First Year Classes | 2L & 3L Requirements | Concentrations | Concurrent Degrees
The Oregon Law curriculum is designed to build the analytical and practical skills necessary to be activists, advocates, and leaders in our communities.
JD Degree
1L (First Year) Courses
During the first year, students complete a required core curriculum. These courses are designed to develop the analytical, research, and writing skills you will need to successfully study and practice law.
- Contracts
- Torts
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law I
- Property
- Criminal Law
- Legal Research & Writing
- Career and Professional Planning
First year classes tend to consist of approximately 70 students. Faculty will often encourage you to engage in thoughtful participation and critical thinking utilizing the Socratic method.
UO Law Grading System
UO Law follows, with some minor variations, the UO grading system.
Successive Degree Requirements
Experiential Learning
During your studies, you must complete six credit hours in one or more experiential courses. These opportunities blend the theoretical nature of the law school classroom with the pragmatic nature of legal practice through field placements, law clinics, and simulation courses. Become practice-ready.
Writing
Effective writing is essential to the successful practice of law, and all Oregon Law students must complete a rigorous faculty-supervised writing experience demonstrating extensive research and analysis. This requirement may be met through one of many credit-bearing courses offered each semester, through independent study with a supervising member of the faculty, or through a publishable note or comment in one of the law school’s journals. [We encourage you to explore our Legal Research and Writing Program.]
Constitutional Law
All students are required to complete Constitutional Law II. This 3-credit course is an in-depth study of the guarantees of individual rights in the United States Constitution, especially freedom of expression and equal protection of the law.
Legal Profession
All students must complete a 3-credit course on the legal profession. In this course you will examine the relationship between professional responsibility and zealous advocacy, preparing you to navigate any ethical dilemmas that arise in the practice of law.
Diversity Requirement
A cornerstone of our law school’s mission is the belief that legal education must incorporate a global perspective and recognize the need to interact sensitively and effectively with a diversity of people. All Oregon Law students must complete at least one elective course designated by the curriculum committee as including substantive content relating to legal history, structural inequality, discrimination, cultural context, or cultural competency.
Time to Degree
Our juris doctor degree is a 3-year, full-time course of study consisting of at least 85 credit hours.
Concentrations
Oregon Law offers a number of concentrations. Concentrations are optional paths of academic study that result in substantial competency in your chosen area of focus. Each concentration has specific requirements and results in an education that sets you ahead of your peers and demonstrates commitment to this area of practice.
You can explore our concentration programs:
Concurrent Degrees
While pursuing your JD, you have the additional option of concurrently pursuing one of nine master’s programs, which include business, community and regional planning, conflict and dispute resolution, environmental studies, international studies, journalism, public administration, and water resources.