Curriculum

Structure of the JD Curriculum

Students enrolled in the full-time day program typically complete degree requirements in six semesters over a three-year period. During your first year, you must take the required curriculum. Prior to enrollment, you will be assigned at random to a first-year section of about 25-35 students. You will take one course with your section in either the fall or spring semester of your first year. You will also have a small section of Lawyering I during your fall semester.

In your first year, you will take 16 credits of required classes during the fall semester. Classes are held Monday through Friday between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., except on Fridays when classes seldom meet later than 3:00 p.m. In the spring semester you will take 13 credits of required courses and an elective for three credits.

After your first year you:

will register for up to 17 credits in each semester
must complete all required courses
may choose from a wide array of electives to develop a program that meets your academic interests and prepares you to achieve your career goals
may enroll in evening division electives on a space-available basis, with the understanding that evening students have enrollment priority for courses taught during the evening
will be billed for tuition on a per credit basis

First-year students enrolled in 13 or more credit hours are not permitted to work at all during the school year, except on a case-by-case basis during the second semester only with permission from the assistant dean for student affairs. You must satisfactorily complete a total of 85 credits to be eligible for graduation.

Required Courses

First Year Fall Semester (Total Credits: 16):

Civil Procedure (4 credits)

Contracts (4 credits)
Torts (4 credits)
Lawyering I (3 credits)
Introduction to Legal Research (1 credit)

First Year Spring Semester (Total Credits: 16):

Constitutional Law I: Governance (3 credits)
Property (4 credits)
Criminal Law (3 credits)
Lawyering II (3 credits)
Elective (3 credits) (menu of options)

Second Year Fall Semester

Constitutional Law II: Individual Rights (3 credits)

Prior to Graduation

Legal Profession
Advanced Legal Research
Cardin Requirement
Experiential Course Requirement
Advanced Writing Requirement

The four-year evening program is designed for those who wish to obtain their legal education while working full time or who have other obligations during the day. In the evening program, you will take required courses during the first four semesters and choose from a limited number of electives during the fourth semester. After you complete your fourth semester, you may select from a wide range of electives offered in the evening division and take courses during the day if your schedule permits.

During your first four semesters, you will take 10 credits per semester. After the first four semesters, you will register for 10 or 11 credits in each semester, which may result in you attending class two, three or four nights per week. After your third semester, you may enroll in day division electives, although day division students have priority. Evening courses are scheduled Monday through Thursday beginning at 6:30 pm, but you may also choose from late afternoon "twilight" courses that begin as early as 4:20 p.m. Evening students have enrollment priority for courses taught during the evening. Evening and day students have equal priority for “twilight” courses.

You may also elect to take some classes during the summer term. Summer term classes are generally scheduled Monday through Thursday beginning at 6:00 p.m. To facilitate the building of the evening division community, first- and second-year evening students will take some classes together.

As an evening division student, you will pay a flat rate tuition during your first two years (fall and spring semesters only) and thereafter pay tuition on a per credit basis. Summer session tuition is always billed on a per credit basis. Once you have completed two years in the evening division, you may enroll in any number of credits up to a maximum of 17 credits thereafter.

Once you have completed your first year in the evening division, you may request permission to transition to the day division. If you choose to do so, you must:

complete the required 2E courses in the evening division during the upcoming fall and spring semesters
give up the 2E flat rate (for the 10-credit standard 2E course load) and pay tuition on a per credit basis going forward, regardless of the number of credits you take in any semester
understand that you will pay more in tuition for your degree than you would pay if you remained in the evening program for your 2E year
know that your elective choices will be limited during your second year of law school to courses for which you have completed the appropriate foundation courses
understand that you may be foreclosed from certain co-curricular activities due to eligibility requirements that you will have not met or try-outs that you may have missed
meet with an academic advisor prior to choosing second-year electives
submit the Request to Transition from 1E to 2D

Required Courses

First Year Fall Semester (Total Credits: 10):

Civil Procedure (4 credits)
Con Law I (3 credits)
Lawyering I (2 credits)
Introduction to Legal Research (1 credit)

First Year Spring Semester (Total Credits: 10):

Torts (4 credits)
Constitutional Law II (3 credits)
Lawyering II (3 credits)

Second Year Fall Semester (Total Credits: 10):

Contracts (4 credits)
Criminal Law (3 credits)
Lawyering III (3 credits)

Second Year Spring Semester (Total Credits: 10):

Property (4 credits)
Legal Profession (3 credits)
Elective (3 credits) (menu of options)

Prior to Graduation

Advanced Legal Research
Experiential Course Requirement
Advanced Writing Requirement

Lawyering Program

The Lawyering Program forms an integral part of the first-year JD curriculum and will give you a strong foundation in the lawyering skills essential to practicing in today’s legal profession. In the Lawyering Program, you will act in the role of an attorney by engaging in simulated cases that incorporate topics drawn from other foundational law school courses. You will review case files, develop a factual record, interact with simulated clients, lawyers, and judges, and construct effective legal analyses in drafting both privileged internal documents and formal court submissions.

By participating in this simulation-based program, you will not only learn critical lawyering skills, but you will also develop an understanding of legal doctrines, principles, and theories underlying the practice of law. The program also provides you with opportunities to develop your professional identity, practice professionalism, and appreciate the unique ethical responsibilities of lawyers in our legal system.

Students in the day program enroll in a two-course sequence during their first year, comprised of Lawyering I in the fall semester and Lawyering II in the spring semester. Students in the evening program complete a similar two-course sequence of Lawyering I and II during their first year, but additionally enroll in an upper-class Lawyering III class in their second year. The Lawyering III course for students in the evening section teaches advanced lawyering skills in a different simulated setting.

Graduation Requirements

Pass courses totaling at least 85 semester hours. At least 53 of the 85 credits required for graduation must be in courses or other credit programs offered by the School of Law. A student admitted with advanced standing or who otherwise is permitted to apply credits earned at another college or university toward degree requirements at Maryland, including credits earned through University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law cooperative programs with universities outside the United States, may not transfer more than 32 such credits (credits transfer, grades do not), and no more than 9 of these 32 credits may be graduate level non-law courses. Once a student has accumulated 85 credits, the student may not enroll in additional semesters, with the following exception: if a student has accumulated 85 credits, but is not eligible to graduate because the student has not fulfilled the Advanced Writing Requirement, the student may enroll in one course or seminar for the purpose of completing the Advanced Writing Requirement. After receiving the JD, graduates may enroll in additional coursework if admitted to the LL.M. program or if admitted as a guest student.

Day division students may enroll in a maximum of 17 credits each semester during the fall and spring semesters after the first year of law school. Evening division students may enroll in a maximum of 17 credits during the fall and spring semesters after completing the evening required curriculum of the first four semesters of law school. During summer sessions, students may enroll in a maximum of 9 credits.

First year Day Division students are not permitted to work at all during the school year, except with permission from the Associate Dean for Student Services on a case-by-case basis during the second semester only.

To satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement, you must write or improve a qualifying document under the supervision of a law school faculty member. It should satisfy the following:

Analyze law, policy, and facts pertinent to a complex law-related or public policy problem
Incorporate significant, relevant research
Analyze the most important, conflicting views regarding the problem
Argue how the identified issues should be resolved
Be of substantial quality

You must demonstrate an awareness of the pertinent primary and secondary authority (e.g., case law, statutes, regulations, policy analysis, scientific or technical information, empirical studies, etc.); and engage in original, thoughtful analysis beyond merely reporting, compiling, or describing the work of other authors.

Learn more about the Advanced Writing Requirement

All students entering Maryland Carey Law in Fall 2016 or later must satisfactorily complete at least one or more experiential course(s) totaling at least six credit hours. An experiential course must be a simulation course, a clinic, a Legal Theory and Practice (LTP) course, or an externship.

Students who first matriculate at Maryland Carey Law in the full-time Day program meet the experiential requirement by taking the three-credit Lawyering II course as part of the first-year required curriculum and by taking at least three credits in Cardin-eligible courses, in simulation courses, or in an externship approved for this purpose.

Students who do not first matriculate at Maryland Carey Law in the full-time Day program meet the experiential requirement either by taking the three-credit Lawyering II course and the three-credit Lawyering III course as part of the part-time Evening program required curriculum; or (ii) by taking at least six credits in Cardin-eligible courses, in simulation courses, or in an externship approved for this purpose.

Unique among law schools nationally, the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law requires every student who initially enrolls as a first year, full-time day student to provide legal services to people who are poor or otherwise lack access to justice as a prerequisite to graduation. The Cardin Requirement results in more than 150 students contributing over 75,000 hours of free legal service annually, making the Clinical Law Program one of the largest public interest firms in Maryland. Accordingly, the core of the law school's commitment to ensuring and enhancing the quality of justice in society is expressed through the Cardin Requirement.

Named for U.S. Senator Ben Cardin '67, the Cardin Requirement makes experiential education a key component of the law school's curriculum. Courses that satisfy the Cardin Requirement—offered through the nationally recognized Clinical Law Program—give students the opportunity to represent real clients in real cases. The clinical and legal theory and practice courses encourage students to develop a professional identity valuing service to the poor and other underrepresented persons and communities. Most importantly, however, the Cardin experience enables students to understand, apply, and critique legal theory and law practice to help them analyze how to improve the law and access to justice.

As part of fulfilling the Cardin Requirement, students have earned a Baltimore man's release from an unjust life sentence, filed a class action lawsuit supporting defendants' rights to counsel at preliminary bail hearings, and eased restrictions on access to treatment for drug addicted individuals. Clinic students have also led successful efforts to ban smoking in bars and restaurants across the state, and supported enforcement of Maryland's most significant environmental protection legislation.

Fulfill the Cardin Requirement. This requirement applies only to students who first matriculated at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in the first year, full-time day program, and must be satisfied through coursework completed at the University of Maryland School of Law; it may not be satisfied through coursework completed at another law school. Students enrolling in the first year full-time day program must take and pass one of the designated Cardin Program courses. These courses:

provide students with an experience of how the law operates in practice;
give students direct professional contact with or substantial responsibility for providing legal assistance on behalf of persons who are poor, socially disadvantaged or otherwise lack access to justice in the legal system or to organizations acting on behalf of such persons;
include regular classes in which a member of the Law School faculty provides instruction that integrates that students’ practice experience in ways that will help them to understand, apply, and critique theory and practice;
require students to do substantial writing in connection with their practice; and
have a professional responsibility component.

Learning outcomes are the lawyering skills that you are expected to obtain through the completion of a legal education. Consistent with ABA Standards, upon completion of a JD degree, graduates of Maryland Carey Law will demonstrate competence in the following learning outcomes at the level needed for admission to the bar, and for effective and ethical participation in the legal profession as an entry level attorney.

By the time of graduation each student will demonstrate the ability to:

understand key concepts in substantive law, legal theory, procedure, and legal practice
perform competent legal analysis and reasoning
demonstrate competence in other professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession
identify sources of fact and law, perform research, assess legal materials and evidence critically, and apply legal rules in a variety of legal and factual contexts
understand the importance of considering available options for dispute prevention and resolution
communicate effectively about legal matters, both orally and in writing, in objective and persuasive styles, to a variety of audiences
identify, frame and address legal problems from differing perspectives
collaborate effectively with others in a variety of legal contexts
understand the role and responsibility of laws, lawyers, and legal systems in achieving justice for society and individuals, including those who lack access to effective legal representation
apply knowledge of professional ethics to identify and address legal issues in representation of clients and performance of duties as an officer of the courts
apply professional judgment through self-reflection and conduct consistent with the legal profession's values and standards