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Child & Family Law Emphasis Area Requirements


Students may apply after completing their second semester (or 29 credit hours).  Students who are close to completing the hourly requirements may petition for early admission for good cause shown. 


An application form will be available and must be submitted by the deadline announced by the Child and Family Law Faculty. Decisions as to whether a student will be admitted to the Emphasis in Child and Family Law will be made in the semester in which the student applies.

Procedure and Criteria for Selection:

The Child and Family Law Faculty will select the students to be admitted to the program. Criteria to be considered may include previous general academic performance in law school, previous academic performance in courses seen as particularly relevant to the emphasis area, level of interest in serving children or families, and ability to identify an adviser willing to advise and supervise the student.

No student shall be admitted to the Child and Family Law program unless he or she has  a grade-point average of 2.6 or above in all law school classes previously taken.

The Child and Family Law Faculty is authorized to make appropriate adjustments in the deadlines for part-time students or other students whose schedules do not substantially conform to the six semester paradigm.


 

See requirements: http://law.umkc.edu/academics/j-d-emphasis-child-and-family.asp

Of the 19 hours required for the emphasis, the student must complete

  • The basic family law course (three credit hours).
  • A minimum of six hours of clinical credit (described below).
  • At least six credit hours from a list of core curriculum (listed below).
  • At least four credit hours which may be taken from other core curriculum courses or a list of elective courses (listed below).

Prerequisite Course

All students in the emphasis must take Family Law. Because this foundation course is a prerequisite for most other courses in the concentration, students accepted for the concentration will be given a priority in enrollment in the course.

Core Courses

Students must take at least six credit hours chosen from the classes listed below:

  • Children in the Law
  • Juvenile Offenders & The Law
  • Family Violence
  • Family Law Practice
  • Estate Planning and Drafting
  • Gender and Justice

Clinical Component

All students in the Child and Family Law program must take at least six credit hours of clinical coursework. This coursework may consist of

  • Family Law Clerkship
  • Child & Family Services Clinic
  • Legal Aid Clinic
  • Internship
  • Guardian Ad Litem Workshop

Elective Courses

  • Mediation
  • Workshop on Current Issues in Family Law
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Elder Law For Estate Planners
  • Disabilities and the Law
  • Immigration Law and Process
  • Education Law: Government & Legal Aspects of Education
  • Comparative Perspectives on Bioethics and Assisted Reproduction
  • Independent Study (if approved by Child and Family Law adviser on the basis that the course of study relates directly to the emphasis area)
  • Law Review (if approved by Child and Family Law adviser on the basis that the student's note or comment relates directly to the emphasis area)
Any other law school course if, before beginning the course, the students obtains written approval from the Child and Family Law Faculty. Such approval shall not be granted unless the Child and Family Law Faculty find that, in light of the student's other courses and the student's goals in the emphasis study, the course will advance the student's study of Child and Family Law to an extent equivalent to other Child and Family Law electives.

Courses may be added or deleted from the lists contained in sections A through C above with approval of the Child and Family Law Faculty and the Law School faculty.


For a student to be recognized as having graduated with an Emphasis in Child and Family Law, students must have

  • timely completed all concentration requirements
  • received the approval of the Child and Family Law faculty of the student’s portfolio and
  • earned a 3.0 grade point in concentration course work (required and elective courses).
This grade-point average shall be computed considering all Required and Elective  Courses in the emphasis taken by the student, including any that exceed the minimum hour requirements for the Emphasis.

 

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