Public Interest Law Certificate - JD

To earn the certificate, you must take at least 20 units of mandatory, foundational, elective, skills and clinical or practicum courses as outlined below. In addition, you must complete an upper-division writing requirement and 50 hours of pro bono work.

No more than 4 units counted toward the certificate may be taken CR/D/F. Foundational courses may not be taken CR/D/F.

Mandatory Courses

• Administrative Law and Regulatory Policy
• Ethical Issues for Nonprofit, Government and Criminal Lawyers (must be taken in the second year)

Foundational Course (choose at least one; may not be taken CR/D/F)

• Civil Rights Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Employment Discrimination Law
• Immigration Law
• International Human Rights
• Poverty Law

Electives (at least 6 units required) (courses taken to meet the foundational requirement do not also count toward the elective requirement)

• Civil Rights Law
• Constitutional Theory Seminar
• Counterterrorism, Privacy and Civil Liberties
• Crime, Punishment and Justice
• Critical Race Theory
• Criminal Procedure
• Cross-Cultural Dispute Resolution
• Employment Discrimination Law
• Environmental Law
• Equality and Difference
• Family Law
• Federal Courts: The Federal System II
• Federal Criminal Law
• First Amendment
• Global Health Law and Human Rights
• Health Law and Policy
• Immigration Law
• International Criminal Law
• International Human Rights
• Labor Law
• Law and Society
• Law, Mental Health and Ethics
• Equity and the Legal and Social Determinants of Health
• Local Government Law
• National Security Law Seminar
• Negotiation Skills
• Poverty Law
• Public Health Law and Policy
• Public International Law
• Race and Gender in the Law
• Race, Social Media, and the Law
• Sex, Gender and the Law
• Suing the Government
• Topics in Criminal Law and Criminology
• U.S. Foreign Policy and International Law

Skills Courses (minimum 2 units required)

• Advanced Legal Writing
• Child Interviewing Practicum
• Deposition Strategies and Techniques
• Divorce and Family Mediation
• Family Law Mediation Clinic
• Mediation Advocacy
• Pretrial Advocacy
• Trial Advocacy

Clinical or Practicum Courses (minimum one semester required)

• Immigration Clinic I
• Immigration Clinic II
• International Human Rights Clinic I
• International Human Rights Clinic II
• Mediation Clinic I
• Mediation Clinic II
• Post-Conviction Justice Project I
• Post-Conviction Justice Project II
• Access to Justice Practicum
• Legislative Policy Practicum
• Medical-Legal Community Partnership Seminar Practicum
• Externship I, Externship II, or Advanced Externships with a qualifying organization (including international human rights or war crimes tribunal) if clinics/practicums are full

Not all courses are offered every year.

You may petition for approval to count elective courses not on the above list that are offered by the law school or another USC school.

Public Interest Law Certificate students may desire to pursue coursework in subjects not currently in our regular curriculum. In this event, the certificate's Advisory Committee will assist the academic dean in determining whether demand is sufficient to warrant engaging an adjunct or visiting professor to offer such a course on a one-time or more frequent basis.

Upper Division Writing Requirement

You must meet the upper-division writing requirement with a paper or other substantial project written for a clinic/practicum or a foundational or elective course. Papers written for other courses may meet this requirement via petition to and approval by the Public Interest Law Certificate Advisory Committee.

Pro Bono Requirement

You must complete at least 50 hours of pro bono service during your time at USC Gould. Students are to log their pro bono hours here From MyPortal, click on "SBA and Student Organizations," then "Public Service Log."