• Academics
  • Academic Calendar
  • Curriculum
  • Courses
  • Books & Materials
  • Records & Registration
• Student Services
  • Financial Aid
  • Academic Success Program
  • Center for Professional Development
  • Student Insurance
• Student Life
  • Student Organizations
  • Orientation
• Policies & Codes
• FAQs

Curriculum

Coursework at Phoenix School of Law is designed to provide a solid understanding of the law along with the practical knowledge of a graduate who has been practicing for two years. Covered are the traditional disciplines of other law schools plus more practical coursework that makes students "practice ready." The curriculum is detailed below:

A. Required Courses

First Year Required Courses

Civil Procedure I and II, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Lawyering Process I and II, Property I and II, and Torts I and II.

Upper Division Required Courses

Business Associations, Commercial Law, Constitutional Law I and II, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Family Law/Community Property, General Practice Skills, Trusts and Estates, and Professional Responsibility. Students also must satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement by preparing a research paper in connection with a seminar, independent study, or approved course.

Strongly Recommended Courses

Administrative Law, Remedies, Alternative Dispute Resolution or Pretrial/Trial Advocacy, and Externship or Clinics.

Students must complete all first year required courses before taking any upper division courses. Part-time students following the sequencing for first year required courses below may in their fourth semester enroll in both the first year required courses and the upper division required course as indicated. The Required Course Sequence for full-time first year students and the Recommended Course Sequences for upper division students are available in the Registrar's Office.

B. Advanced Writing Requirement

PhoenixLaw requires as a condition for graduation that each student complete a substantial research paper (similar to a law review article suitable for publication) with a grade of B or better. Students may satisfy this graduation requirement in one of three ways:

1. A research paper in connection with an upper division course.

2. A research paper in connection with a faculty supervised independent study course.

3. A research and writing assignment for the Law Review.

Research papers must be supervised by a full-time faculty member.

C. Independent Study Courses

1. Students may receive credit for only one Independent Study Course, regardless of whether that independent study is completed in residence at PhoenixLaw or another institution. A student may satisfy the advanced writing requirement in a two credit-hour Independent Study Course.

2. The following students are not eligible for enrollment in an Independent Study Course:

• Those who have not yet completed at least 42 credit hours.
• Those with a cumulative grade point average less than 2.00.

3. To enroll, the student must (a) identify a full-time faculty member who agrees to supervise the student's study; (b) at least two weeks prior to the commencement of the semester in which the student proposes to do the independent study, submit an Independent Study form to the faculty member who has agreed to supervise the student's research; and (c) obtain the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs prior to registering for the independent study. When the faculty member accepts the student's proposal and the Associate Dean provides approval, the student may register for up to two credit hours for that semester.

4. The supervising faculty member will evaluate the work product of the student. The evaluation shall include the determination of the grade to be assigned and whether the Advanced Legal Writing Requirement has been satisfied.

5. A faculty member may supervise no more than three independent study students per semester.

D. Non-Course Credit

1. A student may enroll in and apply toward the course credit requirements up to 12 non-course credits. Non-course credits consist of clinics, externships, teaching assistant positions, law review, intramural moot court, moot court board and such extramural moot court programs and additional non-course activities as are approved by the faculty for non-course credit and so designated in the law school handbook or registration materials.

2. A student may be dropped from a non-course activity during the term if the faculty adviser determines that the student has missed an excessive number of meetings or otherwise failed to participate fully and effectively in the activity. Credit for a non-course activity shall be conferred on a pass/no credit basis by the faculty adviser designated by the Dean or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for that activity.

E. Clinics and Externships

Phoenix School of Law offers students in good academic standing, who have completed all the first-year required courses and any other specific course pre-requisites, an opportunity to participate in clinical programs and externships. Students may participate in externships with government agencies, federal and state trial and appellate courts, and not-for-profit agencies for which they may receive academic credit. Each clinic and externship includes a mandatory classroom component that provides the necessary link between the externship and the law curriculum. The Director of Clinics and the Director of Externships coordinate the administrative process and works with each student extern to enhance the placement process and maximize the learning experience.

Students who wish to participate in the externship program must meet the following prerequisites:

1. Successful completion of thirty or more academic hours and any prerequisites required by the particular field placement; and,
2. Overall cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or above.

Enrollment in clinics and externships may be limited. Placements will be made on the basis of credits successfully completed at the end of the semester prior to the student's application, as well as a consideration of the student's goals and objectives in seeking the clinic or externship assignment, grade point average, writing skills, interviews with the faculty adviser and/or judge or supervising attorney, and other qualifications as determined by the faculty adviser. In addition, priority will be given to those students who have not participated in the clinic or judicial externship programs in a prior semester.

F. Infusion Curriculum and Skills Training

The Infusion Curriculum and skills-training courses aim to expose students to "real-life" practice situations. Simulations and practical exercises are incorporated in a wide variety of courses to demonstrate how legal principles function and provide the students with an opportunity to learn and practice essential skills. Trial and appellate advocacy courses, and offerings in alternative dispute resolution, are primary sources of skills-training. Co-curricular activities, such as moot court competitions, provide enhanced opportunities for skills development.