Course Load

The standard course load for first-year students at Brandeis Law is 15 credit hours in each the Fall and Spring semesters, which covers 30 credit hours of required foundational JD coursework. Students who feel they are unable to take on the full standard first-year course load may be able to take a slightly reduced first-year course load of 11 credit hours in either the Fall semester, Spring semester or both, in which case they would take one or two of the standard first-year courses during their second year in the program.

The reduced first-year course load option does not constitute a part-time program or cohort. Students taking a reduced first-year course load attend the same class sessions as students taking the standard course load. All first-year classes and other mandatory programming are held on weekdays during the day, and if necessary, course faculty may hold make-up sessions at different times than classes would normally meet. As such, students taking a reduced course load, especially those who plan to pursue employment while enrolled, must ensure that they will be available to attend classes.

Since the JD program requires 90 total credit hours of coursework, students who take an average of 15 credit hours per semester would complete the program in three years (six semesters), while those who take fewer credits per semester may take four or five years to complete the program. Upper-level students may increase or decrease their course load from semester to semester as they see fit, in accordance with applicable enrollment policies.

Students who take 10 or more credit hours in a given semester are billed at the standard full-time tuition rate, while students who take fewer than 10 credit hours in a given semester are considered part-time for tuition purposes and are billed by the credit hour. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the part-time tuition rate is $1,321 per credit hour for eligible Kentucky residents and $1,571 per credit hour for nonresidents.