Graduation Requirements

J.D. Students must confirm all graduation requirements are met. A Graduation Degree Audit Worksheet is available to students prior to submitting the Graduation Application. Students are encouraged to contact Enrollment Services at 973-642-8502 for help in confirming all requirements are met.

---

Standards for J.D. Graduation

1. A grade point average of 2.0.
    
2. Satisfactory Completion of 88 credits of Academic Work.
   1. Definition of Completed Credits. Completed credits include all credits earned with a grade of D or better, except as described in Section 2.b.
   2. Not more than 10 credits may be completed with a grade of D or D+. Any credit with a D or D+ in excess of 10 must be offset by an additional credit with a grade of C- or better. For example: A student who has 13 credits of D or D+ out of 88 total credits must complete an additional 3 credits with grades of C- or higher to graduate (91 credits total).
   3. Credits with an F grade do not count towards the necessary 88 completed credits. Any credit with an F grade is not a completed credit for purposes of the graduation requirements.
3. Total Number of Attempted Credits. No student may attempt more than 98 credits of academic work, including retaken courses. A course from which a student withdraws with administrative approval does not count as an attempted course. Credits for which an F is earned do count as attempted credits. Notwithstanding the above, any student who is involuntarily withdrawn or who withdraws, with or without approval, from more than twenty credits will be automatically dismissed.
    
4. Time for Completion of Credits. All credits must be completed within a one-year period following completion of the semester in which the 88th credit was first attempted.
    
5. Effect of Repeated Courses on Completed Credits, GPA Calculations, Academic Standing, and Graduation Requirements.
   1. Repeating Courses. A student who receives an F in a required course must repeat the course and earn a satisfactory grade.¹ A student may repeat a course because of a grade of F, D or D+ (hereinafter “the original grade”). A student may also be required to repeat a course if on academic probation.
   2. Effect of Repeated Course Grade on Completed Credits Calculation for Graduation. A student who repeats a course and receives a grade of B- or better is not charged with the credits originally taken towards the accumulation of credits of D or D+, as described in Section 2. For example: A student who earns a B- in a 4-credit repeated course after having accumulated 12 credits of D or D+ grades would then have 8 credits of D or D+ for purposes of the graduation requirements.
   3. Effect of Repeated Course Grade on Graduation Requirements. The original grade is not deleted from the student's academic record and will continue to be included in calculating the student's GPA for purposes of applying Section 1 of the graduation requirements. If the repeated course grade is a C+, C, or C-, Section 2 governs the effect of the original grade on the completed credits requirement.
6. A student may not count the same course twice towards graduation requirements. 

• Graduation Eligibility

  In order to be considered eligible for graduation, and thus bar certifiable, any and all debts must be satisfied to Seton Hall University School of Law. No degree will be awarded, or diploma issued, to any student who has an outstanding balance on his/her account, nor will certification be made to any board of bar examiners until the balance is paid in full. Full time students must pay tuition for six full time semesters. Part time students must pay tuition for eight part time semesters.

• Residency Requirement

  All students must meet the Law School's residency requirements in order to be certified for graduation.

  1. A full-time student must be in residence for at least six semesters with a minimum of twelve credits each semester.
  2. A part-time student must be in residence for at least eight semesters with a minimum of eight credits each semester.

• Conditional Graduation

  Any J.D. student who is shy of three or less elective credits after completion of the spring semester may seek conditional graduation status. Conditional graduation, for all intents and purposes, means that a student may attend the Commencement Exercises provided that he or she completes all degree requirements during the subsequent Summer Session. The student will then receive a degree certification date of August. Any student seeking conditional graduation must submit a Request for Conditional Graduation to the Faculty Chair of the Graduation Committee by the last day of classes in his or her final semester. A written explanation must accompany the application outlining his or her academic status. After the Committee reviews the applicant's request, and any associated academic information, the student will be notified by the Dean of Students as to whether he or she is eligible to participate in the graduation ceremony.

  There is no conditional graduation for LL.M. or M.S.J. students.

• Class Ranks

  Class ranks are computed at the end of each semester (Fall and Spring) and at graduation for JD students. Ranks are calculated throughout law school within each class and division. Ranks are not computed for either LLM or MSJ students.

• Honors

  The following honors are awarded each year to students at the School of Law’s Commencement Ceremony.

  1. Summa Cum Laude (Top 1% overall GPA)
  2. Magna Cum Laude (Top 10% overall GPA)
  3. Cum Laude (Top 25% overall GPA)

  Students with the top 10% overall GPA may also be eligible to become members of the Order of the Coif, a national honors society.

• Order of the Coif

  The Order of the Coif is an honorary scholastic society the purpose of which is to encourage excellence in legal education by fostering a spirit of careful study, recognizing those who as law students attained a high grade of scholarship, and honoring those who as lawyers, judges and teachers attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments.

Limit on Skills and Self Directed Work Credits

Graduation Degree Audit / Worksheet for Students

Graduation Application

For more information, please contact Enrollment Services at 973-642-8502.

---

1. A list of required courses is available at https://catalogue.shu.edu/graduate/seton-hall-university-school-law/juris-doctor/#plannertext. For purposes of an AWR, the student need not take the same AWR; the student must receive a satisfactory grade in any AWR course.