Credit Hour Maximum per Semester & Course Enrollment Limitations
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Credit Hour Maximum Per Semester
During Fall and Spring semesters: Full-time students at MSU Law are allowed to enroll in a maximum of sixteen (16) credit hours without approval. (The ABA will only allow full-time students to enroll in seventeen (17) credits maximum during the academic year.) Part-time students can only enroll in a maximum of twelve (12) credits. NOTE: To be eligible for financial aid, during the regular semester (fall or spring) students must be enrolled for five (5) credits minimum, and a minimum of three (3) credits for the summer session.
During Summer session: Full-time and part-time students are allowed to enroll in a maximum of seven (7) credit hours without approval. (The ABA will only allow full-time and part-time students to enroll in a maximum of eight (8) credit hours during the summer session.)
International Students: International students must register for a minimum of twelve (12) credits during the regular semester.
Any student with an irregular and/or overload schedule (example: over 16 credits in the Fall/Spring semester OR over 7 credits in the Summer session) must obtain the permission of the Associate Dean for Student Engagement prior to enrollment.
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Limitation on Study Outside Classroom
Students must ensure sixty-five (65) credits of the eighty-eight (88) credits required for the J.D. degree must be "regularly scheduled classes at the law school." Transfer credits in "regularly scheduled courses" taken at another law school are counted. For purposes of this requirement, credit hours completed in courses, such as Moot Court, Law Review, Externships, Non-law schol courses in a dual-degree program, etc.
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Online Course Enrollment (Limitation on Distance Education)
Distance education is an educational process characterized by the separation, in time or place, between instructor and student. It includes courses offered principally by means of: technological transmission; audio or computer conferencing; videocassettes or discs; or correspondence.
Students may enroll in no more than four (4) credits of distance education courses(s) during a semester or term, with a maximum of 12 credits towards graduation. Students may not enroll in distance education courses before completing at least 28 credit hours towards the J.D. degree. No credit may be given toward the J.D. degree for non-law distance education graduate level courses.
Special Note to International Students: To be in compliance with SEVIS requirements, no more than one distance education course may be taken during a semester.