Curriculum
UMass Law's curriculum reflects a combination of tradition and innovation, combining subjects that form the core of a comprehensive legal education with an emphasis on skills and values based on best practices—all within the context of our mission to educate lawyers prepared to pursue justice.
Curriculum guides & checklists: see Law Enrollment Center
Core program requirements
- Academic Skills Lab
- Civil Procedure
- Contracts
- Criminal Law
- Property
- Torts
- Constitutional Law I & II
- Criminal Law
- Professional Responsibility
- Evidence
Legal Skills requirements
Legal Skills Program: A three semester Legal Skills requirement uses a simulation-based approach to teach such fundamental lawyering skills as:
- Legal analysis
- Legal research
- Legal writing
- Oral argument
- Client interviewing
- Client counseling
- Negotiation
- Collaboration
- Problem solving
Distribution requirements
There are three "distribution" requirements:
1. Foundation requirement: Students are required to take at least six credits (two courses) of "foundation" courses, which include:
- Administrative Law
- Business Organizations
- Consumer Bankruptcy
- Criminal Procedure
- Family Law
- Federal Income Tax
- Payment Systems
- Sales Law
- Secured Transactions
- Trusts and Estates
2. Practice requirement: All students are required to take at least six credits of "practice" courses. Three of the six practice credits must be satisfied through a clinic or field placement course, thus ensuring that all students have a real professional practice experience. Practice courses include:
In-House Clinics
- Community Development Clinic
- Advanced Community Development Clinic
- Human Rights at Home Clinic
- Advanced Human Rights at Home Clinic
- Immigration Law Clinic
- Advanced Immigration Law Clinic
Off-Site Clinics
- Criminal Prosecution Clinic
- Housing and Eviction Defense Clinic
- Mashpee Wampanoag Legal Services Clinic
- State Attorney General Clinic
Field Placement
Simulation Courses
- Advanced Evidence and Advocacy
- Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice
- Appellate Advocacy
- Criminal Motion Practice
- Family Law Practice
- Mass. Probate Practice
- Mass. Worker's Compensation
- Mental Health Litigation
- Real Estate Transactions
- Residential Landlord-Tenant Practice
- Trial Practice
- Transactional Drafting
- Zealous Advocacy in the Mass. Criminal Courts
3. Upper-level writing requirement: Students must also satisfy an upper-level writing requirement by writing a paper in an approved elective course or as an independent research project.
Additional graduation requirements
Full-time students earning a GPA below 3.0 after their first semester (full-time) or second semester (part-time) must complete three additional courses: a 1L Additional Graduation Requirement (taken in the 1L spring (full-time) or 2L fall (part-time)); Advanced Legal Analysis; and Introduction to Bar Preparation.
MPRE graduation requirement
For details on the MPRE Graduation Requirement, visit the MPRE Graduation Requirement page.
Bar preparation
Students are also required to complete the Bar Preparation course in their final semester.
Pro Bono requirement
All students are required to volunteer the equivalent of at least one work-week of legal or law-related work under the supervision of a licensed attorney in a law office, government office, legal services organization, or other non-profit organization. For more information see the Pro Bono Requirement page.