The Doctor of Jurisprudence degree will be conferred upon candidates who complete, with the required average, six semesters of resident law study and who have 89 credit hours, including all required courses. Of the required 89 credit hours, no more than 18 credit hours may be earned in any combination of the following courses – LAW 947 , LAW 948 , LAW 949 , LAW 989 , LAW 992 , LAW 993 , LAW 994 , LAW 995 , LAW 996 , LAW 997 , LAW 998 , or LAW 999 , or up to 6 credit hours of non-law electives. The required average is 2.0 and that average must be maintained on the work of all six semesters and also for the combined work of the grading periods in which the last 28 credit hours taken in residence were earned. Averages are computed on weighted grades and rounded to one decimal point. Grades are awarded on a numerical scale (in increments of 0.1) from 0.0 to 4.3. No credit toward the JD degree is awarded for grades of 0.0 to 0.7. Law student grade point averages are reported on the official transcript rounded to one decimal place. Law school grade point averages are also rounded to one decimal place for determining academic honors and class rank.
To be eligible to receive the JD, candidates must earn at least 58 credit hours in residence at the College of Law. The course of study for the JD must be completed no earlier than 24 months and no later than 60 months after a student has commenced law study at the College of Law or a law school from which the college has accepted transfer credit.
Eligible law students may receive up to 6 credit hours toward the JD for acceptable performance (a grade of B or higher) in upper-level courses that materially contribute to the study of law and which are taken in other departments at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Course selection and registration are subject to guidelines approved by the law faculty which include the requirement that any such course be acceptable for credit toward a graduate degree in the department offering the course.
Refer to the Law Catalog and Student Handbook for current degree requirements.
Concentration in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution
Students interested in a concentration in advocacy and dispute resolution must complete the following courses
Second Year – LAW 813 , LAW 920 .
Third Year (one of the following) – LAW 905 , LAW 907 , LAW 908 , LAW 947 , or LAW 948 . The Dean or the Dean’s designee may designate other six-hour clinics or externships as satisfying this requirement.
During the second and third year, any combination totaling 12 credit hours from the following courses – LAW 821 , LAW 848 , LAW 854 , LAW 855 , LAW 856 , LAW 859 , LAW 877 , LAW 914 , LAW 915 , LAW 916 , LAW 918 , LAW 921 , LAW 922 , LAW 923 , LAW 924 , LAW 925 , LAW 926 , LAW 929 , LAW 930 , LAW 933 , LAW 945 , LAW 946 , LAW 949 , LAW 951 , LAW 953 , and LAW 990 *.
(*Only if approved by the Dean or Dean’s designee as satisfying the requirements of the concentration.)
Students electing a concentration in advocacy and dispute resolution may not take any of the above courses on a Satisfactory/No Credit basis.
Concentration in Business Transactions
Students interested in a concentration in business transactions must complete all of the following law courses.
LAW 818 - Fundamental Concepts of Income Taxation
LAW 826 - Introduction to Business Transactions *
LAW 827 - Business Associations
LAW 972 - Income Taxation of Business Organizations
LAW 940 - Land Finance Law
LAW 842 - Contract Drafting
In addition to the other requirements LAW 841 - Secured Transactions is required to complete the concentration in Business Transactions.
In addition to the other requirements, students must complete a capstone course. There are three capstone courses for the concentration, LAW 833 , LAW 937 , and LAW 978 , offered as instructors are available. To complete the concentration, a student must take at least one of the capstone courses and may take all three if they are offered and the student’s schedule allows.
*Course LAW 826 is not required for students who have an undergraduate major in accounting, finance, or business administration, who hold the MBA, or who are enrolled in the dual JD-MBA program. Waivers may also be granted to students who have acquired the requisite business knowledge through other course work or through practical experience.
Graduate Certificate, Contractual and Legal Affairs in Engineering and Construction, is offered jointly with College of Engineering (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
The graduate certificate in Contractual and Legal Affairs in Engineering and Construction is designed to (1) provide engineers and others who have a background in construction with a background in law, focusing on contract law, and (2) provide lawyers with a background in construction and engineering. Both of these fields have substantial overlap starting in the planning and contracting stages, continuing through project implementation and contract administration, and sometimes ending in formal dispute resolution proceedings. In such an environment, a broad range of knowledge in both fields is not only desirable; it may be critical to a firm or project’s success.
Application and Admission
The following four types of students are expected to participate in the certificate program: (i) law students with an interest in construction law, (ii) engineering students pursuing a doctorate degree (doctoral candidates), (iii) engineering students pursuing a master’s degree (master’s candidates), and (iv) students with a B.S. who are pursuing only the law and engineering certificate (“certificate candidates”). To this effect, applicants must meet the minimum admission requirements and be admitted to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Graduate School. The only academic prerequisite for the certificate program is a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university or college. The College of Law stipulates that law students seeking to pursue the Certificate must first obtain the approval of the Dean or the Dean’s Designee.
Curriculum
Completion of the certificate is obtained through completion of the following primary and secondary courses representing a total of 15 credit hours (after the prerequisite courses are satisfied):
Prerequisite courses:
Primary courses:
Secondary courses:
and one of the following:
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