Law - Juris Doctor (JD)

Degree Requirements

Admission applications for the Pitt Law JD program will be accepted starting September 1 through our deadline of April 1. Applications are considered only for the current year for the fall semester. We require all applicants submit their applications on-line through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).  Pitt Law is highly competitive and decisions are based upon many factors.  Once your application is complete, our Admissions Committee will review your application. Once we are able to make a decision, you will be notified by mail within several weeks.  You can also verify your application status on-line with a user name and password, which will be sent to you electronically once you apply.  We ask for your patience during the admissions cycle as it can become very busy during key times of the year. 

Application Requirements:

• Applicants must submit a $65 application fee
• Applicants must have completed a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States before the first day of law school.
• In cases where an applicant has completed studies outside the United States, the requirement is education deemed by the University of Pittsburgh to be comparable to a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Click here for more information
• When evaluating an undergraduate degree, the committee pays careful attention to the strength of the major field of study, as evidenced by the courses listed on the undergraduate transcript. Pitt Law is looking for applicants who have demonstrated the discipline and ability to handle a rigorous and demanding program. The admissions committee carefully evaluates graduate work and professional experience, although utilizes the undergraduate GPA.
• Applicants are required to register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) through LSAC and must take the LSAT. If an applicant takes the LSAT more than one time the highest score is considered by the admissions committee when making a decision. The latest test score that will be considered for all entrance is the score from the previous February examination. Scores from tests taken more than four years prior to the current admissions year will not be considered. More information can be obtained from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).
• A required personal statement gives the committee a view into the non-academic world of the applicant and serves as the interview. This is critical in our ability to enroll a diverse class. We ask that you keep your personal statement to no more than two pages, typed, double spaced.
• Letters of recommendation play an equally important role in this process as they can reveal the strengths of the academic achievements of the applicant. We recommend three letters, although none are required. Letters should be submitted through the LSAC letter of recommendation service.
• We encourage applicants to submit a Resume, as they highlight for the admissions committee a broader view of your achievements.
• In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction.  Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction.  Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

In order to graduate, a student pursuing a JD must complete 88 credits, including the following:

• A prescribed first-year curriculum, as follows: Contracts, Criminal Law, Legislation and Regulation, Torts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Property, and Legal Analysis and Writing, as well as attendance at a minimum of five programs (for students entering Fall 2019 or later) or six programs (for students entering before Fall 2019) in the Pitt Law Academy speaker series
• The upper-level writing requirement
• A course in Legal Profession
• Six credits in a course designated as satisfying the professional skills requirement
• The one-credit Foundations of Legal Research course
• A course designated as satisfying the international/comparative law requirement
• A course designated as satisfying the writing (“W”) requirement

Additional graduation requirements apply for those students whose grade point averages place them in the bottom 15% of their class at the end of their first or second year. The upper-level writing requirement and other academic requirements are described in the Academic Rules and Graduation sections of the School of Law’s web site.

Note

For detailed term-specific course descriptions, please go to the Schedule of Classes Course Lists on the Law School web site.

First-Year Curriculum

The first-year curriculum is comprised of the following required courses, as well as attendance at a minimum of five programs (for students entering Fall 2019 or later) or six programs (for students entering before Fall 2019) in the Pitt Law Academy:

• Fall:

• LAW 5020 - CONTRACTS
• LAW 5046 - CRIMINAL LAW
• LAW 5720 - LEGAL ANALYSIS AND WRITING
• LAW 5032 - LEGISLATION AND REGULATION
• LAW 5028 - TORTS

• Spring:

• LAW 5033 - CIVIL PROCEDURE
• LAW 5101 - CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
• LAW 5076 - LEGAL ANALYSIS AND WRITING
• LAW 5024 - PROPERTY

• Year Long Program

• LAW 5061 - PITT LAW ACADEMY

John P. Gismondi Concentration in Civil Litigation (15-20 Credits)

Through its unique John P. Gismondi Concentration in Civil Litigation, PittLaw provides law students with a unique curriculum devoted exclusively to training the trial lawyers of tomorrow.

During the first year of law school, all students take the same courses. Those students who wish to register for the Gismondi Concentration in Civil Litigation, do so at the beginning of their second year of law school. During their second and third years, all students enrolled in the Concentration will take certain required foundational core courses, a clinic or practicum, as well as a number of specialized classes. The heart of the Gismondi program is a collection of specialized courses taught exclusively by a preeminent group of practicing trial attorneys whose insight and experience offer an invaluable perspective in the classroom. Together with our core courses, these select courses provide a level and depth of litigation training unlike that available at most any other law school.

In each of these specialized skills courses, class size is kept small so as to enrich the learning experience. Students not only are taught legal rules and principles in a typical lecture format, but more importantly, they are assigned to “role play” in a variety of real world litigation scenarios, each designed to develop specific skills which are essential to successful trial work.

Students complete their training by taking a required litigation skills clinic or practicum selected from this group of options: Elder Law Clinic, Health Law Clinic, Tax Clinic, Immigration Clinic,  Environmental Law Clinic,  Securities Arbitration Clinic,  PA Practice Practicum, Lawyering III Clinic, Criminal Prosecution Practicum, Criminal Defense Practicum or Family Law Clinic. In all of these clinics, students have the potential of representing real clients in actual court proceedings.

The students in the John P. Gismondi Civil Litigation Certificate Program will complete their law school education having developed a set of skills which better prepares them to do courtroom work than traditional law school graduates, and that advantage, in turn, makes the Gismondi certificate students more attractive to law firms seeking to hire young and enthusiastic litigation associates.