III. Additional Academic Opportunities (J.D. and Graduate Programs)

• Additional Written Work Opportunities
• Clinical Legal Education
• Cross-Registration
• Joint, Coordinated, and Concurrent Degree Opportunities for J.D. Students
• J.D. Studies at Other Schools

A. Additional Written Work Opportunities

1. Optional Written Work

In addition to the Written Work Requirement for each degree, all students have the option of doing additional written work for credit. With the agreement of the instructor, a student may do such optional written work for additional credit in conjunction with a Law School seminar or course, or may do it on an independent basis with Law School faculty supervision. 

a) Credits: Optional written work may receive one or more writing credits, depending upon the scope of the written work. Optional papers are expected to be of the same scope as a paper written to fulfill Option 1 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement that receives the same number of credits (e.g., a two-credit optional paper must be of the same scope as a two-credit Option 1 paper). The number of credits granted for a particular piece of writing must be arranged in advance between the student and the faculty member who has agreed to supervise the work. 

b) Supervision: Students are encouraged to ask any faculty member to supervise written work; faculty have indicated availability to supervise written work in particular fields in 2009–10. Faculty on certain types of leave may not be available in a given term.

c) Supervision by Visiting Faculty: Writing credits under the supervision of visiting faculty must be registered for, and ordinarily completed during, the term(s) of the visitor’s appointment. Note that many visitors have Law School appointments for only one term.  Students with questions about visiting faculty supervision of written work outside the faculty member's term of appointment should contact Andy Kaufman, Vice Dean for Academic Programming.

d) Registration for Optional Written Work: J.D. Students must register for Optional Written Work by submitting the required registration and proposal forms to the faculty supervisor for approval and then returning the completed forms to the Registrar's Office by October 2, 2009 for Fall term and by January 29, 2010 for Spring term.  Forms are available online and in the Registrar's Office.  See Section VII for more information about registration and Section VIII for submission deadlines for Optional Written Work.

e) J.D. students should consult the Registrar’s Office or Julie Barton, Director of Special Academic Programs, with questions about Optional Written Work. 

f) LL.M. students should consult with Nancy Pinn, Director of Administration and Student Affairs for the Graduate Program, (npinn@law.harvard.edu), before undertaking Optional Written Work.

2. Winter Term Writing Program

Participants in the Winter Term Writing Program (WWP) will devote the winter term exclusively to the intensive research and/or writing of a paper under the supervision of a Law School faculty advisor. The work done during the winter term must be part of a larger project, such as Option 1 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement, or the LL.M. Long Paper. It is the full project for which a student registers and obtains a Law School faculty supervisor. The WWP itself does not confer credit. Placement in the program is in lieu of taking a Law School course for the winter term, and to meet the minimum residency requirement, the research/writing done during the term must be comparable at a minimum to completion of a two-credit course. 

a) J.D. Students: The following standard Law School writing formats qualify for J.D. participation in the WWP. The credits listed are registered into the winter term.

i. Option 1 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement: an independent Option 1 paper (two or three writing credits) or an Option 1 paper written in conjunction with a course or seminar (two or three writing credits).

ii. J.D. Optional Written Work: a two-credit independent optional paper of the same size and scope as a two-credit independent Option 1 paper or an optional paper in conjunction with a course or seminar (one or two writing credits).

b) J.D. Students -- Special Considerations

i. Option 2 of the J.D. Written Work Requirement does not qualify for the WWP.

ii. Written work for which J.D. students registered in a previous academic year is not eligible for the WWP in the current year.

iii.  Credits for WWP projects are registered into the Winter Term.

iv. Students should note that taking the WWP instead of a winter course eliminates the winter term as a source of classroom credits. Third-year students considering the WWP in lieu of a winter course should first check their upper-level credits against HLS degree requirements to confirm that they will meet the required 36-classroom credit minimum set forth in Section I.C.

c) LL.M. Students: Students who have registered for a single written work project worth at least two credits, such as the LL.M. Long Paper, are eligible to apply for the WWP. LL.M. students who are accepted to the WWP must spend the winter term in Cambridge, working on the applicable paper.

d) Applications and Registration Process: The J.D. registration and proposal forms and the LL.M. application form are available online and in hard copy at the Office of the Registrar and in the Graduate Program Office respectively.  See Section VII for more information about registration and Section VIII for submission deadlines for the Winter Term Writing Program.

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B. Clinical Legal Education

Clinical courses offer students the opportunity to use the analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills they have learned in the classroom to assist clients, to develop policy positions, and to work on legal reform while receiving academic credit. Students must have completed their first year of law school to enroll in a clinical course. Through the Clinical Program, students are mentored by experienced attorneys in a wide variety of settings. 

Most students work at the many Law School “in-house” clinics that are permanently staffed by Law School attorneys experienced in teaching and supervising students. Students can also be placed in externship placements where they work for an outside agency or organization. Students may also develop a new clinical placement through an independent clinical supervised by an attorney and an HLS faculty member.

Clinical work is time consuming and requires a greater time commitment than most non-clinical courses. Students should consult with the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/) and review the online evaluation of clinical placements to find out more about a specific clinic (https://ldap.law.harvard.edu/jobdb/).

A student may not receive academic credit for clinical work for which he or she also receives compensation.

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C. Cross-Registration

1. Cross-Registration from Harvard Law School

a) Overview: Cross-registration for eligible Harvard Law School students extends to all Harvard schools with the exception of the Division of Continuing Education and the Radcliffe Institute. Law School students may also cross-register at M.I.T. and the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Students are responsible for knowing the cross-registration policies and procedures of the Law School and of the school offering the course. Cross-registration must be completed at the beginning of the semester in which the course is offered and by the dates posted in the Law School Cross-Registration Calendar. A cross-registration petition may not be filed later in the year and operate retroactively.

b) Requirements: A student must be a currently registered, full-time student of Harvard Law School in order to cross-register. 

i. First-year J.D. students are not permitted to cross-register in the fall term. In the spring term, first-year students may petition the Vice Dean for Academic Programming to cross-register for a course offered by one of the other Harvard schools; however, the course, if approved, would not be counted for degree credit. Petitions should include the student’s reasons for wanting to cross-register.
ii. Second- and third-year J.D. students must carry at least eight Harvard Law School credits per semester in order to cross-register, and to meet the Law School fall and spring semester residency minimum of 10 credits, the cross-registered course must convert to at least two Harvard Law School credits.
iii. LL.M students must seek approval from the Director of Administration and Student Affairs for the Graduate Program.
iv. Only those S.J.D. students who are in the first year of the S.J.D. program and who are eligible to take courses for credit are able to cross-register.  Where both conditions have been met, S.J.D. students should also consult with their faculty supervisors before starting the cross-registration process.

c) Credits: Harvard Law School allows a maximum of 10 credits of cross-registration toward the J.D. degree and a maximum of six credits of cross-registration toward the LL.M. degree.  LL.M. students seeking to cross-register must receive advance written approval to enroll in the specific cross-registered course(s) from the Director of Administration and Student Affairs for the Graduate Program. The maximum number of credits any Law School student may take in cross-registration per semester is six. The number of credits for a course will be assigned by the Law School Registrar’s Office. Law School credits for cross-registration are generally based on lecture hours (e.g., a course meeting three lecture hours per week for a full semester will receive three credits). Studio courses for J.D. students are generally limited to two credits. LL.M.s do not receive degree credit for language courses.

d) Courses, Grades: The content of a cross-registered course may not duplicate or overlap course work taken previously or contemporaneously. The meeting time of the cross-registered course may not overlap or abut the meeting time with courses on the student’s Law School schedule, and sufficient travel time between schools must be allowed.
Cross-registered courses and resulting grades appear on the transcript. Credits earned in cross-registered courses generally count toward the degree; however, the grades do not count in Latin honors calculations. Grades awarded by the school offering the course are the grades of record for the Law School transcript.
Most schools do not allow graduate or cross-registered students to take courses pass/fail. Students may not negotiate pass/fail grading separately with faculty, and any offer of pass/fail grading from the course instructor will be verified by the Law School Registrar’s Office. Any questions regarding the grading policies of a school should be directed to the respective Registrar’s Office.

e) Academic Work, Examinations: As of the 2009-10 academic year, all Harvard schools will operate on the same academic calendar.  However each school will continue to offer individualized course and exam schedules that affect daily class times, add/drop deadlines, exams, and credits.  Students should review the course and exam schedule of the each school into which they plan to cross-register. All academic work for a cross-registered course must be completed in the term in which the course is taken. Students are responsible for taking the examination(s) in a cross-registered course when scheduled by the school offering the course. Students’ academic, travel, and employment schedules should be arranged accordingly. The Law School does not support deferral of examinations in any course in which a student is enrolled except as specified in the Law School's Deferred Examination Policy (see Section IV.B).  In addition, the examination policies and procedures of the school offering the course must be observed.

Note: Degree candidates should plan carefully to complete all academic work and exams in cross-registered courses on schedule to avoid delay in receipt of final grades that may jeopardize clearance for Harvard Law School graduation.

f) Cross-registration Deadlines: Harvard Law School students must follow the deadlines listed on the Law School Cross-Registration Calendar or the deadline of the school offering the course, whichever date is earlier. 

More detailed information about Cross-registration for Law School students is available online (http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/cross-registration/index.html) or from the Office of the Registrar.

2. Cross-Registration into Harvard Law School

Students cross-registering into Harvard Law School from other faculties should consult with their home school Registrar’s Office first. Cross-registration into the Law School is open to all Harvard University students with the exception students from the Division of Continuing Education or the Radcliffe Institute and to graduate students of M.I.T. and the Fletcher School at Tufts University. For the duration of the cross-registration, a student must be registered at his or her home school and remain in good standing at both the home school and at the Law School. 

Cross-registrants into the Law School are allowed to take a maximum of six credits at the Law School in an academic year, audits included. Most Law School courses expect students to have a basic understanding of legal vocabulary and the legal system. Students must get permission from the instructor to cross-register and should discuss their qualifications for a course/seminar in detail and in advance with the instructor. 

Cross-registration must be completed at the beginning of the semester in which the course is offered and by the dates posted in the  Law School Cross-Registration Calendar. A petition may not be filed later in the year and operate retroactively. There is no cross-registration into the first-year basic courses in civil procedure, contracts, criminal law, legislation and regulation, property, torts, and international or comparative law, or into the first-year Problem Solving Workshop or First-Year Legal Research and Writing. All cross-registration placements are determined by the Law School Registrar’s Office. Students may not make arrangements outside the Registrar’s Office with a Harvard Law School instructor regarding grades or credit for any academic work.

All academic work must be completed in the term in which cross-registration is taken and by Law School deadlines. All examinations must be taken as specified in the Harvard Law School examination schedule. No adjustments will be made, and Harvard Law School does not give make-up examinations. Papers are not accepted in lieu of exams unless the professor offers the option in advance to the entire class. All Law School courses and written work will be graded Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail ("H, P, LP, or F") or Credit/Fail for all students,  including cross-registrants. Except in courses so designated, Credit/Fail grading is not an option and may not be arranged separately with the instructor.

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D. Joint, Coordinated, and Concurrent Degree Opportunities for J.D. Students

1. Joint Degree Programs 

The Law School offers the following Joint Degree Programs with other Harvard Schools:

a) J.D./M.B.A. with the Harvard Business School

b) J.D./M.P.H. with the Harvard School of Public Health

c) J.D./M.P.P. and J.D./M.P.A. in International Development with the Harvard Kennedy School

d) J.D./M.U.P. with the Harvard Graduate School of Design

The Law School also offers a Joint Degree Program with Cambridge University, England leading to a Harvard J.D. and Cambridge LL.M.  For more information about this program and other international opportunities see Section III.E.

2. Rules and Policies

Law students enrolled in these joint degree programs are subject to all relevant rules and policies established by the Law School and by the other degree-granting School. Summaries of such rules and policies are available online and from the Office of the Registrar. Questions relating to admissions and other policies of the second degree-granting school should be addressed directly to the relevant administrator or faculty member at that school.

3. Coordinated J.D./Ph.D. Program

The Law School, in conjunction with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard (GSAS), offers a coordinated degree program leading to the J.D. and the Ph.D. degrees. Law students enrolled in this program are subject to the relevant rules and policies established by the Law School and by GSAS. Such rules and policies are available online and from the Office of the Registrar. Questions relating to admissions and other policies of GSAS should be addressed directly to the relevant GSAS administrator or faculty member.

4. Concurrent Degrees

a) Student may propose concurrent degrees with any Harvard school with which the Law School does not offer a joint degree program.  Students proposing concurrent degrees with such Harvard schools, the Fletcher School at Tufts University, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may cross-register into courses at the other school and count those credits--pursuant to the Law School's cross-registration policy (see Section III.C)--toward the Law School's J.D. requirements. 

b) Students may also propose concurrent degrees with other institutions, and may take leave from the Law School to pursue studies at the other school  However, credits earned at the other school may not be counted toward the J.D. requirements and students must be in residence at the Law School for three academic years as indicated in Section I.A.  

c) All students must comply with the Harvard Law School academic requirements and residency requirements as defined above at I.  

Further information about joint, coordinated, and concurrent degree opportunities at the Law School is available from Julie Barton, Director of Special Academic Programs, at 617-495-7192 or jbarton@law.harvard.edu.

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E. J.D. Studies at Other Schools

1. Study Abroad for J.D. Students

Harvard Law School offers three types of opportunities for J.D. students to earn credit for course work at a foreign law school:

a) A semester abroad at one of the institutions with which Harvard Law School has signed formal exchange agreements that provide a designated number of places for J.D. students. The list of participating schools currently includes law programs at: University of Sydney (Australia); Fundação Getulio Vargas (Rio de Janeiro and São Paolo, Brazil); University of Chile (Santiago, Chile); Fudan University (Shanghai, China); University of Tokyo (Japan); University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa); University of Geneva (Switzerland), and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies—Geneva (Switzerland).

b) An independent semester abroad at an institution selected by the student and approved by the School's Study Abroad Committee.

c) A joint J.D./LL.M. program in which students who are not enrolled in another joint degree program are able to earn both a Harvard J.D. and an LL.M. from Cambridge University in England in three-and-one-half years.

d) For further details and information about eligibility, application deadlines, and program requirements, contact Sara Zucker, Director, International Legal Studies Program, at 617-495-9030 or szucker@law.harvard.edu.

2. Berkeley Exchange Program for J.D. Students

A limited number of J.D. students are permitted to participate in an exchange program at University of California, Berkeley-Boalt Hall School of Law during their third year for credit toward the Harvard J.D. degree. Interested students should consult the Dean of Students. Applications are due on the date specified in the Deadlines for Applying to Special Programs section of the handbook.

3. Program for Third-Year Visits

In a limited number of cases, J.D. students in their third year may be permitted to spend a semester or a year at another approved law school on the basis of significant academic need or serious personal hardship. “Serious personal hardship” is generally limited to unforeseen emergencies relating to personal or family circumstances. Living apart from a spouse or significant other does not, in and of itself, constitute a circumstance of this kind. Applications must be submitted by the date specified in the Deadlines for Applying to Special Programs section of the handbook. For further information, please consult the Dean of Students Office.

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