Students must meet coursework requirements of the Law School and the participating department of The Graduate School. With prior approval of The Graduate School, up to three quarters of transfer credit may be awarded toward fulfillment of minimum doctoral residency requirement upon receipt in The Graduate School of student's official transcript from the Law School showing successful completion of four semesters (two years) of coursework. However, students may not receive both a master's degree from The Graduate School and credit toward the doctoral residency requirement for work completed in the Law School. The Law School will recognize up to 14 hours of law-related graduate course work towards the J.D.

Students spend at least one year exclusively in The Graduate School and one year exclusively in Law School. Other years may be divided between the Schools, but in any given quarter or semester students must be enrolled in either The Graduate School or the Law School; JD/PhD students may take a course in the Law School during a quarter of enrollment in The Graduate School by obtaining a faculty sponsor in their participating graduate department, arranging to enroll in a 499 or equivalent reading course, and completing the Law School course requirements.