Upper Division Course Offerings
The standard unit-rule is that each course carries one unit of credit for each one hour the course meets for 14 weeks of the semester. In exceptional cases, at the discretion of the associate dean (upon the request of the faculty member), a specific course may carry one unit of credit greater than the hours the course meets each week. Those cases are limited to courses in which the instructor certifies to the associate dean that the course requires substantial written work. The instructor may determine whether the course is available for enrollment for different unit values. (For example, the instructor may require all students to enroll in all three units of the course; in the alternative, the instructor may allow students to enroll for either two or three units, depending on whether the student will complete the extra substantial written work otherwise required.)
The basic courses that most students elect to take--for example, Business Organizations, Criminal Procedure, Constitutional Law II, Evidence, Taxation--are offered every year and often twice a year. Other courses listed in Section 14 are offered once a year, or in some cases once every several years.
Each year, USC Law attempts to provide upper-division students with a wide variety of optional specialized courses. Often these reflect the research interests of the faculty. Because there are specialty courses in nearly every major area of the law, students will be able to concentrate in a particular area, or, if they prefer, to pursue a broad, basic legal education. Students with suggestions of courses to be offered should contact Associate Dean Scott Altman.
Specific guidance for students in selection of upper-division courses is provided in Section 5.5 of this Handbook. Students are encouraged to review these materials carefully prior to registration.
