplinary approach to solving problems involving the intersection of law, policy, and management.
Graduates of this program not only develop more marketable professional skills and, therefore, enjoy expanded employment opportunities, but they also gain a broad-based knowledge of the fundamental roles of law and business in society—a perspective that significantly enhances the scope and quality of their professional training.
Graduates of this joint-degree program are academically prepared for the practice of law with private clients, serving as house counsel with health organizations and systems and as attorneys representing state, county, and local health departments.
The objective of this educational program is to prepare graduates with an interdisciplinary background in law and bioethics so they can address those issues and situations that require knowledge of and expertise in both. Graduates are prepared for professional roles as bioethicists in healthcare organizations, in government, in policy offices, in philanthropic organizations, or in the practice of law.
This dual-degree program benefits students by enabling them to receive integrated training in law and business, while saving time by reducing the period of time necessary to earn the two degrees from five years to four years. Graduates with this degree are able to more effectively merge the policy considerations underlying law and business in our society.
Participants of the program emerge with a broad knowledge of the fundamental intersections of law, government, policy analysis, and management. The interdisciplinary nature of this program allows for the practical skill sets to solve economic and social problems that require technological, managerial, and legal expertise.
Students at the School of Law have the opportunity to participate in one or more of five different certificate programs. Certificate programs are taught both within and outside the law school by full-time faculty who are acknowledged experts in their fields, as well as by leading practitioners, professionals, and executives in associated industries. The five programs are civil litigation; environmental law, science and policy; health law; intellectual property and technology law; and international and comparative law.
Certificate in Health Law
The Health Law Certificate Program is an educational program of concentration in health law for students in their second and third years of the JD curriculum. Admission is available to all students entering their second year in the JD program.
Students must complete the following requirements to receive a Certificate in Health Law:
Complete a minimum of 18 credits in courses in health law, including Health Law and Policy, Current Issues in Health Law I and II, and Business Organizations
Write their faculty-supervised paper on a topic in health law
Complete a clinic or practicum
Take a minimum of three health law electives
Certificate in Environmental Law, Science, and Policy
The Environmental Law, Science, and Policy Certificate Program is an interdisciplinary program for students in their second and third years of the JD curriculum. Admission is available to all students entering their second year in the JD program.
Students must complete the following requirements to receive a Certificate in Environmental Law, Science, and Policy:
Take five required courses (Law and Science, Environmental Law, Administrative Law, Enivronmental Seminar OR Independent Study, and Environmental Policy and Politics OR one non-law school course dealing with the areas of science, engineering, or policy of central relevance to environmental practice and policy making); and
Satisfy the upper-level writing requirement with an environmental law topic; and Take at least two elective courses in the School of Law; and
Gain practical training in environmental law through externships, practicum courses dealing with environmental law, or enrollment in the school's Environmental Law Clinic or Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health Summer Institute.
A minimum total of 22 credits is required in order to earn the certificate. The faculty advisors to the certificate program are responsible for advising students with regard to certificate requirements. Please visit the Certificate Program's Web site for more information at www.law.pitt.edu/academics/programs/env.php.
Certificate in International and Comparative Law
The International and Comparative Law Certificate Program is intended to give students interested in international and comparative legal issues a foundation for careers and further study in the application of legal regimes to transnational and international relationships. Students must elect to enter the program by the beginning of their second year of law school. Only in rare situations (such as when the student is in a joint degree program) will exceptions be made to this entry requirement. Students should keep in mind that in order to be a good international or comparative lawyer, one must first be a good domestic lawyer. Thus, students in the certificate program are expected and encouraged to obtain the same broad background in law expected of all graduates of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Students must complete the following requirements to receive a Certificate in International and Comparative Law (A minimum of 24 credits):
- Take four required courses in the School of Law, including International Law, International Business Transactions, Comparative Legal Cultures, and a seminar or independent study in the area of international or comparative law; and
- Take at least 9 credits of elective courses, including at most one graduate elective course outside the School of Law.
Certificate in Civil Litigation (John P. Gismondi Civil Litigation Certificate Program)
John P. Gismondi, a 1978 graduate of the School of Law and one of the country’s premier trial attorneys, has sponsored this unique program that gives students the opportunity to take specialized classes taught by preeminent Western Pennsylvania trial lawyers in which students learn pretrial and trial skills and strategies. The students also participate in clinics taught by full-time faculty members in which they may have the opportunity to represent clients in courts or before administrative agencies. Students who wish to participate in this program must register for it prior to their second year of law school.
Students must complete the following requirements to receive a John P. Gismondi Civil Litigation Certificate (A minimum of 18 credits):
- Complete core courses in Evidence, Trial Advocacy, Conflicts of Law, Complex Litigation, and Federal Jurisdiction
- Complete a litigation-skills clinic or practicum
- Complete four out of the following five courses: Pre-Trial Practice: Pleadings and Discovery, Trial Evidence, Litigation Strategy and Planning, Expert Witnesses, and Advanced Torts (applies to students graduating in 2006 and thereafter)
- Participate in the Murray S. Love Trial Moot Court Program
- Participate in the Appellate Moot Court Competition
- Satisfy their upper-level writing requirement with a litigation-related topic
Certificate in Intellectual Property and Technology Law
Intellectual property law, which encompasses patents, copyrights, and trademarks, and technology law, which deals with legal aspects of computers and the Internet and biotechnology, are among the most exciting and challenging areas of contemporary law practice. The Certificate Program in Intellectual Property and Technology Law is intended to provide law students with a basic grounding in intellectual property law, relevant clinical or other practical lawyering experience, and more in-depth, advanced study of advanced topics in intellectual property law and in related areas of law and legal practice involving technology-driven issues and clients. Students must elect to enter this certificate program by the beginning of their second year.
Students must complete the following requirements to receive a Certificate in Intellectual Property and Technology Law:
- Complete three of the following core courses in intellectual property law: Intellectual Property, Copyright Law, Patent Law, Patent Law Practice, and Trademark Protection and Litigation
- Complete two advanced intellectual property law or technology law courses
- Complete two corporate law, commercial law, advanced constitutional law, or administrative law courses
- Complete one intellectual property law or technology law seminar or writing project
- Complete one "practical lawyering" course or for-credit project
- Maintain a B+ grade average across all certificate-related courses
The number of credit hours required will vary, based on the courses taken to comply with the distributional requirements of the certificate. In most cases, successful completion of the certificate will involve courses that total between 20 and 23 credit hours.
The School of Law hosts the University of Pittsburgh Center for International Legal Education (CILE). CILE prepares JD students for successful futures in the international legal arena. Through the center, students at the School of Law experience firsthand the workings of foreign legal systems with programs, projects, and resources at and from all over the world. In addition, through its LLM degree program, CILE provides lawyers who have obtained their law degree outside the United States with an opportunity to study common law in a United States context. In addition, a handful of students who have earned their LLM degree may enroll in a JSD doctoral program for students who wish to pursue advanced independent study, research, and writing in the law. Details on the requirements for each of these programs can be found on our Web site.
Degree Requirements
The LLM course of study requires a total of 24 credit hours to be completed in two semesters. LLM students must graduate with a minimum 2.00 GPA. Required courses are:
- Introduction to American Law
- U.S. Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing
- LLM Colloquium
- A faculty-supervised writing requirement
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