Alternatives to Seminars and Courses

Students may augment their classroom experience through exercise of the following educational alternatives.

Students who have been granted membership to one of the four law school legal publications may receive academic credit for their work. Students must consult the by-laws of each separate publication for the requirements for these credits. When these credits are awarded is also a matter determined by the journal membership rules. The maximum number of credits that can be awarded is 2; these appear on the transcript as Legal Editorship.

Work undertaken for a legal publication can be used to satisfy the upperclass writing requirement. The work must go through multiple drafts, be of high quality and approved by a faculty member as meeting this requirement. Work for a journal does not automatically satisfy the upperclass writing requirement. Many students wishing to receive upperclass writing requirement credit for their journal work will do so by completing a special research project (which may not be greater than 2 credits) based on their journal research.

All legal editorship credits are subject to standard tuition and fees.

Faculty Directed Reading Seminar

The Faculty Directed Reading Seminar is a one-credit seminar that allows students to participate in a reading group led by a full time faculty member. A minimum of three students and a maximum of eight students is allowed. The seminar may be on any subject of mutual interest to the faculty member and students. Students may initiate a reading seminar by approaching a faculty member or a faculty member may initiate a reading seminar by approaching a group of students. In addition, faculty members may offer the reading seminar as a class in which students register during the normal registration process. Reading seminars may be co-taught by two faculty members and enrollment may correspondingly be increased to twelve students. The reading list will be drawn up by the faculty member in consultation with students if desired. The reading seminar will meet for at least one hour per week, and can be scheduled in the alternative to meet on an every other week basis for two hour sessions. Students will be expected to do reading for the seminar which equals one substantial law review article every week, or a book every other week. The course requirements include the equivalent of one ten-page reflection paper. The seminar is only available on a pass-fail basis. Students may enroll in multiple reading seminars, but only one per term.
 

Special Research Projects (SRP's)

A special research project involves in-depth research, investigation and discussion of specific problems in the law. A project may be undertaken with any member of the full-time faculty after the student's second semester of study. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may approve supervision by an adjunct faculty member. Prior approval of the faculty member and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs are to be obtained on a form supplied by the Registrar's Office.

SRP's may be added no later than the end of the second week of the semester and, for summer projects, no later than the second class day of the June Term (subject to the rules about adding courses after the add/drop deadline). A student should submit the Special Research Project Application, complete with all of the necessary signatures, to the Registrar's Office. If the SRP extends over more than one semester or summer, the completed Special Research Project Application should be submitted to the Registrar's Office no later than the deadline for the first semester in which the student expects to receive credit for the project.

An SRP may be dropped at any time during the semester and may be taken on a pass/fail basis except when it is being taken in lieu of a required course or is being utilized to fulfill the upperclass writing requirement.

A student may enroll for up to three credits of special research each term and up to four credits over the summer, up to a maximum of eight credits. Individual externships are treated as special research topics for purposes of determining limits on the number of credit hours a student may take. Thus, students may enroll in an externship with a maximum of 3 credits in a semester and 4 credits over the summer or students may enroll in a special research project with a maximum of 3 credits in a semester or four credits over the summer. Students may opt to enroll in both a special research project and an externship in the same semester or summer only if the combined credits for both don't exceed the cap of 3 per semester and four per summer. During each student's law school career, 8 credits is the maximum that any student may receive from special research projects and externships combined. With the approval of the Director of International Exchange Programs and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, this 8 credit maximum may be increase to no more than 12 for a student who has received approval to study abroad and who is authorized to complete a special research project to compensate for credits missed as a result of foreign study. The rules governing paper deadlines also apply to SRPs.

No more than two credits may be awarded for a Special Research Project based on research and writing that is substantially similar to research and writing done in satisfaction of a membership requirement of the Connecticut Law Review, the Connecticut Journal of International Law, the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal, or the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal.

Students are not permitted to undertake an SRP if they have any work overdue and outstanding in any course, seminar or prior SRPs.

The Educational Policy Committee offers the following interpretation concerning SRP's:

  • An SRP of whatever number of credits need not begin and end in the same academic semester or academic year.
  • The length of an SRP may extend, at the faculty member's discretion, over a period of more than twelve months.
  • In cases where an SRP extends beyond one semester, residence and/or academic credit are to be assigned to one or more semesters or the June term at the faculty member's discretion, after completion, based upon his/her judgment as to a suitable proration of student time spent thereon. In no event may academic and/or residence credit for an SRP be assigned to a semester or June term prior to time of initial registration for the SRP nor may credit be assigned for anything less than completion of an SRP.
  • Subject to the above limitations, the number of credits for which an SRP is undertaken may be increased (up to the generally applicable maximum of eight) or decreased at any time by the faculty member.
  • SRPs which are taken in lieu of required courses must be taken for a grade. This includes the upperclass writing requirement.

The supervisor for a special research project, in consultation with the student sets a stated deadline for the handing in of papers. Prior to the stated deadline, for good cause, the instructor may grant a single extension of time for handing in the paper (extension form).

Prior to the deadline as extended by the instructor, a student may make application to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for a further extension upon showing that unavoidable circumstances makes completion of the work by the deadline impossible. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may set an extended deadline after consultation with the instructor, but no extension can be granted which is later than the student's anticipated date of graduation. (The graduation dates are: January 31, Commencement Day in May and July 10. There are no additional graduation dates.)

Failure to submit a paper by the appropriate deadline results in a failing grade for the paper, unless the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs finds that grave cause prevented the timely submission of the paper. No such cause is considered sufficient if it could have been the subject of an application for extension as described above. Where failure to submit a paper is excused as above, the associate dean for academic affairs, in consultation with the instructor, sets a further extended deadline.

Notwithstanding the above rules, if a student scheduled for graduation at the close of the semester would have sufficient credits for graduation without the special research project credits, the instructor or the associate dean for academic affairs may direct that the student be withdrawn from special research project.

It is the responsibility of the student to have available an extra copy of his/her paper for use in grading should it become necessary. In the event the original paper was submitted but lost and the student does not have an extra copy, the student has the option of submitting another paper within a reasonable time or receiving no credit for the work.


Individual Externships

Individual externships are semester or full-year course-length student placements with organizations or individuals outside the Law School. In these placements, the first level of student supervision is conducted at the placement by an individual designated as the placement supervisor.

In addition to the direct student supervision by the placement supervisor, each student is under the supervision and sponsorship of a member of the full-time faculty (the faculty supervisor). The faculty supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the individual placement provides educational work assignments including significant writing and appropriate evaluation of student performance during the semester for which the student receives credit. The faculty supervisor makes initial arrangements establishing the externship, specifying the one or more specific projects and any other work to be done by the extern, the placement supervisor and supervision to be given, and other aspects of the externship. The faculty supervisor communicates regularly with the placement supervisor to provide continuing supervision of the externship.

The faculty supervisor meets periodically with the student extern to discuss his/her work and to review the student's work product. Each student extern is required to keep a journal or log of his/her work at the placement and the faculty supervisor reviews this periodically. Individual externships may be for either two, three or four credits, as determined by the supervising faculty member at the beginning of the externship. A minimum of 56 hours of work by the extern is required for each credit allocated. In addition, per week, students should work a minimum of four hours per credit allocated.

Individual externships are treated as special research projects for purposes of determining limits on the number of credit hours a student may take. Thus, students may enroll in an externship with a maximum of 3 credits in a semester and 4 credits over the summer or students may enroll in a special research project with a maximum of 3 credits in a semester or four credits over the summer. Students may opt to enroll in both a special research project and an externship in the same semester or summer only if the combined credits for both don't exceed the cap of 3 per semester and four per summer. During each student's law school career, 8 credits is the maximum that any student may receive from special research projects and externships combined. All participation in individual externships is graded pass/fail.

Students may not enroll in an individual externship in a semester in which they are enrolled in a Criminal or Civil Rights Clinic. Approval of individual externships must be obtained. A form for this purpose is available at the Registrar's Office. The deadlines established for the submission of special research project applications apply to the individual externship applications.

Please note that there are additional requirements for students on F-1 visas seeking an externship.

Clinics

Students at the law school gain valuable experience in representing clients in civil and criminal cases in the law school's clinical programs. The clinics are client-based in-house law firms through which students represent real people. A more complete summary of the clinical programs can be found under the "Academic Programs" section of the Student Handbook and in review of course descriptions.

Enrollment in clinics, which may be done only by upperclass students, is limited. Completion of the Student Practice form is required before participation in many of these opportunities. To limit conflicts, pertaining both to clients and time commitments, students must receive prior permission to participate in two clinics in the same semester. This permission form, which requires the consent and signature of both clinical supervisors, may be obtained from the Registrar's Office.

Grading of clinics is done a graded basis for the classroom or seminar component of the course, Fieldwork and clinical externships are done on a pass/fail basis only.

Teaching Assistants

Students may serve as teaching assistants for first-year and upper-level courses. (Teaching assistant positions in the moot court and lawyering process program are also available but they are handled differently and are not covered under this description.)

Teaching Assistants must successfully have completed the course for which they are applying (though not necessarily with the same professor) and must receive written permission of the professor whom they would assist. Teaching assistants are required to attend classes and complete all reading assignments. In addition, teaching assistants will (1) undertake at least two meaningful teaching experiences (e.g., conducting review sessions, classroom exercises or other form of direct instruction), (2) devote at least 21 hours during the course of the semester to the holding of meetings with individual students taking the course, (3) at least twice during the semester take the lead in drafting educational materials such as exam questions/answers or other supplemental course materials, and (4) attend tutorial sessions with the professor who will provide feedback on the student's work. Teaching assistants are prohibited from involvement in formulating, drafting, or grading the final exam, or participating in any other way in the grading of students.

Teaching assistants will receive one credit fewer than the students taking the course, to be graded on a pass/fail basis. These credits count against the student's maximum number of ungraded hours during law school, but will not be included in the total that may not exceed 8 credits for Special Research Projects or Externships that a student may take prior to graduation. Students must pay for these credits as they do for any others; the Law School cannot and does not waive or reimburse students for these charges (as it does for Lawyering Process and Moot Court TA's).

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