Taking a Class Outside the Law School

Under College of Law rules, students may take work in other law schools and in other graduate programs to satisfy degree requirements of the College of Law. The purpose of this College policy is to enable you to enrich your legal studies in specially tailored ways. Generally speaking, you may take a maximum of eight semester credit hours outside the law school.

When pursuing studies outside of the College of Law, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• During a registration period and prior to the start of the course you wish to take, you must request permission by filling out the form below and submitting it to the Registrar. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will review these forms and determine if credits will be eligible for transfer to the College of Law in satisfaction of our degree requirements.
• Courses taught online at other law schools or graduate programs are not eligible for credit at the College of Law.
• You may take a maximum of eight semester credit hours outside the law school. Don’t forget, you may only take a total of 18 hours per semester including any courses taken outside the law school.
• Undergraduate courses are generally not eligible for credit at the College of Law.
• In order to receive credit for an approved course taken outside the law school, you must receive a grade of “C” or better. However, only the credit transfers, not your grade in the course. If you receive a lower grade, the class will appear on your transcript with a grade of “U.”
• After the course is completed, you must provide an official copy of your transcript regarding the course to the College of Law Registrar by the deadline for preparing College of Law transcripts. For courses taken in other programs at the University of Cincinnati, a campus copy of the transcript may be submitted.
• If the approved course was taught in a quarter hour format, the Registrar will convert the quarter credit hours to semester credit hours.

In order to receive credit for work completed at another law school, the other law school must be accredited by the American Bar Association ‐ Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and be a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Eligible courses may not duplicate courses offered at the College of Law. Courses taken at other law schools retain their character as classroom credit hours or non‐classroom credit hours when they are accepted in satisfaction of degree requirements at the College of Law.

The process for taking course work at NKU Chase College of Law is the same as outlined in Section A. In addition, if you wish to take advantage of the consortium arrangement, you must obtain a consortium form from the Registrar. Submit it to the Registrar to have it signed by the Associate Dean.

The consortium arrangement may also be available with other law schools and graduate programs. Ask the Registrar if you have questions about this.

Students may take courses in another graduate program to satisfy degree requirements at the College of Law. Eligible courses may not duplicate courses offered at the College of Law. The requesting student must state a reasonable relationship between the course and his or her legal studies.

Graduate credit hours are considered non‐classroom credits unless you are enrolled in a joint degree program.

Students who wish to pursue a joint degree are subject to special rules. Please schedule an appointment with the Associate Dean if you are interested in a joint degree program.

Students may study abroad in an ABA‐approved, semester‐long program or they may design a customized program. The ABA has special criteria for approval of academic credit which the College of Law must implement. Because preparation for studying abroad can take a great deal of time, students wishing to study abroad for academic credit are advised to seek approval to enroll in foreign institutions well in advance of the period of study. Approval of the full faculty is necessary. Students who wish to pursue this option should make an appointment with the Associate Dean to review ABA and College approval requirements.

Students who wish to study abroad in a fall semester should meet with the Associate Dean by the preceding February 1 to start the process. Students who wish to study abroad in a spring semester should meet with the Associate Dean by the preceding September 1 to start the process.

The College of Law wishes all students to achieve the following educational objectives when pursuing study at a foreign institution:

1. To enable students to examine legal issues from different geo‐political perspectives;
2. To expose students to the historical development of law in varying cultural settings;
3. To offer students a comparative law experience and a wider selection of international course work;
4. To introduce students to the operation of law in different countries.

Students may take graduate and undergraduate courses without receiving law credit. You must use the form below to request permission and the total credits for the semester in which the course is taken (including the non law school credit) may not exceed 18.