JD with Advanced Standing Program

The JD with Advanced Standing Program allows students to receive up to 30 hours of credit towards their JD for prior legal studies in another country. If the maximum amount of credit is applied towards the JD at FIU Law, students may complete their JD in approximately two years of full-time study. Students with advanced standing may also be admitted to the evening/part-time program, allowing them to complete their studies in as little as three years. Students may also receive credit towards the JD for coursework completing as part of a graduate degree in law, such as a LL.M., here in the United States at an ABA accredited law school. In any event, students must complete at least 59 credits in residence at FIU for an award of the JD.

The total amount of credit towards the JD is assessed on an individual basis by the Office of International and Graduate Studies, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and the Dean of the College. The ABA Standards for the Approval of Law Schools govern advanced standing credit for applicants from foreign law schools. In general, course work at the foreign law school must have been done “in residence” at the law school and have been of satisfactory quality to apply to the graduation requirements of the foreign law school. Furthermore, the ABA Standards require FIU Law to verify that the quality of the educational program at the foreign law school was at least equal to that of an ABA accredited school.