Academics
Prepare for the practice of law through rigorous study,
practical experience, and the Catholic intellectual tradition.
At Ave Maria School of Law, faith and reason inform an education
grounded in human dignity, ethical judgment, and service.
A DISTINCTIVE FOUNDATION
This approach gives students a deep appreciation for the origins of law and the moral and intellectual principles that shape the American legal system, including unalienable rights, federalism, and separation of powers.
Through the study of jurisprudence, professional responsibility, and the Catholic intellectual tradition, students examine the philosophy of law and the foundations of American democracy. They explore the relationship between law, ethics, and Catholic moral and social principles, learning to apply these principles to legal questions.
Moral and ethical questions extend throughout the curriculum. Faculty members address these issues within substantive courses, including Criminal Law and Constitutional Law.
In Criminal Law, a discussion might examine Catholic teaching on capital punishment. In Constitutional Law, students might consider human rights, society’s responsibility to the poor, and the culture of life.
Electives such as Catholic Social Teaching, Bioethics, and Law, Ethics, and Public Policy offer opportunities for further exploration.
YOUR ACADEMIC JOURNEY
FIRST YEAR
Develop your understanding of core legal subjects alongside the habits of careful reading, sound analysis, legal research, and effective writing.
Explore the first-year curriculum →
SECOND & THIRD YEARS
Advance through required courses, explore areas of interest, and put your learning to work through experiential study and preparation for professional practice.
Explore upper-level study →
LEARNING THROUGH PRACTICE
Connect classroom learning with the responsibilities of serving clients under faculty supervision.
Explore business law and develop practical skills through focused learning and transactional advocacy.
Strengthen your voice through moot court, legal scholarship, and opportunities to research, write, and argue.
| Subjects | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Legal Case Analysis and Skills Enrichment (CASE) | 1 |
| Civil Procedure | 6 |
| Contracts | 5 |
|
Criminal Law or Applied Critical Thinking and Legal Analysis * |
3 2 |
| Property | 5 |
| Torts | 6 |
| Legal Analysis, Writing and Research (LAWR) | 5 |
| Moral Foundations of the Law | 2 |
| Applied Critical Thinking and Legal Analysis* | 2 |
| Total | 32-33 |
*Students below the median for the cohort at the end of their first year are required to take Applied Learning Labs along with when they take Evidence and Criminal Procedure.
| Subjects | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Advanced Essay Writing or Florida Legal Practice | 2 |
|
Advanced Legal Analysis-Multistate Applied Learning Labs* |
4 2 |
| Bioethics† | 2 |
| Business Organizations | 3 |
| Catholic Social Teaching and the Law† | 2 |
|
Commercial Law Common Law Synthesis* |
4 2 |
| Constitutional Law | 4 |
| Criminal Procedure | 3 |
| Equality and the Law† | 2 |
| Evidence | 4 |
| Fourteenth Amendment† | 2 |
| Jurisprudence | 3 |
| Law, Ethics, and Public Policy† | 2 |
| Professional Responsibility | 3 |
| Protection of Human Life in Law & Public Policy† | 2 |
| Religious Freedom† | 2 |
| Legal Analysis, Writing and Research III | 2 |
| Wills, Trusts, and Estates | 3 |
| Experiential (credits can be selected from an array of clinics, externships, simulation, and experiential course) | 6 |
| Total | 43-47 |
* Common Law Synthesis and the two Applied Learning Labs are required for all students falling below the class median after the Spring Semester 1L year.
† Students choose which course to fulfill the 3L Mission Course requirement.
To obtain a law degree from Ave Maria School of Law, an ABA accredited school, we require 90 credit hours for graduation, including a core curriculum of 74 credit hours (6 of which are elective experiential credits). A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 is required for continued law school enrollment and graduation. Students begin their first year of legal education with a one-credit semester long course, LegalCASE, Case Analysis and Skills Enrichment which begins during orientation and introduces law students to the fundamental principles of legal analysis that they will employ throughout their legal careers. In addition, during their first year, law students take two-semester courses in Contracts, Torts, Civil Procedure, Property, and Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research. Our law students also take a two-semester course in the Moral Foundations of the law as well as a one-semester course in Criminal Law.
Throughout their law school career, students are sharpening their critical reading, writing, and analysis skills. The Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research courses address a range of lawyering skills, including legal analysis, legal research, counseling, and effective written and oral advocacy. In Moral Foundations of the Law, law students consider how humanity’s desire to order society forms the basis of legal systems. In the second and third years, students explore the foundations of democracy, the philosophies that ground law, and the interaction between ethics and law in Jurisprudence, Professional Responsibility, and Law, Ethics, and Public Policy. Along with required courses such as Business Organizations, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Commercial Law, and Wills, Trusts, and Estates, a range of electives provides an opportunity for second- and third-year law students to pursue interests and develop expertise.
In addition, Ave Maria law students will hone their legal skills through six experiential credits, which are taken from an array of clinics, externships, simulation, and skills-focused courses such as Legal Drafting, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Advanced Legal Research, and Trial Advocacy. This Florida law school also continues to hone our students writing skills through additional instruction in Research, Writing, and Advocacy and are also given instruction designed to maximize law student success on the bar examination through courses such as Advanced Legal Analysis-Multistate, Florida Legal Practice, and Advanced Essay Writing.
To fulfill its Mission, Ave Maria School of Law is committed to ensuring that Ave Maria School of Law graduates have achieved competency in the following areas:
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