Concentrations

Concentrations

The Northwestern Law faculty has approved the following curricular concentrations for JD students interested in exploring a specific area of law:

Appellate Law
Business Enterprise
Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Environmental Law
International Law
Law and Social Policy
Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

Students who complete a concentration will receive a notation on their official transcripts after satisfying all concentration requirements. Students may enroll in more than one concentration as long as they can complete all the requirements.

Concentration Requirements

While specific courses for each concentration necessarily differ, all concentrations require the following:

  • Successful completion of required, basic courses
  • Completion of at least 16 credit hours of related course study
  • Completion of at least one substantial research and writing project.

Procedures

Registration/checklist forms are available for each concentration from the Office of the Registrar or on each concentration webpage. Students keep a copy of the form to document completion of their concentration requirements. This form is also used to certify completion of the research/writing requirement. Before students can receive a notation on their official transcripts, the faculty program director must sign the form, certifying completion of the writing requirement and approval of its relevance to the concentration.

Completed, signed concentration forms are due in the Office of the Registrar no later than the grade due date for the last term of the student's attendance. Questions regarding procedural requirements and transcript notations should also be directed to the Office of the Registrar.

For information regarding concentration requirements, contact the program director of the appropriate concentration. Should questions arise about whether a particular course is in the area of concentration, the program director will decide.