USC Gould Search

JD Degree Requirements - Juris Doctor (JD)
USC Gould School of Law

To receive the Juris Doctor from USC Gould, you must successfully complete the following:

  • first-year curriculum
  • 88 total units, 64 of which must come from regularly scheduled classes (excluding, among other activities, practicums, externships, journals and independent research projects)
  • 37 upper-division graded units
  • six semesters of full-time attendance
  • Constitutional Law: Rights
  • Upper-division Race & Law Course (beginning with entering Class of 2021)
  • upper-division writing requirement
  • upper-division experiential learning requirement - requires taking six units in either a simulation course, a law clinic, or a field placement
  • remain in good standing with a 2.90 cumulative GPA

Each requirement is fully described in the Gould Student Handbook: https://lawportal.usc.edu