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J.D. Degree Requirements
To receive a J.D. degree, a student must:- Satisfactorily complete 90 semester hours within four years as a full-time student, or six years as a part-time student. Extra time may be given, by the Law Center's Associate Dean for Student Life, for disabilities, prolonged illness, military service, or other compelling circumstances.
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 for all courses in which a grade is earned.
- Complete all courses as required.
- If full time, complete 90 full weeks of residency; if part time, the student must complete 120 weeks.
- Complete the senior writing requirement through either a law seminar paper (with a grade of "C" or better), or successful preparation of one comment or two case notes for the Houston Law Review or the Houston Journal of International Law.
- Complete a course in Professional Responsibility with a passing grade.
- Complete other requirements of the university and the Law Center as listed in this catalog.
Doctor of Jurisprudence Program
Full-Time Students – First Year
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| Contracts I | 3 | |
| Procedure I | 4 | |
| Property I | 3 | |
| Torts I | 3 | |
| Legal Research | 2 | |
| Total | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | Hours | |
| Contracts II | 3 | |
| Constitutional Law | 4 | |
| Criminal Law | 3 | |
| Property II | 2 | |
| Torts II | 2 | |
| Legal Writing | 2 | |
| Total | 16 | |
Part-Time Students – First Year
| Summer | Hours | |
| Civil Procedure | 4 | |
| Criminal Law | 3 | |
| Total | 7 | |
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| Legal Research | 2 | |
| Torts I | 3 | |
| Contracts I | 3 | |
| Total | 8 | |
| Spring Semester | Hours | |
| Legal Writing | 2 | |
| Torts II | 2 | |
| Contracts II | 3 | |
| Total | 7 | |
Part-Time Students – Second Year
| Summer I | Hours | |
| Property I | 3 | |
| Summer IV | Hours | |
| Property II | 2 | |
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| Constitutional Law | 4 | |
| Electives | 6 | |
| Total | 10 | |
The order of classes that part-time students take is subject to change. In addition to the foregoing, all students must satisfactorily complete a course in professional responsibility and all students must satisfy a senior research and writing requirement.