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LAW-JD - Law (JD)

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Law School Law JD JD - Doctor of Jurisprudence

Program Overview

Courses offered by the School of Law are listed on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site under the subject codes LAW and LAWGEN.

The School of Law, established in 1893, provides a legal education for students who are fitted by their maturity and academic training to pursue professional study under University methods of instruction. The curriculum leading to the first professional degree in law, the Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.), constitutes an adequate preparation for the practice of law in any English-speaking jurisdiction. Graduate work leading to the degrees of Master of Laws (L.L.M.), Master of the Science of Law (J.S.M.), and Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.), and a non-professional degree, Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.), is also offered. For the full curriculum, see the Course Schedule & Description on the Law School web site. Stanford Law School offers joint or dual degree options in combination with other Stanford graduate departments and universities across the country; see the "Joint and Dual Degrees in Law" below.

The school is on a three-term academic calendar. For a complete list of academic dates see the Academic Calendar on the Law School web site.

For further information about admission, programs, curriculum, and faculty, see the Law School web site.

Joint and Dual Degrees in Law

Formal admission to both the Law School and to the other cooperating school or department in accordance with the established admission standards of each school or department is required. In addition to the established joint degree programs offered, the school considers requests for a dual program on an individually designed basis. For additional information on Law School joint or dual degree programs, see the Law School web site. See relevant web sites or department sections of this bulletin for degree requirements.

Graduate School of Business

  • See the GSB's M.B.A. web site

  • J.D./M.B.A. Master of Business Administration

  • J.D./Ph.D. Business Administration

School of Earth Sciences

  • J.D./M.S. Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER)

  • J.D./Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER)

School of Education

J.D./M.A. Education

School of Engineering

  • J.D./M.S. Bioengineering

  • J.D./Ph.D. Bioengineering

  • J.D./M.S. Computer Science

  • J.D./M.S. Electrical Engineering

  • J.D./M.S. Management Science and Engineering (MS&E)

  • J.D./Ph.D. Management Science and Engineering (MS&E)

School of Humanities and Sciences

  • J.D./Ph.D. Communication

  • J.D./M.A. Economics

  • J.D./Ph.D. Economics

  • J.D./M.A. History

  • J.D./Ph.D. History

  • J.D./M.A. in degree granting programs in Stanford Global Studies (SGS):

    • African Studies

    • East Asian Studies

    • Latin American Studies

    • Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies

  • J.D./M.A.  International Policy

  • J.D./Ph.D. Modern Thought and Literature

  • J.D./Ph.D. Philosophy

  • J.D./Ph.D. Political Science

  • J.D./Ph.D. Psychology

  • J.D./M.P.P. Public Policy

  • J.D./Ph.D. Sociology

  • J.D./M.S. Symbolic Systems

School of Medicine

  • J.D./M.S. Health Research and Policy (HRP)

  • J.D./M.D. Medicine

  • J.D./Ph.D. Neurosciences

Cooperative Programs with Other Universities

Stanford J.D. students have also pursued degrees at other universities such as the Harvard Kennedy School, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Princeton Woodrow Wilson School. The approval process for such a cooperative program begins after the student has been admitted, independently, to both programs. Students may enroll in either a joint degree among schools at Stanford or in a degree from an external university, but a student may not enroll in both a Stanford JDP and a cooperative program with another university.

Courses in Law

Some Law courses have special enrollment instructions and restrictions, but many Law courses are open to qualified graduate students in other departments of Stanford University with instructor consent. Non-Law students may not enroll in courses that are part of the required first-year J.D. curriculum. Stanford non-Law students intending to enroll in any course with a LAW subject code must consult the Office of the Law School Registrar in the Stanford Law School Administration Building, room 100, or see the Stanford Law School, Office of the Registrar web site.

Free Form Requisites

Degree Requirements

For details about the J.D. graduation requirements, please refer to the SLS Student Handbook. 

Overview of Degree Requirements

The requirements for the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence are: 

  • For students who entered law school before 2019, successful completion of all  first-year required courses plus an additional 82 quarter units of elective coursework (111 total units); 

  • For students who entered law school in 2019 or later, successful completion of all first-year required courses plus an additional 78 quarter units of elective coursework (111 total units); 

  • For students who entered law school in 2016 or later, satisfaction of the experiential learning requirement; 

  • Satisfaction of the ethics requirement; 

  • Satisfaction of the writing requirement; 

  • Satisfaction of the learning outcomes requirement; 

  • For students who entered law school before 2016, satisfaction of the professional skills instruction requirement; 

  • Nine quarters of residency; 

  • Timely filing of an application for graduation.

Unit Requirement 

Students who entered law school before 2019 must complete all first-year required courses plus an additional 82 approved quarter units of elective coursework to obtain a JD (a total of 111 units). Students who entered law school in 2019 or later must complete all first-year required courses plus an additional 78) approved quarter units of elective coursework to obtain a JD (a total of 111 units). 

During the Autumn Quarter, a first-year student may take only those courses on the required list. 

First-year JD students may take no more than 5 units of electives in the Winter Quarter, and they must take at least 3 units but no more than 8 units of electives in the Spring Quarter. Elective courses are limited to those within the Law School, with the exception that first-year JD students may take a physical education or a music course each quarter but it will not count toward residency or graduation.


Course Requirements

                                                                                                                                                                              Units

1L Required Courses                                                                                                                                        34-46

Autumn Quarter                                                                                                                                                     18

Complete the following:

LAW 201     Civil Procedure I                                                                                                                                   5  

LAW 205     Contracts                                                                                                                                               5

LAW 223     Torts                                                                                                                                                       5

LAW 219     Legal Research and Writing                                                                                                               2

Complete 1 of the following:

    LAW 240A    Discussion (1L): Asian Americans and the Law

    LAW 240B    Discussion (1L): Comparative Approaches to Law and Inequality 

    LAW 240C    Discussion (1L): Discussion (1L): Corporate Social Responsibility

(We would list the following courses: LAW 240D, LAW 240E, LAW 240F, LAW 240G, LAW 240H, LAW 240I, LAW 240J, LAW 240K, LAW 240L, LAW 240M, LAW 240N, and LAW 240O) 

Winter Quarter                                                                                                                                                   9-14

Complete the following:

LAW 203     Constitutional Law                                                                                                                               3

LAW 207     Criminal Law                                                                                                                                         4

LAW 224A   Federal Litigation in a Global Context: Coursework                                                                      2

May complete at least 5 units of Electives (See SLS Student Handbook)

Spring Quarter                                                                                                                                                    9-14

Complete the following:

LAW 217     Property                                                                                                                                                 4

LAW 224B    Federal Litigation in a Global Context: Methods and Practice                                                    2

Any LAW course                                                                                                                                                     3-8

2L and 3L Requirements                                                                                                                                 65-75

See SLS handbook for more details. 1

Total Units                                                                                                                                                             111


1  Stanford Law School Student Handbook

Residency Requirements

To graduate, a JD student must be “in residence” as a law student for at least nine (9) quarters and no more than twelve (12) quarters. For purposes of the JD degree, the term “in residence” means that a student:  

  • Takes at least 9 quarter units of credit that can be counted toward the degree each quarter. 

  • By the date all grades for the quarter are due, passes at least 8 such units each quarter. 

  • Pays full tuition to the law school. 

  • Does not work more than 20 hours per week during the term. (See section entitled ‘Limitations on Working’ for more information.) 

  • A student must be in residence during the quarter in which the final degree is conferred or during the quarter immediately preceding degree conferral.


























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