SCU uses Workday for student registration. For inquiries regarding School of Law registration and class changes, including use of the Workday system, consult the Student Services Office.
Academic Calendar
Please refer to the academic calendar. LINK
Course Credit
Students must be officially registered in any course or clinical program to receive credit. Academic credit for courses and individual research is given during regular academic semesters only. Students who register for academic credit in a course and do not formally withdraw before the last day of the semester or summer session in which the course was taken shall be liable for tuition and may receive a failing grade. As used here, the word “course” is meant in its most inclusive sense and refers to classes, seminars, clinical research projects, and any other undertakings in which a student is registered for academic credit.
Course Loads
First-year students must take the full schedule of courses prescribed by the faculty. Second- and third-year students must enroll in no fewer than 8 and no more than 17 units in both the fall and spring semesters of each academic year. Students enrolling in no fewer than 8 and no more than 11 units during a semester are part-time students during that semester. Students enrolling in no fewer than 12 and no more than 17 units are full-time students during that semester.
Time Conflicts
Students may not register for courses if meeting times overlap in whole or in part. SCU does not allow even a five-minute overlap.
Adding Classes
- Students may add classes through the last day of the add/drop period.
- Some classes require instructor or dean approval to enroll and may be added only with the necessary approval signatures or permission number. Some classes have special enrollment procedures as noted on the registration materials. Students should add these courses at any time after the initial registration period, but no later than the last day of the add/drop period.
- The law school has established wait list procedures for adding closed classes. Students must follow these procedures and should not seek instructor approval for adding a class.
- For late adds use the Late Registration form available from the Student Services Office. Students will be required to pre-pay for any units added after the add/drop period.
Dropping Classes
- Students may drop upper-division courses without professor approval through the fourth week of the semester. It is the student’s responsibility to know the tuition and fee refund provisions.
- After the fourth week of the semester, students may drop a class only with the professor’s signature and the approval of the senior assistant dean for student services. Add/drop forms are available from the Student Services Office.
- After the 10th week of the semester, students may drop a class for good cause shown and only with the permission of the senior assistant dean for student services. The cause need not be grave, but it should not appear to the dean that the student is dropping the class for an inappropriate reason.
- During the last week of classes, the senior assistant dean will give permission to drop a course only upon a student’s written petition documenting reasons why taking the scheduled exam or requesting a delayed exam would impose an undue and unforeseen hardship on the student.
- After the last class day of the semester, but before and up to the date of the regularly scheduled final exam, all requests to drop a course are referred to the dean or the dean’s delegate. The dean will grant permission to drop a class after classes have ended, but before the scheduled exam only after consultation with the instructor and only for extraordinary circumstances.
- Students may not drop a class after the regularly scheduled final exam is administered. In the case of courses requiring a paper or other non-exam requirement, students may not drop the class after the last day of classes.
- First-year students may not drop classes except in extraordinary circumstances, and only with the permission of the senior assistant dean for student services.
- Students who stop attending a class and do not complete the formal drop process are subject to receiving an F grade and are liable for tuition.
- Students who do not take a final exam or complete required work will receive an F grade.
Tuition Liability
Students who drop a course during the first week of the semester will be eligible for a 100 percent tuition refund for that course. Students who drop a course after the first week and before the end of the fourth week may be eligible for a partial tuition refund. Consult the Financial Information section for refund dates.
Registration Priority
J.D. students have priority registration in courses in which J.D. and non-J.D. students are permitted to enroll.
Wait Lists
During the initial registration period, students confronted with a closed class should waitlist themselves in the class. Once on a waitlist, students should register for an alternate class. If a seat becomes available, an email will be sent from lawwaitlists@scu.edu to eligible students’ SCU e-mail accounts informing them of their eligibility and the expiration date of their eligibility status. Failure to respond by noon on the eligibility date indicated, will result in removal from the waitlist and the available seat will be offered to the next eligible student.
Enrollment by Permission
Individual Research
Students may receive academic credit for research under the supervision of a faculty member. To do so, students must select, contact, and reach agreement with the faculty member on the topic, unit value, time of completion, and other expectations for the project prior to beginning project work.
Students may take no more than 3 units of individual research with any particular faculty member in any particular semester or summer session. Work is graded on a CR/NC basis only. Students must register for individual research as follows:
- Up to the end of the second week of classes, students may add Individual Research (298) through the Student Services Office with instructor permission if (a) the student has satisfied the provisions relating to prior consultation with the instructor to define the project, and (b) there appears to be no positive reason for denying the request. Students must obtain the professor’s signature on the Individual Research agreement form and submit it to the Student Services Office.
- Beginning with the third week of classes, students may add Individual Research (298) only with the written approval of the senior assistant dean for student services. The dean will consult with the instructor and approve the addition of Individual Research if the project has been fully defined, the student has made substantial supervised progress on the project, and it appears that the student will be able to complete the project by the end of the semester or within a reasonable time immediately thereafter. Students may not add Individual Research after the semester has been completed.
Students who register for Individual Research and do not formally withdraw before the last day of the semester or summer session in which the course was taken shall receive a CR/NC grade in the course. Students must submit all material that will be the subject of the Individual Research grade at a time specified by the professor. In no event shall this be later than the end of the exam period of the semester during which Individual Research was undertaken.
Courses Requiring Applications
Some courses have limited enrollment and require an application. These courses include Civil Practice, High Tech, and Social Justice Externship (590), Criminal Justice Externship (591), Judicial Externship (594), International Human Rights Clinic (727), Advanced International Human Rights Clinic (728), and Entrepreneurs Law Clinic (482). Forward completed applications to the appropriate department as indicated on the form. If approved, the department/instructor will notify the Student Services Office and students will receive an email from lawpermissions@scu.edu giving them enrollment access to the class.
Restricted Courses
Students subject to the Directed Study policy are required to enroll in Legal Analysis (373a). Eligible students will be permitted to register for this course after meeting with a faculty advisor from the Office of Academic & Bar Success. Students not subject to the Directed Study policy may petition the director of the Office of Academic & Bar Success to enroll in this course.
Bar Courses
Students subject to the Directed Study policy and 3L/4L students in need of courses to satisfy the Upper-Division Proficiency (UP) requirement will be given priority registration for some Bar courses. These students should contact their faculty advisor from the Office of Academic & Bar Success for assistance.
Academic Holds
Students with holds on their records or accounts may not register. It is the student’s responsibility to clear holds with the appropriate office. Students who miss registration priority due to holds will not be given special consideration. Possible holds are
- Bursar holds due to an unpaid balance on the student’s account
- Financial aid holds due to missing information or paperwork
- Cowell Health Center holds due to missing insurance information or waiver forms
- Student Services holds due to missing transcripts or other required paperwork
- Student Services holds due to leaves of absence or visiting-away status
- Campus Safety Services holds due to on-campus parking tickets
- University Immunization holds due to missing vaccination documentation
Status Changes
Upon satisfactory completion of the first year of study, full-time JD students may transfer between full- and part-time status. We strongly recommend that any student, who is enrolled as a full-time student, limit their work to 20 hours per week or fewer.
Non-SCU Law Students
Visiting Law Students
Students in academic good standing at another American Bar Association-approved law school may apply to be a visiting student at SCU for one or two semesters. Applications should be submitted to the Office of Admissions.
Students applying for summer session courses only should complete the Application and Registration for Summer Visiting and Special Students and provide a letter of good standing from their home school.
Visiting students must pay the current applicable SCU School of Law tuition and applicable course fees. Visiting students are registered on a space-available basis only.
Students visiting the School of Law in their final semester of law school should be aware that final grades will not be available until 30-45 days after the final exam period. It is not possible to provide earlier grades, pass notifications or certifications of completion for students visiting SCU from another law school. Students who will be visiting the semester prior to graduating should check graduation grade deadlines with their home school.
Non-Law Students
This section does not apply to Santa Clara University students enrolled in a graduate/professional degree program. Students enrolled in a graduate/professional degree program at Santa Clara University who are interested in taking a law class should refer to the section, “Enrolling in a Course Outside One’s Graduate/Professional Program”, below.
Non-law (special) students wishing to take law courses must secure approval from the instructor and the senior assistant dean for student services. The instructor may deny permission to any special student applicant (a) whom the instructor believes will not be capable of meeting the expectations of the course or (b) whose presence in the course may undermine the instructor’s education goals. Special students should familiarize themselves with the law school’s regulations, grading system, and calendar prior to enrolling. In particular, students from other schools within the University should note that the law school is on the semester system, and so beginning and ending dates for law courses differ from those of the University as a whole. Class schedules also differ from those of the University, and time conflicts are possible. Graduate and professional school students at Santa Clara University interested in taking a law class should refer to the section, “Enrolling in a Course Outside One’s Graduate/Professional Program.”
Special students may take no more than a total of two courses in the law school. Enrollment as a special student will not be a method by which a student secures admission to the law school. Successful completion of a course as a special student will not be considered in the admissions process. A special student who is later admitted as a candidate for the J.D. degree will not receive credit toward the J.D. degree for any courses taken as a special student. A student may not retake for credit toward the J.D. degree in the law school any course previously taken as a special student.
The following courses are not available to special students: first-year courses, clinics, externships, skills training courses (such as trial practice, appellate practice, moot court, etc.), courses that have limited enrollment and are fully subscribed by law students, courses that have enrollment that meets or exceeds room capacity (or are believed by the instructor or the senior assistant dean for student services to be over-enrolled), and courses in which the instructor has limited enrollment to students seeking a J.D. degree.
Non-law students should consult the current schedule of classes and complete and submit the Application and Registration for Summer Visiting and Special Students. Special students must pay the current law school tuition and applicable course fees. Students in this category earn a grade of Audit only.
Auditors
Practicing attorneys or judges may audit a course at Santa Clara Law. Tuition is charged at the same rate as current law students. Audited courses will be designated as such on the transcript. Attorneys or judges interested in auditing a course should consult the current schedule of classes and complete and submit the Application and Registration for Summer Visiting and Special Students.
Enrolling in a Course Outside One’s Graduate/Professional Program
To provide graduate and professional school students at Santa Clara University with the opportunity to explore fields and disciplines outside their degree programs, Santa Clara University students in graduate and professional schools may apply to enroll as non-degree students in classes offered by another graduate and professional school of the University. There are a number of policies that are associated with the decision to enroll in a course outside of one’s program. Please contact the Law Student Services Office for additional information.
