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Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students who fail to attain satisfactory academic progress by the end of each academic year will lose federal financial aid eligibility such as the ability to borrow from the Federal Direct Loan and the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan. If the student resumes satisfactory academic progress, the student will regain federal financial aid eligibility as long as the student maintains satisfactory academic progress.  If the student is not maintaining satisfactory academic progress, the student will be contacted by the Office of Financial Aid prior to the beginning of the Fall semester.  Appeals may be granted through the Office of Student Affairs.  The full and detailed Law School Academic policies and regulations can be found here.

To maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, a Fordham Law Student enrolled in the program below must:

 

JD

  • Maintain a weighted average of 2.00 every academic year (excluding hours in a pass/fail course if that course is passed).
  • If in the day division, attempt no fewer than 12 credit hours per semester; if in the evening division, attempt no fewer than 8 credit hours per semester.
  • If in the day division, pass at least 10 credit hours per semester; if in the evening division, pass at least 8 credit hours per semester.
  • Complete the course of study for the JD degree no earlier than 24 months and no later than 84 months after he/she has begun law studies either at Fordham Law or at a law school from which Fordham Law has accepted transfer credit.

LLM

  • Full time LLMs: Pass 75% of the credits for which student is registered and receive no more than one F or FA;
  • Part-time LLMs: pass at least 75% of the credits for which student is registered each academic year (rounded down to the nearest whole number) with no more than one grade of F or FA.
  • Any student receiving a grade of incomplete has until the end of the following semester to resolve or the incomplete will be an F. Course withdrawals are not included in the student’s GPA.
  • Full time LLMs: Attempt at least 10 credits per semester (including any repeated course in the event of a failed course in a previous semester);
  • Part-time LLMs: attempt at least 2 credits per semester (including any repeated course in the event of a failed course in a previous semester).
    Withdrawn are counted as attempted credit, but not completed. Incomplete courses count as attempted credit but are not considered completed unless resolved.
  • Complete the LLM course of study no later than 3 semesters for full time students and 6 semesters for part time students.

MSL

  • Full-time MSL: Pass at least 75% of the credits for which the student is registered each semester (rounded down to the nearest whole number) with no more than 1 grade of F or FA.
  • Part-time MSL: Pass at least 75% of the credits for which the student is registered each academic year (rounded down to the nearest whole number) with no more than 1 grade of F or FA.
  • Any student receiving a grade of incomplete has until the end of the following semester to resolve or the incomplete will be an F. Course withdrawals are not included in the student’s GPA.
  • Full-time MSL: Attempt at least 11 credits per semester (including any repeated course in the event of a failed course in a previous semester). Withdrawn are counted as attempted credit, but not completed. Incomplete courses count as attempted credit but are not considered completed unless resolved.
  • Part-time MSL: Attempt at least 2 credits per semester (including any repeated course in the event of a failed course in a previous semester). Withdrawn are counted as attempted credit, but not completed. Incomplete courses count as attempted credit but are not considered completed unless resolved.
  • Complete the MSL program of study no later than 3 semesters for full time students and 8 semesters for part-time students.

SJD

  • Pass 75% of the credits for which student is registered and receive no more than one F or FA (rounded down to the nearest whole number) with no more than one grade of F or FA. The SJD program does not accept any transfer credits. Any student receiving a grade of incomplete has until the end of the following semester to resolve or the incomplete will be an F.
  • Attempt at least 10 credits per semester (including any repeated course in the event of a failed course in a previous semester). Withdrawn are counted as attempted credit, but not completed. Incomplete courses count as attempted credit but are not considered completed unless resolved.
  • Complete the SJD program of study no later than four years after he/she began studies at Fordham Law.