Rule X: Transfer of Credit

A. Applicability

  1. This Rule Governs:
    1. Requests from UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law (UNH Law) students to engage in course work or programs for credit toward the Juris Doctor degree under the supervision and control of an ABA-accredited law school, including summer programs; and
    2. Requests for credit transfers into UNH Law from advanced standing transfer students from an ABA-accredited law school or a law school outside of the United States.

B. Matriculated Students

  1. Request for Approval
    1. Semester Courses. Approval of programs governed by this rule for courses taken during the fall or spring semesters shall be obtained in advance from the Assistant Dean of Students. A student seeking such approval shall have a minimum overall 2.5 GPA, submit an application in writing, including a detailed description of the proposed program and a specific statement of the basis upon which the program is sought. Students basing their request on compelling personal circumstances must be in good academic standing. Applications should be submitted as early as possible, preferably during the semester preceding the semester in which the proposed program is elected. The application and approval process must be completed before the beginning of the semester for which the visitorship is sought. A student may not seek a visitorship and a legal residency in two consecutive semesters.
    2. Summer and Intersession Courses. Students may receive credit for summer or other courses at other approved law schools provided advance approval is given by the assistant Dean for Students. The requirements of subdivision D of this rule apply to transfer credits for such summer courses except that grades below C shall not be accepted for transfer, are not shown on the transcript and will not count in the student’s GPA. (Amended by faculty 3/4/2010). Summer credits will transfer as letter grades unless the student notifies the Registrar within the required time period that the student plans to take the offering(s) Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Rule B, 2, (c) below applies to these summer courses.
    3. Hybrid JD Students. Students participating in the Hybrid JD program are not permitted to transfer credits in to the Residential JD program at UNH Law. Extraordinary circumstances may be appealed to the Assistant Dean for Students.
  2. Basis for Approval
    Applications for permission to undertake a program for credit under this rule may be granted on any one of three (3) bases:
    1. The presence of compelling personal circumstances which are beyond the applicant’s control and which were not existent at the time the applicant enrolled at UNH Law. Separation from one’s present or prospective spouse or domestic partner is not itself a compelling circumstance.
    2. The pursuit of a feasible and specific educational program of substantial importance to the applicant’s demonstrated career objectives, which program or its substantial equivalent is unavailable at UNH Law. A feasible program must be at a minimum, actually available to the applicant and manageable in terms of the applicant’s background.
    3. An opportunity to take a Summer or Intersession Course that either is not offered at UNH Law or which the student does not have a reasonable opportunity to take at UNH Law.

  3. Proof of Acceptance
    A student who receives approval of a proposed program must submit to the Assistant Dean for Students written evidence of acceptance at the law school where the program is to be completed. In addition, the rules governing the transfer of credits toward the degree, found in subdivision D of this rule, must be satisfied.

C. Transfer Students

  1. Advanced Standing for Transfer Students

    A student who has been accepted by UNH Law’s JD Admissions Committee as a transfer student to UNH Law from another ABA-accredited law school, non-ABA-accredited law school, a law school outside of the United States, or UNH Law’s residential LL.M. degree programs may receive advance standing from the Assistant Dean for Students for courses taken at that law school. The requirements of subdivision D of this rule will be applied in making advance-standing determinations.

D. Awarding of Credit

  1. Meeting Degree Requirements
    1. Where transfer credit is sought for a course required by Rule I, the course must be substantially the equivalent of the corresponding course in UNH Law’s curriculum, and the hours of credit for such courses must be not less than one (1) hour less than the credit hours granted for UNH Law’s corresponding course. (Revised by faculty 6/1/2018)
    2. To obtain credit for elective or required courses, a grade of C or better must be earned, as determined under subdivision D, 4, of this rule.
    3. Students transferring into UNH Law Residential JD are required to complete four (4) semesters of residency, and UNH Law Hybrid JD are required to complete six (6) semesters of residency as defined in Rule I.
    4. No more than twenty-eight (28) credits will be accepted from an ABA-accredited law school for transfer to UNH Law.​
    5. Students entering the law school may be required to take LSK 921 Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research I  & LSK 922 Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research II if their prior classwork doesn’t meet the curricular minimums identified by the Legal Writing faculty. Students may also be required to enroll in;
    6. LGP 900 The Legal Profession or students can fulfill this requirement by meeting with the Career Services Office (CSO) once a semester for the first two semesters.  Students must complete and submit a form to CSO to approve the meetings.  Students must then submit the form to the Registrar’s Office. 
    7. Students seeking to transfer credits from online courses are expected to review the ABA standard for online courses. UNH Law will not approve the transfer of more than 30 hours of online credits.
  2. Course Offering
    Where transfer credit is sought for an offering, the satisfactory completion of which is not required for UNH Law’s degree, the contents of the offering must be such as would be approved for inclusion in UNH Law’s curriculum.
  3. Credit Received
    The allowable transfer credit shall be the credit granted by the school at which the credit is earned, irrespective of whether UNH Law allows more or less credit for a substantially similar course. However, where the credit is for a course required for UNH Law’s degree, the transfer credit shall not exceed one (1) credit hour more than the credit hours for the corresponding course at UNH Law.
  4. Converting Credits and Grades
    In every case, including the application of subdivision D, 1 and 2 of this rule, the number of hours completed will be calculated according to UNH Law’s semester hour computation. Grades not assigned on an A-F system will be converted. These calculations will be made according to the most accepted method applicable in the particular case.

E. Transfer to Hybrid JD of Residential JD Course Credit

If a student enrolls in UNH Law’s residential JD program and earns JD course credit, then withdraws voluntarily and in good standing from the residential JD program, and that student then applies and is accepted to the hybrid JD program, that student may apply the credits earned in the residential JD program to the credits needed to earn the JD through the hybrid program to the extent that:

  1. Credits are given for the same course in the hybrid program that was taken in the residential program;
  2. Applying the course credit from the residential to the hybrid program is consistent with ABA Standards.