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Charleston School of Law Juris Doctor Program Catalog and Student Handbook 2024-2025

Academic Catalog and Handbook

Academic Honors

  1. Dean's List

For each fall and spring semester, the Dean’s List will include any student who completes at least nine credit hours during the semester and who achieves a semester GPA of 3.30 or higher. No Dean’s List is determined for Maymester. However, the Dean’s List for the summer session will include any student who completes at least nine combined hours of Maymester and summer courses and who achieves a GPA of 3.30 or higher for those combined courses. For a student in this category, the designation “Dean’s List” will appear after the summer session grades on the student’s transcript.

  1. Presidential Honors Program

The Presidential Honors Program recognizes students in the full-time and part-time options at the Charleston School of Law for their outstanding academic performance. Students invited to join the program will be eligible for several benefits, including potential eligibility for the Presidential Honors Scholarship. To read more about the eligibility requirements and the benefits offered, please visit the Prospective Students webpage about scholarships at www.charlestonlaw.edu.

  1. Graduation Honors

Graduation Honors are as follows; there is no rounding

  • Summa Cum Laude          3.70-4.0
  • Magna Cum Laude           3.50-3.69
  • Cum Laude                       3.30-3.49
  1. Maritime Program Honors

Graduating J.D. students with 12 or more credit hours in maritime designated courses (Admiralty I and II are required for this designation) will earn the Maritime Concentration designation. J.D. students graduating with a grade point average of at least 3.3 in maritime designated courses may receive an honors designation in maritime law. Please note: students are responsible for requesting to be considered for this designation before graduation.

  1. Curriculum Tracks and Qualifying Designations 

Students may be eligible for a qualifying designation on their transcript in three practice areas: Criminal Practice, Public Policy and Service, or Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution. Information about the requirements for these designations can be found at the  Curriculum Tracks and Qualifying Designations page. 

Class Ranking

  1. General

The Office of the Registrar, using the grade point average calculated in the manner described in Grading Policies below, will calculate class ranks only twice each year: after all grades for the fall semester have been entered and after all grades for spring semester have been entered. Graduation Class Ranks are calculated only once a year (see below).

  1. Eligibility for Class Ranking

Students who have completed 30-69 credits and at least 24 hours of the full-time, first-year curriculum at the Charleston School of Law, will be ranked as set forth below.​​​​​​​

  1. Transfer Students

Students who transfer to the Charleston School of law will not be ranked until they complete 30 credit hours at the Charleston School of Law and at least 24 hours of the full-time, first-year curriculum at the Charleston School of Law. A transfer student's grouping for purposes of class rank will include both the credit hours transferred and those completed at the Charleston School of Law.​​​​​​

  1. Visiting Students

Students who are visitors at the Charleston School of Law are not ranked. 

  1. Ranking Cohorts

Students will be grouped based on their number of credit hours.

  1. At the end of the Fall semester, students will be ranked within the following groups:
    1. Students who have completed 30 - 69 credits and at least 24 hours of the coursework required for full-time, first-year students
    2. Students who have completed 70+ credits and at least 24 hours of the coursework required for full-time, first-year students.
  1. At the end of the Spring semester, students will be ranked within the following groups: 
    1. Students who have completed 30 – 45 credits and at least 24 hours of the coursework required for full-time, first-year students.
    2. Students who have completed 46 - 89 credits and at least 24 hours of the coursework required for full-time, first-year students. 
  1. Graduation Class Rank

Students will receive a final class rank, known as a Graduation Class Rank, upon completing all graduation requirements of the Charleston School of Law. The Graduation Class Rank will be computed only once a year: after all grades for the Summer semester have been entered. Students who graduated in the previous December and May are included in the Graduation Class Rank.  

  • Example: The Graduation Class Rank that is calculated at the end of Summer semester 2021 will include graduates from December 2020, May 2021, and August 2021. 
  1. Requests for Class Rank

After class ranks have been calculated as described in numbers 3 and 4 above, and upon request, the Office of the Registrar may provide a student in good standing the student’s Class Rank or Graduation Class Rank.

Awarding of Diplomas

The Charleston School of Law awards diplomas four times each academic year: at the conclusion of the fall semester, at the conclusion of the spring semester,  at the conclusion of the on-campus Maymester session, and at the conclusion of the on-campus summer session. Students who have completed the requirements for graduation may not take additional courses unless approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.