University of Virginia Library

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Session begins on the Thursday preceding the nineteenth of September,
and continues for thirty-nine weeks, ending about June 15. The first three
days of the session are given to registration, and all students, both old and new,
are required during that time to place their names upon the books of the University
and the rolls of their respective classes. Lecture courses begin on the Monday
following, and absences will be recorded against any student not present, from
the opening lecture of each course. Students entering after the first three days,
without satisfactory excuse, will be charged a fee for registration.

The session is divided into Three Terms. The first term ends December 21;
the second, March 21; and the third, with the close of the session.

Late Entrance.—Students are advised that late entrance upon the work of
any term is a serious hindrance to progress. The student who enters late must
begin his work at the point to which the several courses have advanced at the
time of his entrance; and credit for three years' attendance cannot be secured
unless the student is in actual residence at least thirty weeks per session. No
student may register, as a candidate for the degree, for the work of the first
term after October 15, nor for that of the second term after January 10—nor
is registration in absentia permissible.

When Students May Enter.—It is highly desirable that students of any
year, and particularly those of the first year, should enter upon the study of
law at the beginning of the session. Where this was impossible, it was formerly
the practice of the Law School to permit students to register at the beginning
of the second term, in January, but not later, save in exceptional cases. This
practice was then feasible, since new courses were begun at that time. With the
session of 1931-1932, however, a number of indivisible courses, some in each
year, were extended over two or more terms. It is, therefore, no longer possible
for candidates for the degree to enter at the beginning of the later term. In exceptional
cases, qualified students who seek special courses, and who are not
candidates for the degree, may be permitted to enter after the end of the first
term.

Fees and Expenses.—The necessary expenses of a student in the Law
School may be estimated at $700 per session of nine months. This minimum
estimate includes all University and tuition fees, board, lodging, laundry and
books. An average estimate would be $900 to $1,000 per session, reckoning living
expenses at a somewhat higher figure. The University fee applicable to all law
students (including those from Virginia) is $60; and the tuition fee for residents
of Virginia is $175, for non-residents, $195; an athletic fee of $15 applies
to all students. The total fees, therefore, for Virginia students are $250, and
for non-Virginians $270.

Payment of Fees.—Fees are payable one-third upon registration; one-third
at the opening of the second term; and the remainder at the opening of the
third term. Failure to make satisfactory arrangements therefor with the Bursar
will lead to suspension of all University privileges. (See Regulation 2, post
page 355.

Registration as Virginia Student.—In order to be considered a Virginia
student, it is necessary that the applicant's parents be domiciled in the State if
he be under twenty-one year of age; or if he has attained his majority, that he
himself be domiciled in the State; and that either his parents or the applicant
for admission shall have been bona fide taxpayers in the State of Virginia for
at least two years prior to said application.

Three Years' Course.—The course of study embraces three years of thirty-seven
weeks each, exclusive of holidays. Residence for three years, with attendance
of at least thirty weeks a year, exclusive of holidays, is essential to graduation.

Plan of Instruction.—Each professor has full liberty to adopt his own
method of teaching. In a great majority of the courses instruction is by the
case method, oral discussion in the class-room of cases contained in standard
case-books.

The daily oral quiz has long been a marked and, as experience has proved,
a valuable feature of the system of instruction. This oral quiz is supplemented
by frequent written tests, the results of which are carefully recorded, and, in
the professor's discretion, are considered in estimating the final grade of the
student.

Practical Work.—In the procedural courses and in Legal Bibliography and
Brief Making, special stress is laid upon practical work. In the course on Legal
Bibliography and Brief Making, an intimate acquaintance with law books and
skill in their use are secured by lectures and demonstrations during the first
term of the first year, accompanied by the assignment of practical work in the
library, on which numerous oral and written tests are held; and in the third
year briefs on assigned topics and according to rigorous standards are required.
Much practical work is done in the headnoting of cases on scientific principles.

The Law Clubs.—There are usually six or more Law Clubs functioning
actively in the life of the Law School.

Membership in the Law Clubs is optional but students are strongly advised
to participate in this work as it affords training in the use of the library, in the
preparation of briefs, and in the presentation of oral argument.

Required for Graduation.—The degree of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) is
conferred upon such students as have satisfied the entrance requirements; have
attended three full sessions of the Law School; have successfully passed the required
examinations, with satisfactory performance of assigned practical work,
and have maintained a satisfactory record for ethical conceptions and honorable
conduct such as should characterize a prospective member of the legal
profession.

More specifically, the candidate for graduation must have completed all
the obligatory courses (see Outline of Courses, infra), and elective courses,
aggregating at least 21 term-hours.

A term-hour represents one lecture period per week throughout one of the
three terms into which the session is divided.

Degree with Final Honors.—A student who is without substantial deficiency
in the work of the first two years may, when registering for his third
year, seek to qualify for the award of the degree with Final Honors upon the
conditions set forth on page 358 infra.