The academic program at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law begins with a structured curriculum of required courses for the first several semesters, with the opportunity for elective courses later in each student's academic career. The structure of the required curriculum differs depending on the division in which the student is enrolled.
Full-Time Day Division
Students enrolled in the full-time Day program typically complete degree requirements in six semesters over a three-year period. During the first year, full-time Day Division students must take the required curriculum. Prior to enrollment, students are assigned at random to a first-year section of about 25-35 students. Students take one course (either Contracts, Civil Procedure, Torts, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law I, or Property) with their section. Students take this small section course in either the fall or the spring semester of first year. In addition, students have a small section of Lawyering I during their fall semester.
First-year, Day Division students take 16 credits of required classes during the fall semester, with meetings typically Monday through Friday between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., except on Friday when classes seldom are scheduled to meet later than 3:00 p.m. In the spring semester, day division students take 13 credits of required courses and an elective for three credits. After the first year, Day Division students register for up to 17 credits in each semester, completing the required courses and selecting from a wide array of electives to develop a program which meets their academic interests and prepares them to achieve their career goals. After the first year, day students may enroll in evening division electives on a space-available basis, with the understanding that evening students have enrollment priority for courses taught during the evening. After the first year in the Full-Time Day Division, tuition is billed on a per credit basis. First year students enrolled in 13 or more credit hours are not permitted to work at all during the school year, except with permission from the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, on a case-by-case basis during the second semester only. Students must satisfactorily complete a total of 85 credits to be eligible for graduation.
Day Division
First Year Fall Semester (Total Credits: 16):
First Year Spring Semester (Total Credits: 16):
Second Year Fall Semester
Prior to Graduation
Evening Division
The four-year evening program is designed for those who wish to obtain their legal education while working full time or who have other obligations during the day. Students in the evening program take required courses during the first four semesters and choose from a limited number of electives during the fourth semester. After completion of the fourth semester, students plan their schedules based on the range of electives offered in the evening division and take courses scheduled in the day if their schedule permits. In addition, evening division students must take Advanced Legal Research, fulfill the Advanced Writing (“cert”) requirement, and fulfill the experiential learning requirement. During the first four semesters, evening division students take 10 credits per semester. After the first four semesters, evening students typically register for 10 or 11 credits in each semester, which may result in students attending two, three or four nights per week. After the third semester, evening students may enroll in day division electives, although day division students have priority. Evening courses are generally scheduled Monday through Thursday beginning at 6:30 pm, but evening students often take late afternoon "twilight" courses as early as 4:20 p.m., as well. Evening students have enrollment priority for courses taught during the evening. Evening and day students have equal priority for “twilight” courses.
Evening students may elect to take some classes during the summer term. Summer term classes are generally scheduled Monday through Thursday beginning at 6:00 p.m.
To facilitate the building of the evening division community, first and second year evening students will take some classes together.
Evening division students pay a flat rate tuition during their first two years (fall and spring semesters only) and thereafter pay tuition on a per credit basis. Summer session tuition is always billed on a per credit basis. A student who has completed two years in the Part-Time Evening Division may, after the second year, enroll in any number of credits up to a maximum of 17 credits thereafter.
A student who has completed the first year in the Part-Time Evening Division may request permission to transition to the Day Division. The implications of changing to the Day Division after one year in the Evening Division are described on the Request to Transition from 1E to 2D. Among other constraints, students must complete the remaining required 2E courses in the evening.
The schedule for the fall 2020 incoming class in years one and two will be as follows:
First Year Fall 2020 Semester (Total Credits: 10):
- Civil Procedure (4 credits)
- Criminal Law (3 credits)
- Lawyering I (2 credits)
- Introduction to Legal Research (1 credit)
First Year Spring 2021 Semester (Total Credits: 10):
- Property (4 credits)
- Legal Profession (3 credits)
- Lawyering II (3 credits)
Second Year Fall 2021 Semester (Total Credits: 10):
- Contracts(four credits)
- Constitutional Law I (3 credits)
- Lawyering III (3 credits)
Second Year Spring 2022 Semester(Total Credits: 10):
- Torts (4 credits)
- Constitutional Law II (3 credits)
- Elective (3 credits) (menu of options)
Prior to Graduation
