Study Away Policies

Summer Study: USA

Students in good standing may receive credit for summer courses taken at ABA accredited law schools. No more than 8 semester hours of credit may be earned for summer study each summer. Students will not receive credit for courses taken at other law schools that duplicate or are substantially similar to courses that have been or will be offered during the student's course of study at Seattle University School of Law.

Summer Study: Abroad

Seattle University School of Law will accept up to 6 credits from summer study abroad programs accredited by the ABA or AALS. A list of approved programs is available in the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Such courses may be duplicative of courses offered at the Law School. The Law School also directly co-sponsors several summer study away programs.

Study at Other Law Schools: Fall, Spring Semesters

Permission to take courses at law schools other than Seattle University School of Law during the fall and spring semesters will be granted only in exceptional cases. All required courses other than those completed by transfer students must be taken at the Law School. Normally, the last 30 hours must be taken at Seattle University School of Law in order to qualify for the JD degree. The rule will be waived by petition to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs only where the student is in good standing and where great hardship would otherwise result. Students who wish to continue to take courses within the state of Washington during the fall or spring semesters must show that the course does not duplicate or is not substantially similar to courses that have or will be offered during the student's course of study at Seattle University School of Law and must demonstrate that the taking of the course is significantly career related.

Students considering attending another law school must complete a petition available at the Office of the Registrar and submit the petition to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Kristin DiBiase.

We will not accept the transfer of any credits from any other law school unless the Associate Dean for Student Affairs has approved both the program and the courses for which you plan to register prior to the start of the summer program or the semester prior to the start of any coursework for which transfer credit is desired.

In addition to the petition, the student must submit descriptions of the courses the student plans to take. For those students requesting permission to attend a summer study abroad, a copy of the program brochure must also be submitted.

Transfer of Credit

A grade of C or better is required for transfer of credit to be granted. Credit will not be granted for courses taken on a pass/fail basis, nor may students take independent study, outside clinical practice or externship credits. Grades for courses taken at other law schools will not be included in the computation of the law school grade point average.

Please see the Student Handbook for special provisions for students in their first-year or bottom quarter of the class.

Statement of Educational Objectives for Study at a Foreign Institution

(Does not apply to study abroad programs sponsored by ABA accredited law schools)

In accordance with Paragraph I.A.3 of the American Bar Association’s Criteria for Student Study at a Foreign Institution as amended March 2014, the following is a statement of the educational objectives that Seattle University School of Law seeks to achieve in allowing our students to study abroad for credit towards the JD degree.

Seattle University School of Law strongly believes in preparing its J.D. students for practice in an increasingly globalized legal environment.

Through arrangements with foreign universities and other legal institutions around the world, Seattle University School of Law has created many opportunities for its J.D. students to study and gain valuable exposure to foreign legal systems. The particular educational objectives that the law school seeks to achieve in permitting its J.D. students to study abroad and earn credit toward the J.D. degree include one or more of the following:

(a) to learn about the laws and legal systems of one or more jurisdictions outside the United States;

(b) to deepen their understanding of the U.S. legal system by placing it within a comparative legal framework;

(c) to prepare themselves for the practice of law within a transnational context; and

(d) to better prepare themselves to counsel clients from diverse language and cultural backgrounds through immersion in foreign languages and cultures.