Graduation Requirements
Juris Doctor degree – The degree of Juris Doctor is conferred upon students who have satisfactorily completed at least 84 semester units of law study program that qualifies them to take the California Bar Examination, and have received an overall average grade of 70 or higher.
Honors – Students of the graduating class whose total cumulative average is 80 - 84 will graduate cum laude. Those whose average is 85 or higher will graduate magna cum laude; of this group the person with the highest cumulative average will receive a degree inscribed summa cum laude.
Examinations – Written examinations are held in each course at the end of each semester. Students wishing to use a laptop computer must download and register Examsoft's program prior to exams.
Grade Schedule
Students receive numerical grades upon completion of each semester and summer session course, based principally upon final examination. Scholastic standing will be computed upon the average of numerical grades.
- 85+ = Excellent
- 80 = Superior
- 75 = Very Good
- 70 = Satisfactory
- 65 = Deficient
- 60 = Seriously deficient; barely passing
- Below 60 = Failing; No Credit Earned
- P - Pass (for Pass/Fail course)
- F - Fail; No Credit (for Pass/Fail course)
- NX - Examination not taken -- No Grade -- No Credit Earned
- W - Withdrew during term -- No Grade -- No Credit Earned
- Pass-Fail courses are disregarded in computing grade averages.
Academic Standards
California Southern Law School is charged by The State Bar of California with the responsibility for not only providing a quality education but making a just determination regarding students' eligibility to continue. "A law school must admit and continue only those applicants who reasonably appear to be qualified to study law and reasonably appear to be likely to succeed in that study."
First Year Students
After their first semester students take an examination which consists of essay questions for all 3 first year subjects, and they earn a subject average for each course.
A first year student who completes fall semester exams with more than one subject average less than 60 is dismissed.
A first year student who completes fall semester exams with overall average of less than 60 will be dismissed.
A student who has a grade average of greater than or less than 70 is eligible to be admitted into second year upon passing the First-Year Law Students' Examination.
A student who has a grade average of greater than or less than 70 will be admitted into second year upon passing the First-Year Law Students' Examination.
Advanced Students: Retention and Advancement In Good Standing: Probation and Exclusion
A student completing the second year with a grade average of 69 in courses completed beyond the summer after first year shall enter the third year on probation. At the end of the second year, a student with a grade average of less than 69 in courses completed beyond the first year shall be academically dismissed.
A student completing the third year with a grade average of less than 70 in courses completed beyond the first year shall be academically dismissed. A cumulative grade average of not less than 70 is required for graduation.
A student earning a failing grade in any advanced course will be dismissed.
Readmission
Applicants disqualified for academic reasons may be granted readmission when there is an affirmative showing by the applicant that he or she possesses the requisite ability for the study of law. Such a showing may be made:
- At any time, if the student presents credible evidence that the prior disqualification was not caused by the applicant's lack of capacity for the study of law, but resulted from a traumatic event or serious hardship that prohibited the applicant from performing at her or his normal level; or
- After at least two (2) years have elapsed since the disqualification, if the applicant demonstrates that work, study, or other experience during the interim has resulted in a stronger potential for law study than the applicant exhibited at the time he or she was previously disqualified for academic reasons.
