Curriculum

USC Law's curriculum is comprehensive and designed to challenge—qualities that have earned us a reputation for offering the finest legal education available. Our scholarly yet practical approach ensures that you gain the skills and perspective every lawyer needs to practice, teach, enter public service or work in business. Our LL.M. students may select from a wide variety of classes during their studies.

We also offer a variety of courses exclusively for LL.M. students. These courses include Introduction to U.S. Legal System, Topics in American Law, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Legal Writing, and Reviewing and Negotiating Business Contracts. Many of these courses cover topics that are tested on or provide helpful skills for the New York and California bar exams.

Upper Division Courses

Click here for a complete list of law school course descriptions

Past Semester Course Descriptions

Select a course from the menu below to see its description. If a course does not appear in the menu it is because the instructor has not yet submitted a description to the Registrar's office.

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Courses for International Students

 

Exclusive classes offered to Graduate and International Program students

Corporate and Business Law

 

Laws that govern corporations, business organizations, and commercial transactions.

Law of Taxation

 

Laws that govern taxation of individuals and businesses.

The Court System and Civil Rights

 

Laws that govern the structure and role of the courts, including analysis of arguments made by specific groups seeking recognition of Constitutional protections. Includes courses that explore the moral, personal, and political dimensions of being a lawyer.

Family Law, Health, and Behavioral Sciences

 

Laws that govern the functions and dysfunctions of individuals and families, including issues related to the intervention of advanced technologies and treatments in the lives of individuals.

Government Regulation

 

Laws that govern the regulation of private activities by government agencies, including issues of politics and public policy.

Intellectual Property, Entertainment, and Patent Law

 

Substantive law and concepts as applied to the fields of entertainment, media, communications, and advanced technology.

Real Estate, Environmental Law and Land Use

 

Laws that govern the protection of natural resources and government controls placed on use and exploitation of land.

International and Comparative Law

 

Laws that govern private international activity, such as foreign trade and business transactions; laws that govern public noncommercial activity such as treaties, arms control, and human rights.

Research, Clinical Training and Public Interest Law

 

Courses focus on intensive skills-training in the daily advocacy work of a lawyer, involving simulated exercises and work with actual clients.

Grading Policies for LL.M. & M.C.L. Students

 

Grades awarded to LL.M. and M.C.L. students reflect the same standards that apply to J.D. students. Whenever possible, exams are blind graded, so that faculty do not know the individual identity or degree program of the student. Blind grading aims to assign LL.M. and M.C.L. students the same grade that a J.D. student would earn for an identical exam or paper. Accommodations for language difficulties are made by allowing eligible LL.M. and M.C.L. students additional time for exams, and by permitting them to use dictionaries in closed-book exams.

The particular rules for LL.M. and M.C.L grading vary somewhat depending on the class. In first-year classes, the curve is established based only on first-year J.D. students, excluding LL.M., M.C.L. and other students in the class. Our LL.M. and M.C.L. students are then awarded the grade that their raw score would have received had a J.D. in the class scored at that level. Thus, for first-year classes, LL.M. and M.C.L students have no effect on the J.D. curve, though they are graded using it.

For most upper level classes, LL.M. and M.C.L. students are graded along with the J.D. students, using the same standards, and are included in the class curve. The law school offers some classes that are open only to our foreign LL.M. and M.C.L. students only, including Introduction to U.S. Legal Education. Because there are no J.D. students taking these classes, we cannot fully implement our principle that LL.M. and M.C.L. students will receive the same grade that a J.D. would receive for identical work. We have no comparable J.D. work. Instead we use our general upper level curve, with a 3.2 median and a constrained spread for these classes. LL.M. and M.C.L. grades are subject to appeal according to the same rules as J.D. grades.

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