2015 Guide to Academic Planning(the abridged version)

Academic Planning

Graduation Requirements

• Additional Key Graduation Requirements (beyond 1L courses & Moot Court)

• 86 units* • Skills Requirement• Ethics Requirement• Writing Requirement

*The faculty recently amended the Academic Regulations to increase the cap on non-classroom units to allow students to count 20 (rather than 18) non-classroom units toward the 86 units required for graduation.

Academic Planning

How to Plan – Apply Lawyerly Skills(Strategic & Creative Problem Solving Skills and Statutory Reading Skills)

Now that you know the basic rules . . . . • Identify your goals for the rest of law school• Survey the academic and extracurricular opportunities• Determine which opportunities best advance your goals

(and read & comply with the rules that apply to those opportunities)• Note: The rules include the Acad. Regs. & other Admin. announcements.

• Have backup plans & be creative and flexible in your planning

Academic Planning

How to Plan – Some Basics2L/3L Bar Courses• Business Associations or

Corporations

• California Civil Procedure

• Civil Procedure II

• Community Property

• Constitutional Law II

• Criminal Procedure

• Evidence

• Remedies

• Wills & Trusts

• Professional Responsibility/Legal Ethics

• Critical Studies I & II

Strongly Recommended Courses• Administrative Law• Business Associations or Corporations• Civil Procedure II• Constitutional Law II• Criminal Procedure• Evidence• Federal Income Taxation• Financial Basics for Lawyers• At least one international course• At least one perspectives course (i.e. one that offers a

broad theoretical or historical view)• At least one experiential course (i.e. a clinic or externship)

Academic Planning

How to Plan – Surveying Opportunities

Additional Opportunities• Concentrations • Pro Bono• Lawyers for America• Startup Legal Garage• UCH/UCSF Consortium• Hastings to Haiti• Student Organization Leadership• And more….

Work at Other Schools• Study Abroad• Joint Degree• Coursework at other law schools

(including visits)• Coursework at other grad. schools

Non-Classroom Work• Clinics• Externships (Judicial or Legal)• Independent Study• Journal• Interscholastic Competitions

(e.g., moot court, trial team)• Teaching Assistant• Research Assistant

Classroom Work• Lecture courses• Seminars• Non-GPA courses

(mostly skills oriented)• Fall, Spring, possibly Summer

Academic Planning

How to Plan – Matching Goals & Opportunities1. Learn more about the opportunities that interest you.

• See complete guide for TIPS about how to learn more about various opportunities.• For classes, review the Course Catalog, consult PACE reports, ask friends, contact professors.

2. With your goals in mind, identify things you DEFINITELY want to do, MAYBE want to do, and feel you SHOULD do.

3. Work backward & forward.• Backward:

• What do you need to do soon in order to be able to do the DEFINITELY items later? (e.g., prerequisites, grad requirements to free up time later)

• What do you need to do soon in order to preserve your ability to do the MIGHT items later?

• Forward:• What can you do soon to help you figure out whether you actually want to do the MIGHT items later?• Take the opportunity to explore different areas and see if you want to pursue them further.

Academic Planning

How to Plan – Matching Goals & Opportunities1. Learn more about the opportunities that interest you.

2. With your goals in mind, identify things you DEFINITELY want to do, MAYBE want to do, and feel you SHOULD do.

3. Work backward & forward.

4. Map out a tentative plan:• including the things you DEFINITELY want to do, • including the items you identified in step #3, • sprinkling the SHOULD items throughout to balance out your schedule, and • take account of all activities anticipated, whether for units, money, or neither.

5. Prepare alternative plans so that you can be flexible.6. Revisit & reconsider your plan each semester.

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Academic Planning

How to Plan – Matching Goals & OpportunitiesMap out a tentative plan:

Spring 2LFall 2L Spring 3LFall 3L2L/3L Summer

?

1L/2L Summer

? Class/Activity Units

Total

Class/Activity Units

Total

Class/Activity Units

Total

Class/Activity Units

Total

Academic Planning

Key Resources

• Checking Your Progress• Use “Program Evaluation” on WebAdvisor

• Academic Advising Resources• Student Services• Your faculty adviser (including at faculty advising mtgs later in the semester)• A faculty member you know and like• A faculty member in the area of law that interests you• Associate Academic Dean