II. Graduation Requirements

A student admitted to the School of Law must earn credit for courses totaling 90 hours with an overall grade point average of 2.30 or better (Revised 4/14/2011) in order to receive the J.D. degree, subject to the following conditions:

1. A student must earn credit for all required courses and a course satisfying the policy and perspectives requirement, set out in Appendix C, and must satisfy the upper-level writing requirement. A student who matriculates at the law school after July 1, 2014 must satisfy the upper-level research requirement, set out in Appendix B.
2. A student must earn at least 60 hours in courses at this law school. (Revised 5/13/2013)
3. Not more than 25 percent of the credit earned in law courses in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and presented to meet the requirements for the degree may be of grades from 1.7 through 2.2. (Revised 1/24/2012)
4. Not more than ten of the hours presented for graduation shall represent credit for “co-curricular” activities; e.g., Law Review, Independent Study, Moot Court Travel Team, Trial Competition Travel Team, externships, or other similar activities designated as co-curricular by the curriculum committee. (Revised: 5/11/09, 5/9/14)
5. Not more than ten of the credit hours presented for graduation may have been earned in courses assessed on a pass/fail (or credit/no credit) basis, except for credit earned in Law Review. (Revised 5/11/2015; 4/11/2016)
6. A student who matriculated at the law school after September 1, 2017, must have attended mandatory first week sessions or applied for and received an exemption from the Associate Dean. (Revised 3/12/18) 

A student must complete the Child Maltreatment Mandatory Reporter training required by Arkansas Code Annotated § 6-61-133 (2007). The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is responsible for insuring that the child maltreatment training is provided at the Law School. (Adopted: 4/11/14)

Students shall be eligible for an honors designation based on cumulative grade point average as follows:

a)      Summa Cum Laude – 3.70 and above

b)      Magna Cum Laude – 3.50 to 3.6999

c)      Cum Laude – 3.30 to 3.4999

(Adopted 10/4/2013)

1. All degree candidates must complete the prescribed course of study

a) In residence,

b) With not fewer than 58,000 minutes of instruction time, and

c) Extending over not fewer than six academic semesters. (Revised 5/11/09)

2. To receive residence credit for an academic semester, a student shall be enrolled for not fewer than eight credit hours.

a) To graduate in six semesters a student shall be enrolled in each semester for not fewer than ten credit hours and must receive credit for nine credit hours.

b) If a student fails to receive credit for the specified number of hours, the student may receive residence credit only in the ratio that the hours enrolled in or in which credit was received, as the case may be, bear to the minimum specified.

c) Pro rata residence credit will be awarded for study during a summer session on a basis that fairly apportions a student’s effort to the usual residence period.

3. A student may graduate in fewer than six academic semesters by earning not more than one semester of residence credit for taking summer courses if the student

a) Meets the class minute requirements stated above, and

b) Meets the employment limitations.

c) As applied to the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, a student must:

(1) attend law school for at least 5 semesters and 2 summer sessions, and

(2) earn at least 10 credit hours during summer sessions, not including co-curricular credits, and

(3) earn at least 2 credit hours during each summer session.

Students must complete their degree requirements within seven years after first enrolling, except that students who are readmitted to law school and begin their studies anew pursuant to Rule V C (Exclusion and Readmission) must complete their degree requirements within seven years of the date they begin their studies anew. (Revised: 9/9/04; 5/11/09)