Concurrent enrollment prohibited: No student may take more than one experiential class (clinic or externship) in a single semester.
Credit limits for experiential courses:
Total credits: No more than a combined total of 17 credits from clinics and externships will be counted toward the total credits needed for graduation.
Annual credits: No more than a combined total of 14 credits from clinics and externships taken in a single academic year will be counted toward the total credits needed for graduation.
Credits for externships: No more than a total of 9 credits from externships will be counted toward the total credits needed for graduation.
Exemption from credit limitation: In some circumstances, such as participation in a full-time semester externship, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may grant an exemption from the above limitations. Please see the Director of Experiential Learning.
Grading: Grades for clinic courses, as well as the Philadelphia Defender Association externship and the Troutman Pepper Law & Entrepreneurship externship, follow the regular grading scale. Other externships have four grading options: High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, and Fail.
Law Review: Students are eligible for an invitation to join Law Review based on grades at the end of the first year of law school. In addition, students may compete for a position on Law Review by participating in an open writing competition at the end of the first and second years of law school.
Environmental Law Journal: Students may compete for a position on the Environmental Law Journal by participating in the open writing competition at the end of their first or second year of study.
Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal: Students may compete for a position on the Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal by participating in the open writing competition at the end of their first or second year of study.
Moot Court Board: Students are eligible for an invitation to join the Moot Court Board at the end of their first year of law school by participating in the open competition sponsored by the Board at the end of their first or second year of law school. Students who advance to the semi-finals and better in the Reimel Competition are invited to join the Board.
Limitation on Co-Curricular Activities: Students may not participate simultaneously on more than one of the following co-curricular activities: Environmental Law Journal, Law Review, Moot Court Board, Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal. Further, a student who has accepted an editorial position on the Environmental Law Journal, Law Review or the Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal, or an executive board position on the Moot Court Board, may not participate in an open competition and may not accept an invitation to another co-curricular activity that would, under the policy stated, require resignation from the position previously accepted.
Credit Limitations on Non-Instructional Courses (Including Co-Curricular Activities and Experiential Courses): No more than a combined total of 26 credits in total of courses that fall within the following categories will be counted toward the total credits needed for graduation without the permission of the Academic Dean: externships, journals, moot court, and courses taken in parts of the university outside the Law School for which credit toward the J.D. degree is granted.
Students participating in Judicial Externships may receive credit for a second judicial externship only if that externship is served with a different court at a different level (for example, a first externship with a trial court and a second with an appellate court). To be eligible for a second judicial externship, the student must obtain written permission from the Director of Experiential Learning verifying that the second externship will be served with a different court at a different level. In some circumstances the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may approve a second externship semester in the same judicial chambers or court upon a showing that the experience in the second semester will involve significant additional development of the student's knowledge, experience, and skills beyond what the student achieved during the first semester.
All students traveling by vehicle to participate in co-curricular activities outside the Law School must become University Approved Drivers in order to operate any Villanova owned, leased or rented vehicle in connection with such travel (this includes vehicles rented from such companies as Avis, Hertz, etc.). Please see Anthony Cancelli, Director of Business Support Services, for further information.