International Students

Transfer Students

International Students: Full-time Status (International Office)

To comply with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), international students on F-1 and J-1 visas will not be permitted to register for less than a full-time study unless they have their official “Underload Form” approved by both the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the International Student Services Office. Full-time status for international students is 12 or more semester hours for a day division; 9 semester hours for evening division; and 5 semester hours for LLM students. Any F-1 or J-1 student who registers for less than a full course of study (other than summer) without a waiver of the full-time requirement will have their registration cancelled by the 14^th day of school.

Transfer of Course Work (this information is also included in the “Registration and Policies” section)

Transfer of course work occurs in two circumstances.  One is the student who originally enrolled at Lewis & Clark, and who does course work at another ABA-accredited school, bringing that course work in to count toward the L&C degree.  The second is the student who originally enrolled at another law school, and who has been admitted to transfer to Lewis & Clark and finish the degree at Lewis & Clark.  Below are the rules that apply to both, and the specific rules according to the student’s original enrollment.

All students wishing to transfer in courses are subject to the following rules:

1. Courses must be taken at a law school approved by the American Bar Association and must be recognized for credit by that law school.
2. A grade of “C” or higher or its equivalent as defined by the host school, must be received in the course taken at the other law school. The grade received will not be used to compute grade point averages at Lewis & Clark Law School.
3. In no case may a student transfer credit earned at another law school for practical experience in an externship or similar program, whether or not the other law school confers a grade for such work.

Students who originally enrolled as a first year student at Lewis & Clark law school who wish to transfer in course work taken at other law schools are subject to the following conditions:

1. In no case will a student be allowed more than 15 semester hours of credit in courses taken at other law schools without prior permission from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. A student must complete a minimum of two-thirds of his/her course work requirements at Lewis & Clark Law School in order to receive a degree from Lewis & Clark Law School. The Associate Dean will grant an exception only if it results in the student spending no more than two semesters away from the law school. 
2. Students must notify the Registrar’s Office by petition if they wish to visit or transfer. Any student who visits for one semester or longer at another school should counsel with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs regarding the transfer of credit, before registering for courses at another school.
3. In no case may a student transfer credit earned at another law school for practical experience in an externship or similar program, whether or not the other law school confers a grade for such work.
4. Lewis & Clark graduation requirements must generally be done through courses at Lewis & Clark; however, requirements may be done at another ABA-accredited school if the Associate Dean approves the course work as substantially meeting the Lewis & Clark graduation requirement(s).

In the case of students not originally enrolled as first year students at Lewis & Clark, who are admitted to transfer in to Lewis & Clark, the amount of credits accepted, and the further required curriculum to graduate from Lewis & Clark, will be determined by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs or his/her designate.

Transfer of course work taken at other law schools by students admitted to transfer into Lewis & Clark Law School is subject to the following conditions:

1. Courses must be taken at a law school approved by the American Bar Association and must be recognized for credit by that law school.
2. A grade of “C” or higher, or its equivalent as defined by the host school, must be received in the course taken at the other law school. The grade received will not be used to compute grade point averages at Lewis & Clark Law School.
3. Students will generally be limited to transferring in no more than the total number of credits a Lewis & Clark student can earn in the first year full-time program, which is 32 credits.  A student must complete a minimum of two-thirds of their course work requirements at Lewis & Clark Law School in order to receive a degree from Lewis & Clark Law School. The Dean will grant an exception only if it results in the student spending no more than two semesters away from the law school. 
4. Transfer students must complete two (2) semesters of residency at Lewis & Clark Law School before commencing an externship placement.  For transfer students, grades received at Lewis & Clark will be given the most significant weight in determining eligibility to extern, but grades from prior law institutions will also be considered by the Curriculum Committee.  Exceptions to this rule may be considered by the Curriculum Committee.