NOTE: If you have any questions about any items below, please consult the rulebook and, if needed, contact Associate Dean Victoria Chase with any lingering questions.
- Introduction
- Registration and Bill Payment
- Employment Affidavit
- Academic Rules and Graduation Requirements
- Class Registration for First Year Courses
- Course Descriptions and Prerequisites/Exclusions
- Directed Research
- Dual-Degree Students
- Intensive Courses
- Student Directory Information
- Taking Courses at Temple University School of Law
- Limited Enrollment Courses
- Limited Enrollment Results
- Exam Information
- Practice Externship
- Judicial Externship
Following is all the information you need to select a course schedule for the upcoming semester. We urge you to read all the sections of this packet. Forms, a list of important dates, and registration links are available at the top of this page. All students planning to return to the law school next semester must register during the registration period. Registrations after the closing of the initial registration period will be considered late and will be processed manually by Assoc. Dean Chase - but only upon payment of a $50 late fee and production of a receipt from the Bursar’s Office. Please register on time to avoid the $50 fee.
All student registrations are subject to academic and/or administrative actions exercised by the University through its appropriate deans and faculty committees. The act of registration does not waive academic or disciplinary actions affecting the status of a student. In the event academic or administrative actions require cancellation of your registration, a full refund of paid tuition and fees will be made.
Registration and Bill Payment
Registration at Rutgers is a two-stage process. You complete the first stage when you use the web-based registration system during the date range listed on the important dates page.
To complete the second part of the registration process at Rutgers, students must activate -- that is, pay -- the term bill. Without a receipted term bill, you are not registered. Students receiving any form of financial aid (loans, scholarships, grants, etc.) must also complete this step even if a zero balance appears on the billing statement. Payment of tuition/fees are typically due in early August for the Fall semester and just after the new year for the Spring semester. Any term bill paid after the due date will incur a late payment fee.
In order to conserve natural resources, the University no longer mails paper term bills to your home address. You will be notified by email when your term bill is available on line. Visit the University web site for further information.
Payment Plan Available to all Students: By joining the Rutgers University Tuition Payment Plan (RUTPP) you are able to pay your annual term bill charges in convenient monthly payments. You can choose the number of months to spread your installment payments and the installment period is interest free. For more information, and to enroll in the plan, please visit Rutgers Office of Student Accounting. Remember that tuition bills are calculated on the basis of the credits for which you are registered at the time the bills are generated by the computer. If you are registered for 12 or more credit hours, you will receive a tuition bill for a full-time student. Registration changes made after term bills are emailed will result in supplemental billings (your status could change from part-time to full-time or your bill would increase if you add credits as a part-time student).
Law School Academic Rule 24 prohibits full-time students (i.e., students registering for 12 or more credit hours) from being employed in excess of 20 hours per week. Each full-time student must complete an Online Employment Affidavit every semester to certify compliance with the employment regulation. Please note that participating in outside employment for more than 20 hours per week after submitting the Online Employment Affidavit would constitute a violation of the Code of Student Conduct, sections 11 c and m, that could result in imposition of disciplinary sanctions. The deadline for completing the form is the first day of classes each semester. Students who fail to complete the Employment Affidavit by the first day of the semester will be blocked from using various law school website services (Course Webpages, Online Grade Reporting System, Class Rosters, etc.). Full-time students who carry only 12 total credits could seek a waiver to this rule by contacting the Assoc. Dean for approval.
Academic Rules and Regulations
The rules that govern your academic standing at the law school (degree requirements, grades, residence credit, writing credit, etc.) are available on the law school website. They can be found at the Student Login link, and you are responsible for becoming familiar with all of the academic rules. A few are highlighted below.
Attendance: Each student is required to attend, regularly and punctually, the classes for which he or she is registered. Students may not register for a course scheduled in such a way that attendance at class each day is impossible because of a conflict with another course for which the student is registered, whether the conflict is complete or partial. Failure to attend classes can result in a grade of F being assigned for the course, and the loss of course credits.
Graduation Requirements: To earn a JD from Rutgers Law School, students must complete all requirements set forth in our regulations. You are encouraged to review your record periodically to confirm that you are satisfying degree requirements. A graduation checklist is available at the top of this page if you would like to see what other classes you should register for. To see where you stand in terms of writing and skills credits, please use the following link: https://law.rutgers.edu/cgi-bin/students/writing-credits.cgi. If you have any other questions regarding the law school’s degree requirements, please contact Associate Dean Victoria Chase.
Minimum and Maximum course loads: Full-time students must enroll in a minimum of 12 credits each semester, but may not enroll in more than 16 course credits, except that with permission of the Vice Dean, a student may register for as many as 17 credits during a semester. Part-time students must register for at least 8 credits but not more than 11 credits.
Non-course credit: According to Rule 5, students may apply up to 9 non-course credits towards the total credits requirement. A number of courses are designated as non-course credit and they can be found on the alpha schedule with a “P” notation just before the total number of credits for which the course is offered. Credit for a non-course activity shall be conferred on a pass/no credit basis. No more than 5 of the 9 non-course credits counted towards graduation can be earned through an externship/field placement. Furthermore, no more than 7 of the 9 non-course credits can be earned from activities other than externships/field placements.
Class Registration for First Year Courses
First year student schedules are generated automatically, and first year students will be placed in their sections during the registration period. If you would like to change your status between full-time and part-time, please contact Assoc. Dean Victoria Chase.
Course Descriptions and Prerequisites/Exclusions
Descriptions for all courses offered are available on the law school website.
On the left column of the alpha schedule, you will find notations that indicate that certain restrictions apply on certain courses. These conditions are explained either in the special notes section of the schedule, or in the course descriptions found on the law school website. The automated registration system checks for prerequisites and/or exclusions and blocks registrations if restrictions apply.
Directed Research/ Directed Clinical Practicum
Students interested in completing a Directed Research or Directed Clinical Practicum should complete the Directed Research Approval Form or Directed Clinical Practicum Approval Form (links for both forms are at the top of this page) which must be signed by the professor who has agreed to supervise your work, and returned to Assoc. Dean Victoria Chase for approval. Law school academic regulations require that you must receive advance approval to register for Directed Research or Directed Clinical Practicum.
Dual-Degree Students
Students who are pursuing a dual-degree must contact Associate Dean Chase with their plans for the semester. Also, if there are any changes to a dual degree student’s flight plan, those must be filed with Dean Chase. More information regarding dual degree programs.
Intensive Courses
Some courses are running “intensively.” These courses only meet for part of the semester, and some may have exams in the middle of the semester rather than at the end of the exam period. You can find the details for each course on the last page of the alpha schedule.
Student Directory Information
Rutgers Law students are part of two independent directory systems:
- The law school Electronic Student Directory (ESD) contains your name, photograph, graduation year, and your Rutgers e-mail address. This information is restricted to members of the law school community only. Students may update the ESD at any time directly on the law school website. You may also indicate which elements of your data record are not to be made available to the law school community
- The University’s Rutgers Students Record Data Base (SRDB) is a separate directory. You must, therefore, remember to update your address record either by visiting the University Registrar's website or by submitting an Address Change Form to the Campus Registrar's Office (Associate Dean Victoria Chase in Room E308). It is imperative to keep your record current in the University database, because it is the primary source for such mailings as tuition bills, financial aid notices, etc. Moreover, if you wish to restrict public access to any of your University directory information, you may do so on line or by filing a request with the Registrar's Office. (Note: While access to your information on the law school ESD is restricted to members of the law school community, your directory information on the University database is available to the public through the Rutgers OnLine Directory.)
Taking Courses at Temple University School of Law
An informational memo on this option can be accessed here. If you are interested in this option, you must first receive approval from Associate Dean Chase.
Limited Enrollment Courses
A number of courses are designated as limited enrollment courses on the alpha schedule. During the registration period, there will be no block on enrollment. If more students elect a particular course than there are spaces available, seats will subsequently be assigned by a specialized computer lottery application – with a preference given to senior students. Review the rules that are applied in assigning seats in limited-enrollment courses.
After the first round of registration closes, a list of over subscribed courses will be circulated. An email will be sent to the student body describing the procedure by which you can indicate your preferences as to oversubscribed courses. 3L students will be able to indicate a preference for 2 courses, and 2L students will be able to indicate a preference for 1 course. By indicating this preference, your name will be weighted more heavily in the limited enrollment lottery for that course. This does not guarantee you a seat. Moreover, other LE rules (such as that 3Ls have priority over 2Ls) still apply.
SPECIAL NOTICE: In the past, a small number of students have been adversely treated in the assignment process, because the registration database information did not correctly reflect their current status. To remedy this problem, it is now possible for students to check their current status as reflected in the SRDB. At the law school’s Home Page, select Student Login and then click on Show Your Current Schedule/Status under Student Services. If you are listed as a “601” student, you are treated as a FT student – if you are listed as a “602” student, you are treated as a PT student. If you are classified incorrectly, you should contact Associate Dean Chase, who will work with you to verify and correct your status codes. This should be done prior to the limited enrollment lottery running.
Waiting Lists for Over-subscribed Limited Enrollment Courses. Where appropriate, waiting lists will be established for over-subscribed courses, but all add transactions in such courses will be blocked at the close of the registration period. Any seats that may become available will be assigned by the instructor at the first class meeting of the semester in accordance with Waiting List rankings. If you do receive a seat assignment at the first class session, you will be given a special permission number to add the course via the registration system.
First Day Attendance in Oversubscribed Courses. If you receive a guaranteed seat in an oversubscribed course, you must attend the first day of class. In case of an emergency, you can notify the professor in advance if you will be absent – though a final decision on your participation in the course is at the discretion of the professor. Failure to attend the first class meeting will result in your being administratively dropped from the course.
Rutgers Law School publishes in advance a final examination schedule which generally is not subject to change after the advance registration period is completed. Courses are scheduled at the law school to minimize conflicting examinations (i.e., exams which occur simultaneously); however, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to ensure that exams do not conflict. Under Rule 15 of the law school's Academic rules, a student may seek prior permission from Dean Thompson to defer one exam to the next available day where there is an exam conflict. An exam conflict exists when a student has two exams on the same day or three exams within a span of three days or less. In order to obtain a deferment, students must alert Dean Thompson of the exam conflict by the end of the add/drop period. Exam deferments will be provided sparingly and only in exigent circumstances.
Practice Externship
2 or 3 credits. Students must be 2Ls or 3Ls, or equivalent.
Placements available throughout the metropolitan area; criminal law positions include prosecutor and public defenders of several New Jersey and Pennsylvania counties, U.S. Attorney’s office; civil positions include local government, state attorney general, hospital general counsel, public interest offices dealing with health, immigration, civil rights, economic development. Students will apply through an online application process in which they can indicate their choices, and be recommended to appropriate placements. For links to a complete list of approved placements, and application instructions, click here. Students using this application will also be able to select Judicial placements.
Judicial Externship
2 or 3 credits. Students must be 2Ls or 3Ls, or equivalent.
Students will work in state or federal judicial chambers doing similar work to that of the clerks. Approved placements include New Jersey trial and appellate judges in various counties, the U.S. courts in Camden and Philadelphia, and the Thirds Circuit, as well as various specialized administrative courts. Students will apply through an online application process in which they can indicate their choices, and be recommended to appropriate placements. For links to a complete list of approved placements, and application instructions, click here. Students using this application will also be able to select Practice placements.