Law classes are not just for law students

Interested in Law School or legal topics? Penn Law welcomes upper-class students from the undergraduate program and all professional and graduate students at Penn.

Penn Law is committed to cross-disciplinary legal education. Accordingly, we appreciate the voices of those with varied backgrounds in the Law School classroom. Whether your interest is in exploring the possibility of law school or in complementing your studies in another discipline, we are certain you will find courses of interest at Penn Law.

We offer a Certificate of Study in Law for all Penn doctoral and M.D. candidates. Click here for more information on this program.

You have several options to learn more about courses at the Law School:

to see our current course listings and course descriptions
during registration periods, you can learn about the Law curriculum for the upcoming semester – more on this follows, below.
to review a list of courses that have been offered in the past, click here.
Important note: Law faculty are constantly adding to and subtracting from the curriculum to keep pace with their research interests and student demand. There is NO guarantee that a course offered in the past will be offered again. One course that has great interest to students from throughout the University is our course in Legal Resources and Research for Non-Law Students. This course allows students to develop the legal research skills important to complementing their own research interests and provides a wonderful window into the law school curriculum.

To review course schedules for an upcoming semester and indicate your interest in enrolling, please follow these steps:

For FALL semester:

The Law School course schedule is published in SUMMER. Students interested in being notified upon its publication complete the Request to Take a Law Course Form, and email that back to Sherita Ragins (sragins@law.upenn.edu) in the spring. Sherita will then send you the course schedule and registration information as it is available. All students are notified before Drop/Add begins as to whether they have received a seat in a Law School course.

For SPRING semester:

The Law School curriculum is published and included in the University's Advance Registration (see http://www.upenn.edu/registrar/timetable/law.html) in late October/early November. Interested students can register during Advance Registration, and should also complete the Request to Take a Law Course Form so that we are on notice of your interest. Students from schools with bidding systems: please note that you should list your Law request low on your bidding preferences, as your ranking will not have any effect on whether or not you are placed in a course. Students will be notified as to whether they have received a seat in a Law School course with their spring semester schedule.

As you consider taking a course at the Law School, please also note:

The Law School is conveniently located between 34th and 36th Streets and Chestnut and Sansom – a short walk from all University departments.
Course enrollment may, in some cases, require the permission of the Penn Law faculty member; students should also consult with their departmental advisors.
The Law School is on a semester-hour system. 1 cu = 3 sem hrs.
Penn Law does not offer a part-time program or a summer session.
Continuing Legal Education credits are offered at many events and symposia, but not via courses; see www.law.upenn.edu/cle/.

Contact Sherita Ragins at sragins@law.upenn.edu or call 215.746.7822 to inquire about taking a Law class.