Curriculum And Degree Requirements

The Bachelor of Science in Law Degree will be granted to those students who successfully complete Part I and Part II of the law study program, which consists of a total of eight courses. Each course is worth 6 units of credit for what is the equivalent of two semesters, or one academic year's worth of schoolwork. It is required that a minimum of 216 study hours be expended by each student per course. Accordingly, 36 study hours are expended at a minimum for each unit of credit.

Northwestern California University does not require formal, on-campus residence or classroom attendance. Four years of law study are required by the California State Bar for those seeking such eligibility through the Law Study Program.

A minimum overall gradepoint average of 2.00 is required in Part I and II of the law study program before the Bachelor of Science in Law Degree will be awarded.

To be Eligible for Enrollment:

For Those Seeking Bar Eligibility -- Students seeking Bar eligibility must have completed 60 or more acceptable college semester units or must have passed College Equivalency Examinations approved by the California Committee of Bar Examiners.

For Students Not Seeking Bar Eligibility -- Students not seeking bar eligibility must have successfully completed 60 or more acceptable college semester units.

Students listen to recorded lectures. Additionally, written material is studied for each course. The written material is comprised of online school guidebooks, commercially prepared course outlines and, for most courses, casebooks.

Students are exposed to most of what they would have been exposed to by attending classes at a traditional law school, i.e. lectures given by law school professors, cases that they read and brief, and examinations given in traditional format.

The students are encouraged to supplement the prescribed instruction with other study materials traditionally used by law students and usually purchased 'off campus.' These supplemental materials include hornbooks, flow charts, flash cards, etc.

Students in this school's law study program, just like students at traditional law schools, are required to listen to the course lectures, prepare case briefs, read prescribed written materials and take mid-term and final examinations. Additionally, for our first-year students, an open book quiz must be completed prior to the taking of midterms in each of the following first-year courses: Contracts, Torts and Criminal Law.

Mid-term examinations are done by the students in open book fashion and must be sent to the school by the students for grading by one of the school's faculty members. A mid-term grade constitutes one-third of the student's ultimate grade for a course.

Final examinations are administered by a selected proctor who must be a lawyer, a judge of a regional court or a school official (school administrator or teacher). The school sends the final examination to the proctor who administers the exam to the student and returns the answers to the school for grading. The final exam grade constitutes the remaining two-thirds of the student's final grade.

The test questions for the midterms and finals are styled after those given to law students at most traditional law schools and are similar in complexity.

See the list of courses for the Law Study Program in the Course Description section. Those listed under Part I and Part II of that program are the courses that must be successfully completed before the Bachelor of Science Degree will be conferred. Some limited course substitution, i.e., substituting a course from Part III or IV for a course in Part II, may be allowed or advised dependent upon a particular need or interest of the student. Additional elective courses are offered as a supplement to the prescribed curriculum.

The Juris Doctor Degree will be granted to individuals who have successfully completed all required parts of the law study program. It is the student's responsibility to be sure that Bar eligibility requirements are followed.

Each course in Part I through Part IV of the law study program is worth 6 units of credit for what is the equivalent of two semesters, or one academic year's worth of school work. It is required that a minimum of 216 study hours be expended by each student per course. Accordingly, 36 study hours are expended at a minimum for each unit of credit.

Same as those previously disclosed for the Bachelor of Science in Law Degree.

Same as those previously described for the Bachelor of Science in Law Degree.

See the list of courses for the Law Study Program in the Course Description section of the catalog.

The Paralegal program involves concentrated coursework in the following subject areas:

1. Accounting/Tax
2. Agency
3. Bankruptcy
4. Civil Procedure
5. Commercial Transactions
6. Contracts
7. Corporations
8. Criminal Law
9. Criminal Procedure
10. Equitable Remedies
11. Estate Planning
12. Evidence
13. Family Law
14. Legal Ethics
15. Legal Writing and Research
16. Partnerships
17. Personal Property
18. Private Trusts
19. Probate
20. Real Property
21. Torts
22. Wills

It is customary that a minimum of 550 independent study hours be expended by each student for the entire Paralegal course. Accordingly, minimums of 25 independent study hours are typically expended in each subject area. Each subject area is worth 1.5 units of credit. Completion of the Paralegal certificate program results in the granting of a total of 33 units of credit.

The students who are accepted into the Certificate Program should have a four year college degree, or two years of college credit with at least two years of work experience, or, at a minimum, a high school diploma or equivalency exam with some training or background in general clerical skills and typing. The Non-Certificate Program requires no previous experience or academic background and is for anyone interested in expanding his or her knowledge of law and legal procedure.

Same as that previously disclosed for the Bachelor of Science Degree. However, the tapes, books and outlines will not be the same.

Courses (in condensed format), previously identified, must be successfully completed before the Paralegal Certificate will be conferred.