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Academic Advising

Online Student Center

At St. John’s, the upper-level years are largely elective. Students are free to craft schedules that meet their professional, academic, and career goals. Nevertheless, students should ensure that they are meeting all of their degree requirements and that they are preparing themselves for the bar exam.

In this section, students will find general advice on putting together a course schedule. Although the Juris Doctor is a generalist degree, students should consider developing expertise in one or more career pathways bringing together coursework, advising, network-building, co-curricular activities, and experiential learning opportunities.

After consulting the resources on this site, students should contact Kristina Ebanks at [email protected] if they have further questions.

Student Handbook

General Advice for Building Your Upper-Level Schedule

The purpose of this guide is to provide a systematic overview of the upper-class J.D. curriculum at St. John’s in order to help students plan their academic programs. Students should supplement their reading of this guide by consulting members of the faculty and administration (including their Career Development Office counselor) about courses that suit their particular goals, needs, and career paths and by attending information sessions sponsored by the faculty and administration. Only two specific upper-class courses are required: Legal Research (1 cr.) (must be taken in Fall of 2L year) and Professional Responsibility (3 cr.)(must be taken prior to the final year of Law School). All other upper-class courses are elective.

There is no one approach to the selection of electives. Some students may wish to pursue a variety of courses across a wide spectrum, some may wish to confine their coursework primarily to fundamental areas, and others may wish to develop specialties. Regardless of the strategy students may take with respect to traditional courses and seminars, all are encouraged to consider the professional skills courses that will further the development of skills used in the practice of law.

One of the traditional hallmarks of legal education at St. John’s School of Law has been the preparation of graduates who are able to “hit the ground running” in almost any area of legal practice. Thus, the faculty believes each student’s program should include a critical mass of fundamental, or “core,” courses that will help the graduate to achieve competence as a well-rounded lawyer in an ever-changing legal environment.

Rather than require all students to take specified core courses, the Law School seeks to provide a balance between each student’s need for exposure to fundamental areas of law and flexibility in the pursuit of specialties and intellectual interests. To this end, students must take 5 out of the 6 courses* from the following list:

  • Administrative Law
  • Business Organizations
  • Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
  • Evidence
  • Taxation—Basic Federal Personal Income
  • Trusts and Estates

(*Those students who began at the Law School in August 2023 or later may also use Race and the Law(3 cr.) as one of their 5 necessary core elective courses)

These are courses the faculty has determined to be foundational to every lawyer. One thing all of the core electives have in common is that they are generally rigorous in nature and will thereby help students to continue the process, begun in first year, of refining their analytical legal skills and broadening their knowledge of fundamental legal doctrine and policy. Many of them also form the foundations to particular pathways. The inclusion of Business OrganizationsEvidenceTaxation—Basic Federal Personal Income, and Trusts and Estates in the group reflects the continuing view that a student will benefit by taking them, no matter what area of practice is pursued. Another characteristic shared by these four courses, in particular, is that each one involves material that is difficult to learn on one’s own, i.e., “on the job.” (Taxation, for example, is best learned in the classroom setting.) Administrative Law is on the list because of the pervasive influence of rule-making and adjudication by government agencies. Taxation—Basic Federal Personal Income is similarly pervasive across the spectrum of practice areas.

In order to achieve a balanced workload in their upper-class schedules, students are encouraged to spread their core electives over the four upper-class semesters (or six semesters in the case of evening students). For example, a day student would be well advised to complete 3 or 4 core electives by the end of the second year (end of third year for evening students). The most appropriate timing and sequence of electives will depend on the student’s individual career path and interests.

There are additional degree requirements depending on a student’s semester of matriculation. Consult the Student Handbook and the relevant graduation checklist under Academic Advising.

Beyond the core electives and other degree requirements, students should think strategically about the elective courses they choose. The increasing complexity of legal practice and the demands by clients of profession-readiness by lawyers have led to increased specialization in the legal community. As a result, students should consider developing expertise in one or more career pathways.

Throughout their academic career, students should seek out the advice of the faculty members and career counselors in their areas of interest for further guidance.

This guide was a collaborative effort among faculty, administrators, and career development counselors. We hope that students find it useful in charting their path to the profession.

(Students should take note that not all elective courses are offered annually. As with all aspects of the curriculum, the current program is subject to future modification.)

Advisement Reports

Student Advisement Reports (degree audits) powered by DegreeWorks is a web-based program that enables you to easily track your academic progress. Your advisement report will show which degree requirements have been met, which are in progress, and which are still outstanding. Additionally, information on advisement reports is “real-time” – accurate at the point in time the report is run. 

You may access your advisement report through signon.stjohns.edu.

Once logged in, click the “DegreeWorks” widget to access the Student Advisement Report. You can view previous reports, generate a new report, or complete a “What-If Analysis”.

Advisement reports are divided into different areas. For each area, the advisement report gives a GPA, which is calculated solely from the grades in that area. This GPA is accurate for the grades shown but is not an official GPA – it is for informational purposes only.

The “Excess Courses Not Applicable to This Degree” section at the bottom of the advisement report will show courses if you have more than the 89 credits required to complete your degree. You can ignore this section. Any courses listed in this section are included in your degree.

Note: The overall and program GPAs shown at the top of the advisement report include all grades in all courses taken.