View the Intellectual Property Brochure

The certificate program is open to all students. To enter the program a student must take the Introduction to Intellectual Property course in the fall semester of his or her second-year, full-time or third-year, part-time program. The student must also seek and obtain approval from a member of the intellectual property law faculty to participate in the certificate program. Students are strongly encouraged to obtain this approval no later than the end of the Fall semester of second-year, full-time or third-year, part-time. All students approved to participate in the program will be assigned a faculty advisor from the intellectual property law faculty. The student shall work closely with his or her advisor to tailor a program of study suitable to meet his or her goals. The certificate will be a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law. A student, with approval of his or her IP faculty advisor, may customize a course of study and obtain a certificate that designates a subspecialty in IP law (e.g., patents and technology, internet, technology management, entertainment, IP litigation, etc). To earn the certificate, each student must:
1) Complete the Introduction to Intellectual Property course.
2) Complete at least one of the three core IP courses: Patent Law and Policy, Copyright Law, Trademark Law.
3) Complete a minimum of 14 credit hours in courses designated as part of the intellectual property law curriculum* or approved by the student’s IP faculty advisor.
4) Complete a supervised writing under the direction of a member of the intellectual property law faculty that is a significant, in-depth project. This writing may also meet the requirements for the GWR.
5) Achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the courses taken to earn the certificate.
* In addition to the courses on the IP list, participation on an IP Advocacy Team would also count as part of the IP curriculum. Students who earn the certificate in Intellectual Property Law will be eligible to credit 12 credits toward earning the LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law. (Current plans are to permit students to earn up to 9 hours of credit toward the LL.M. This would give our certificate students an additional boost in earning their LL.M. here.)

View the Advocacy Brochure

The certificate program is open to all students. A student wishing to earn the certificate must seek and obtain approval from a member of the litigation faculty to participate in the certificate program. (These members of the faculty will be drawn from faculty teaching in the core areas of litigation who indicate their willingness to serve in this capacity.) Students are advised to seek approval as early as possible in their law school career, but no later than two semesters before they intend to graduate. All students approved to participate in the program will be assigned a faculty advisor from the litigation faculty. The student shall work closely with his or her advisor to tailor a program of study suitable to meet his or her goals. To earn the certificate, the student must:
1) Earn at least a 2.5 GPA in Civil Procedure I & II and Evidence.
2) Complete Trial Advocacy I.
3) Complete a minimum of 9 credits in designated litigation courses, which would currently include: Trial Advocacy I, Trial Advocacy II, Pretrial Advocacy, Seminar: Criminal Process, Expert Evidence, Clinical Seminar I, Clinical Seminar II, Advocacy Teams, ADR, Mediation Skills, Negotiation. Other courses could be approved by the student’s litigation faculty advisor when appropriate.
4) Achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in Civil Procedure I & II, Evidence and the courses taken toward the certificate.