Independent Study and Research Credit
- Independent Study. Students may take no more than three credits of independent study toward their Juris Doctor degrees. A J.D. student also enrolled in the LL.M. program may take for credit not more than four credits of independent study. Based on academic merit and with the affirmative support of the involved faculty member, one additional credit, but no more, may be allowed by the Administrative Committee upon petition by the student, taking into consideration whatever specific recommendation or institutional concerns the Dean's office may wish to present. Students enrolled in the one-year LL.M. program may take for credit not more than three credits of independent study as described under Rule 2-3. All independent study that is taken for credit must be approved by a member of the faculty. The student shall submit as the end product of independent study a paper of the kind generally submitted in seminars, which shall be evaluated by such member of the faculty, at his or her discretion, either according to the Law School’s numerical grading scale or on a credit/no credit basis [see Rule 3-1(3)(a)], and shall be subject to the rules regarding submission of papers and incomplete course work [see Rules 3-17 & 3-18]. Students may not complete any required courses for any of the Law School's degrees through independent research [see Rules 2-1, 2-2, & 2-3]. Any proposals for independent research supervised by faculty other than members of the governing faculty, which, for this purpose, includes full-time visiting faculty and emeritus faculty, must first be approved by the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
- Ad Hoc Seminars. A group of five or more students other than first-year students may plan, conduct, and take for not more than two credits their own ad hoc research and seminar program. The sponsoring students shall submit to the Dean, at least two months before the end of the semester preceding the semester for which the proposed program is projected, a written prospectus containing a syllabus and a list of required readings for such a program. The Dean shall then seek from a knowledgeable member of the Faculty an assessment of the academic merit and the feasibility of the proposal, and if that assessment is favorable, the Dean may, at his or her discretion, approve the proposal and designate a member of the Faculty to observe and supervise the conduct of the program and to grade student performance. Each participating student must submit a paper of the kind generally produced in seminars. The papers shall be evaluated by the supervising faculty, at his or her discretion, either according to the Law School’s numerical grading scale or on a credit/no credit basis. [See Rule 3-1(3)(b).]
- Research Tutorials. The Curriculum Committee is authorized to approve Research Tutorials on a year-by-year basis. The credit assigned may be as much as four credits. Enrollment may be limited to as few as eight students to be selected by the instructor. Approval of such Research Tutorials will imply an obligation on the instructor and the enrolled students to produce a substantial body of publishable scholarship. The papers shall be evaluated by the supervising faculty, at his or her discretion, either according to the Law School’s numerical grading scale or on a credit/no credit basis. [See Rule 3-1(3)(b); see also Rule 3-25(2) & (4) regarding Externship Tutorials.]
Revised August 2007