Degree Requirements
The law school requires all J.D. candidates to earn 90 credit hours to complete the degree. For students enrolled in the J.D./M.A. program, the law school will accept 9 credit hours earned from approved courses in the master's program in Indigenous Studies toward the J.D. requirements. Students in the joint degree program should note that while the School of Law requires a 2.0 grade point average in J.D. course work to remain in good standing and graduate, the Graduate School requires a 3.0 grade point average for all courses counting toward the M.A. in the Indigenous Studies portion of the degree.
The master's program in ISP requires all candidates to earn 30 graduate credit hours. The master's program will accept for credit toward the M.A. degree 12 credit hours earned from approved courses in the law school. The required Indigenous Studies core course is ISP 800: Indigenous Issues in the United States (3).
In addition to the core course, ISP 800: Indigenous Issues in the United States, students are to complete 18 hours in their area of specialization. Students have the option to write a thesis or present a portfolio as the capstone to their degree. Students choosing the portfolio option will be required to take 9 elective hours, while students who select the thesis are required to take 6 elective hours and 3 hours of thesis.
Students may use 6 law hours toward satisfying their Indigenous Studies specialization requirement and apply the balance of the 12 law hours for which they may receive master's credit (see below) toward their master's electives.
Sequencing of Courses
Students who have been admitted to both programs and intend to pursue the joint degree program must complete the first 29 credits of required courses in the J.D. program. After the completion of these 29 hours, course enrollment in either program or both concurrently is permitted.
| Law Courses that Will Count Toward the Master's Degree | |
|---|---|
| Students may apply a maximum of 12 hours of law electives toward their master's degree from the following courses: | |
| Course | Credit hours |
| LAW 987 Sovereignty, Self-Determination, and the Indigenous Nations (ISP 883) | 3 |
| LAW 914 Federal Indian Law (ISP 824) | 3 |
| LAW 879 Comparative Law (ISP 876) | 3 |
| LAW 975 Public Lands and Natural Resources (ISP 877) | 3 |
| LAW 995 Water Law | 3 |
| LAW 967 Native American Natural Resources (ISP 882) | 3 |
| LAW 974 Public International Law | 3 |
| LAW ___ Special Topics in American Indian Law (courses taught on occasion, such as Indian Gaming) | 3 |
| LAW 998 Tribal Judicial Support Clinic | 2-3 |
| Master's Courses That Will Count Toward the J.D. |
|---|
| Students may apply 9 credit hours of master’s work toward their J.D. degree from the following courses: |
| ANTH 562 Mexamerica (LAA 302 / LAA 602) |
| ANTH 603 Shamanism Past and Present |
| ANTH 775 Seminar Cultural Anthropology: Indigenous Development Latin America (LAA 602) |
| GEOG 570 Geography of American Indians |
| GEOG 571 Topics: Indigenous Cartographies |
| HIST 890 Colloquium American History 1492-1800 |
| ISP 601/801 Indigenous Peoples of the World |
| ISP 614 Decolonizing Narratives |
| ISP 800 Indigenous Issues in the United States |
| ISP 804 Seminar: Issues in the Study of Native American Religious Traditions (REL 775 / AMS 998) |
| POLS 684 International Law: State & Individual (GIST 750 / GIST 501) |
| UBPL 773 Environmental Planning Implementation |
J.D. Requirements
All candidates for the J.D. must complete the following required courses:
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| Course | Credit hours |
| Law 804 Civil Procedure | 4 |
| Law 806 Intro. to Constitutional Law | 4 |
| Law 809 Contracts | 4 |
| Law 814 Criminal Law | 4 |
| Law 820 Lawyering Skills I | 2 |
| Law 821 Lawyering Skills II | 3 |
| Law 826 Property | 4 |
| Law 831 Torts I | 4 |
| Upper Class | |
| 3 courses from among the following: | |
| Law 865 Business Associations I | 3 |
| Law 892 Business Organizations | 4 |
| Law 881 Conflict of Laws | 3 |
| Law 878 Criminal Procedure | 3 |
| Law 909 Family Law | 3 |
| Law 845 Jurisdiction | 3 |
| Law 837 Contracts II/ UCC Sales | 3 |
| Law 873 Commercial Law: Secured Transactions | 3 |
| Law 996 Trusts and Estates | 4 |
| AND | |
| Law 908 Evidence | 3 |
| Law 972 Professional Responsibility | 2 |
In addition to all J.D./M.A. program course requirements, students must satisfy the Upper-Level Writing Intensive requirements and the Experiential course requirements in the School of Law. Please refer to the current School of Law catalog for details.
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