Registrar Policies

Students in the full-time division may take 12-17 credit hours each semester and must complete six semesters (excluding summer sessions).

Student in the part-time division may not take fewer than eight credit hours or more than 12 credit hours per semester. Additional credits earned in one academic year or summer session will not permit a student in the part-time division to take fewer than the minimum credit hours per semester thereafter. Part-time students may not graduate in less than 7 semesters (excluding summer sessions).

All students enrolling at the Law School must provide official transcripts from all previous colleges and universities attended, including a final transcript showing conferral of an undergraduate degree. In accordance with the American Bar Association (ABA) standards, the Law School's accrediting agency, students who fail to have all required transcripts submitted to the Law School, including a final transcript showing conferral of an undergraduate degree by October 15 of the fall semester, after matriculation, will have a hold placed on their record, will be blocked from registering for the spring semester, and will be withdrawn from classes.

Students who do not successfully complete a required course must repeat that course no later than the Fall or Spring Semester in which it is next offered.

Students are not permitted to register for classes that conflict in whole or in part. Students are also not permitted to register for courses whose examination times conflict.

Students may withdraw from a course within the first two weeks of the semester or the first week of the summer session. A course may not be added after the first week of a term. Note: financial responsibility and refund policies are based on the withdrawal date as determined by the University.

• A status of "EC" (erase course) is assigned for withdrawal in the first week; the course will not appear on the student's transcript.
• A grade of "W" (withdrawal) is given for withdrawal after the first week through the fourth week of the semester; this grade will appear on the student's transcript but will have no effect on the student's grade point average.
• Thereafter, a grade of "WF" (withdrawal failing) will be recorded for students who withdraw from a class; that grade will appear on the student's transcript and is considered for all purposes as an "F."

Students should consult the schedule in Locus to determine deadlines for withdrawals and changes in registration. In order to withdraw from a course, a student must cancel the registration through LOCUS during the period for withdrawals. A grade will be awarded in all courses for which a student is registered.

Withdrawal is defined as completely withdrawing from all courses. Financial responsibility and refund policies for a complete withdrawal are based on the withdrawal date as determined by the University.

Any student may withdraw from the School of Law at the same time and under the same conditions that apply to withdrawal from classes.

Permission to withdraw in good standing from the entire program does not imply that the student may resume their studies the following semester or at any other time; the School of Law reserves the right to deny, postpone or condition readmission to any student who has withdrawn from the program in good standing. The School of Law also reserves the right to grant permission to withdraw from a course or courses subject to the condition that the student successfully undertake a specified course load at a stated future time, or that he/she complete graduation requirements on or before a specified date.

Please submit the Notice of Intention to Withdraw Form (PDF) to Stephen Rushin, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

Withdrawal before the beginning of the term start date

A complete withdrawal from the School of Law before the official term start date can be done through the LOCUS system. No financial responsibility will be incurred except for any non-refundable fees.

Complete withdrawal after the term start date

Any student withdrawing on the term start day will have their tuition and fees adjusted according to the following schedule. Charges will be based on the University’s official withdrawal date.

Effective Date of Withdrawal—Credit Given

First and Second Week of Term 100%

Third and Fourth Week of Term 50%

Fifth Week of Term 20%

Sixth Week of Term and Beyond 0%

*Visit the University Bursar for more information.

Complete withdrawal after the official term withdrawal deadline

Students will receive all “WF” grades and will be responsible for fees and tuition.

All fall and spring grades are due four weeks after the last final examination of the semester. Senior fall and spring grades will become available two weeks after the last final examination of the semester. All summer grades are due by the last day of the summer semester.

No more than twelve ungraded semester hours may be counted towards the graduation requirement and no more than six ungraded semester hours may be accumulated in any one activity, such as Externships, Directed Study, and Independent Research. The credits will be included in the total number of hours earned toward graduation, but will not enter into the computation of cumulative grade point average.

Students will be awarded a grade for each course at its conclusion. In extenuating circumstances, the faculty member, in consultation with the Dean’s Office, may grant a time extension and withhold a final grade, enter no grade, or enter the equivalent of an incomplete grade (“I”). The faculty member and the Dean’s Office will determine a deadline for completion of assignments and/or exams necessary to award a final grade. If the student is awarded a time extension for extenuating circumstances, it shall be the responsibility of the student to be proactive and complete all assignments and/or examinations as directed so as to receive a final grade. If a final grade has not been entered for a course within six weeks after the deadline for submission of final grades, unless an additional extended deadline has been awarded, the grade of “WF” will automatically be entered. A course with the grade of “WF” is counted as attempted credit hours in the computation of academic standing and is calculated as an “F” (0 credit points) in the grade point average.

Students wishing to take a course without receiving credit may audit the course, for which applicable tuition will be charged. Class attendance is required of auditors and a final grade of “AU” will be assigned. If they do not attend class, the final grade of “W” will be assigned. Assignments, including examinations and term papers, are not required, but auditors have the right to participate in class discussion. A course that is audited does not count as hours attempted. Required courses may not be converted to audit status.

The faculty has adopted an official grade curve for the School of Law. The purpose of the official curve is to allow members of the faculty to reward students appropriately for their performance and to call attention to those students in apparent need of assistance. The adopted policy also provides for a teacher's ability to deviate from the official grade curve upon a documented showing of an appropriate reason to do so.

The official grade curve is:

The curve applies to all courses with an enrollment of 25 or more, with the exception of Perspective Electives, Trial Practice I, Trial Practice II, ChildLaw Trial Practice, the Business Law Center, the Civitas ChildLaw Clinic, the Community Law Center, the Federal Tax Clinic, and externships.

In courses of 25 or more students and containing both JD and graduate (MJ and LLM) students, the following rules will apply: (1) If 25% or more of the total students are graduate students, the grade curve will apply to the JD students only. Teachers can grade all the students together, then separate out the JD students for purposes of applying the grade curve. (2) If fewer than 25% of the total students are graduate students, the grade curve will apply to the entire class.

Regularly enrolled students, for good reasons, may apply to the associate dean for student affairs for permission to undertake courses at other approved law schools which are members of the Association of American Law Schools and accredited by the American Bar Association for credit to be transferred and applied toward satisfaction of the requirements for graduation from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

If such permission is granted, the credit shall be accepted upon presentation by the student of an official transcript showing completion of the course with the grade of at least "C" or the equivalent. Transfer credit will not be granted for courses in which credit is given on a "pass/fail" basis or "credit/no credit" basis. Only credit for semester hours will transfer to Loyola; grades achieved at other law schools will not be counted toward a student's cumulative grade point average, but they will be counted for purposes of denying laudatory status at graduation.

Normally, approval will not be given if the same course is offered at Loyola, except for summer programs located at a law school in another city. All required courses must be taken at Loyola.

Request for Transfer of Credit Form (PDF)‌

If you want Loyola to grant credit for classes taken at another law school, please be aware of the following requirements:

1. The host law school will need a "Letter of Good Standing" (sometimes called a "Dean's Letter") from Loyola as part of your application to that school. The letter is prepared at the Office of Registration and Records, Room 1203. You must go there and complete a request form for the letter.
2. If you are applying for permission to be a visiting student for a semester or more and you have taken out student loans, you must meet with Loyola's Financial Aid/Loan Collection Office, inform them when and where you will be visiting, and get an approval signature.
3. Courses that you wish to be counted toward your Loyola degree must be approved prior to the beginning of each semester. A "Request for Transfer of Credit" form is available at the Dean's Office. You must complete and submit this form prior to the time that you register for courses at another school. On that form, you must list the courses you plan to take. You will be notified if a course is not approved. It is assumed that each course you select will be a graded course. (You will not receive credit for ungraded courses. See #5 below.)
4. Before transfer credit will be awarded toward your Loyola degree, you must submit a check in the amount of $250 per semester payable to “Loyola University Chicago School of Law” to the Law Registrar’s Office, 25 East Pearson, Suite 1203, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
5. Loyola will not grant credit for pass/fail or credit/no credit courses from another law school. Only courses in which all students receive a grade will be permitted to transfer to Loyola. (As a result, credit for externships, independent research projects and similar ungraded courses will not transfer back to Loyola.)
6. You must receive a grade of "C" or better (or its equivalent) for each course that is to transfer. You will not be granted credit at Loyola for transfer courses with a grade of less that "C." (The grade of "C-" will not transfer to Loyola.)
7. Transfer grades will not be used to calculate a student's cumulative grade point average, but will be used to calculate the denial or lowering (not achievement or improvement) of honors status at graduation. In other words, low grades at the host school will be used to deny or lower honors status based on Loyola grades only, and high grades will not be used to bring you into or improve honors status.
8. You are responsible for having your host school forward a final transcript of your work each semester. Credit will not be granted without receipt of an original transcript.
9. If you plan to sit for a bar exam other than the Illinois bar exam, you are responsible for sending the proof of legal studies form from that state's bar examiners to the Loyola School of Law Registrar in order to have it completed and submitted to bar examination authorities.

Students who are currently enrolled in a Juris Doctor program and attorneys who wish to visit Loyola University Chicago School of Law during the summer semester(s) for a limited enrollment of one or two courses can apply for visiting status by completing the application form below.

Summer Visiting Application Form for Campus Courses (PDF) (for visiting students and attorneys wishing to enroll in campus courses only)

Summer Visiting Application Form for Online Courses (PDF) (for visiting students and attorneys wishing to enroll in online courses only)

Students who wish to register for a full course load (8 or more credit hours) during the fall and/or spring semesters must go through the Law Admissions and Financial Aid Office.

Juris Doctor students are ranked by program and class at the end of each Fall and Spring semester. Class ranks are based upon your cumulative grade point average and are usually available 2-3 weeks after grades are due for the semester. Students will be notified by the Law Registrar Office via email.

You must be enrolled in 6 hours of graded credit in order to be included in the rank pool. First-year students and students who transfer to Loyola must wait until they have completed one year of coursework before they are included in the ranks. Visiting students are not ranked. Students who are permitted to visit another university during their final year will be ranked with their class. Students that do not fulfill their advocacy requirement will not receive a class rank until the requirement is fulfilled.

Alumni who wish to request their final class rank must send a request in writing to Law-Registrar@luc.edu. You must include the following in your email: your name, program, final GPA and last mailing address while in attendance.