Whittier Law offers full and part-time day and evening programs to accommodate student needs. Each program requires 87 units for graduation, including required core courses and electives. Additionally, students must satisfy law school residency requirements for graduation. Classes meet in fourteen-week fall and spring semesters and eight-week summer sessions.

The Full-Time program takes three-years to complete. Classes are scheduled Monday through Friday, with an occasional advanced-elective course offered on Saturday. The classes vary in length from one to three hours. A Full-Time student is required to take between 12 and 15 units per semester. Students should anticipate studying three hours for every hour of class. Full-Time students are admitted in the fall and spring semesters.

Classes: Full-Time Day Required Curriculum

First-Year Requirements

• Civil Procedure 5 units
• Contracts 6 units
• Criminal Law 3 units
• Legal Writing (formerly Legal Skills) 4 units
• Real Property 6 units
• Torts 6 units
• Academic Success Writing and Skills sections non-graded*

Second-Year Requirements

• Constitutional Law 6 units
• Professional Responsibility 2 units
• Professional Skills I (formerly PR Skills/ICN) 2 units

Third-Year Requirements

• Legal Analysis Workshop 3 units*
• Professional Skills II 3 units*

Additional Requirements

• Community Property 2units*
• Corporations 4 units*
• Criminal Procedure 3units*
• Evidence 4 units*
• Remedies 4 units*
• UCC I 3 units*
• Wills & Trusts 4units*

The remaining units required for graduation may be selected from a curriculum including clinical skills and substantive electives to accommodate a student's legal interests.

*Required for graduation for entering classes beginning in fall 2005.

Whittier Law School recognizes that not all law students can attend traditional full-time day programs. To accommodate work or family obligations, the Law School offers flexible part-time day and evening programs. These programs take four years to complete. Flexible Day and Evening Division students are required to enroll in eight to ten units each academic semester and are encouraged to take an additional three to six units during summer sessions. Flexible Day Division students and Evening Division students are admitted in the fall semester only.

Flexible Part-Time Day Division

Flexible Part-Time Day classes are typically scheduled so that students attend classes three days a week in the first two years. In the first year, the typical Flexible Day Division student’s schedule includes three courses per semester. Summer semesters are required in order to complete the program in four years.

Evening Part-Time Division

Evening classes are scheduled Monday through Thursday, with an occasional advanced elective offered on a Friday or Saturday. An evening student normally attends classes three nights a week in the first two years generally between 6 and 10 p.m.

Classes: Flexible Part-Time Day and Evening Required Curriculum

First-Year Requirements

• Contracts 6 units
• Criminal Law 3 units
• Legal Writing (formerly Legal Skills) 4 units
• Torts 6 units
• Academic Success Writing and Skills sections non-graded*

Second-Year Requirements

• Civil Procedure 5 units
• Constitutional Law 6 units
• Professional Skills I (formerly PR Skills/ICN) 2 units
• Constitutional Law 6 units
• Real Property 6 units

Third-Year Requirements

• Legal Analysis Workshop 3 units*
• Professional Skills II 2 units*

Additional Requirements

• Community Property 2units*
• Corporations 4 units*
• Criminal Procedure 3units*
• Evidence 4 units*
• Professional Responsibility 2 units
• Remedies 4 units*
• UCC I 3 units*
• Wills & Trusts 4units*

*Required for graduation for entering classes beginning in fall 2005.

The remaining units required for graduation may be selected from a curriculum including clinical skills and substantive electives to accommodate a student's legal interests.

By applying for mid-year admission to the Full-Time Day Division, students can accelerate their law studies and complete their degree in two and one-half years. Classes start in January and the required first-year curriculum is taught in the spring and summer semesters. The regular second-year program follows in the fall semester. The Admissions Committee gives priority to prospective spring students who apply by October 1.

In the first year, spring admission students are required to enroll in 15 units during the spring semester and 7 units during summer session. They take a regular course load, including an additional summer session, for the remaining two years of the program.

First-Year Requirements

• Civil Procedure 5 units
• Contracts 6 units
• Criminal Law 3 units
• Legal Writing I 2 units
• Torts 6 units
• Academic Success Writing and Skills sections non-graded*

 Second-Year Requirements

• Constitutional Law 6 units
• Legal Writing II 2 units
• Real Property 6 units

Third-Year Requirements

• Professional Responsibility and Practicum 4 units
• Legal Analysis Workshop I 3 units*
• Legal Analysis Workshop II 2 units*

*Required for graduation for entering classes beginning in fall 2005.

During the Summer Session, Whittier Law offers a limited number of upper-division elective courses and some bar courses that typically meet in the evenings. Full-time students can accelerate their program by taking summer courses, and they can become part-time students in their last semester in order to work or study for the bar examination. Students typically enroll in a maximum of six units. However occasionally a student can enroll in a seventh unit when the Law School offers Intersession courses.