Program Structure - Two-Year J.D.


Program information

Your route to completing the Two-Year J.D. for international attorneys depends on whether you obtained a foreign law degree in a common law jurisdiction.* Common law students do not need to follow the first-year curriculum, and will spend both of their years in the Two-Year J.D. program taking upper-level courses.

Students who did not obtain a degree in a common law jurisdiction will begin the program with the standard first-year curriculum. Complete program requirements are outlined in the tables below.

If an applicant has not received J.D. (or equivalent) based in common law from a university in a common law jurisdiction, but has completed common law classes as part of an L.L.M., S.J.D. or Ph.D. from a university in a common law jurisdiction, whether or not any of these classes will be considered equivalent to KU Law classes will be considered on a case-by-case basis.


Program Structure

LL.B. Transfer Hours
Credit hour sourceCredit hours
Transfer from LL.B.30

 

First-Year Courses - Two-Year J.D.
CourseCredit hours
First-Year Courses
Civil Procedure4
Contracts4
Criminal Law4
Introduction to Constitutional Law4
Lawyering Skills I2
Lawyering Skills II3
Property4
Torts I4
Total first-year credit hours29

 

Second-Year Courses - Two-Year J.D.
CourseCredit hours
Second-Year Courses
3 courses from the following menu:
  • Business Organizations
  • Conflict of Laws
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Evidence
  • Family Law
  • Jurisdiction
  • Contracts II/UCC Sales
  • Commercial Law: Secured Transactions
  • Trusts & Estates
9
Experiential Coursework6
Professional Responsibility2
Professional & Scholarly Writing Coursework9
Elective Coursework5
Total second-year credit hours31
Grand total credit hours90

 

Students in the Two-Year J.D. Program are subject to the same grading system that applies to other J.D. candidates. All other law school and university rules apply, as appropriate, to students in the Two-Year J.D. Program. These include rules governing credits from outside the law school and cross-listing of courses.

The Two-Year J.D. Program is not limited to foreign citizens. American citizens who have foreign law degrees are also eligible, whether they were born or raised overseas, or elected to complete their education abroad after high school.

* Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka will typically qualify as common law jurisdictions. Hong Kong and Macau also currently qualify. The dean or a designated faculty member makes the decision about whether certain other countries qualify.

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