The Business Law Certificate Program allows students planning a career in business or business law to receive specialized training in a set of core areas: publicly traded corporations, closely-held business entities, corporate finance, law and economics, and taxation.
The certificate program carries additional requirements beyond those for the J.D. degree, and signals to potential employers that a graduate has advanced training in these core areas. Of course, to become a well-rounded business lawyer, a student must become well-versed in many other areas of the law. The program has been designed to allow students to craft a broad, well-diversified course of study.
General Requirements:
- You must successfully complete a total of 91 credit hours for graduation (as opposed to the standard 88 credit hours required for the J.D.).
- You must complete 21 credit hours of business law certificate courses listed below (this includes required courses and electives).
- You must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in your business law certificate courses.
- You must take business law certificate courses for a grade unless the course is offered S/U only.
- You must complete the following requirements:
- The Required Courses
- At least three classes in the Core Courses list
- The Practical Experience Requirement
- The Upper Level Writing Requirement (ULWR)
Required Courses:
- Corporations or Closely Held Business Organizations
- Taxation I
Recommended Courses for Technology and Innovation Focus:
The following courses are recommended (although not required) if you are interested in the Technology and Innovation focus (please note that not all of these courses qualify as electives for the business law certificate):
- Required Courses: In addition to Taxation and either Corporations or Closely Held Business Organizations, students must take Administrative Law. For students who meet the Technology and Innovation Focus concentration, Administrative Law will count as part of the 21 business credit hour requirement.
- Core Courses: One of the “core” courses must be satisfied by the Intellectual Property option.
- Upper Level Writing Requirement: In addition to a business topic, the ULWR must be completed on a topic relevant to technology and innovation.