Certificates of Concentration
Toledo Law offers Certificates of Concentration in five different areas:
The certificate programs afford students the opportunity to pursue a course of more specialized study en route to attaining their J.D. degree. By earning a certificate, students can demonstrate to potential employers both a genuine interest and a higher level of knowledge in a particular field of law.
For more information about our Certificates of Concentration, contact one of the faculty coordinators:
| Criminal Law |
Jelani Jefferson Exum | |
| Environmental Law | Kenneth Kilbert | |
| Intellectual Property Law | Llewellyn Gibbons | |
| International Law | John Barrett | |
| Labor & Employment Law | Joseph Slater |
Requirements
A. Certificate of Concentration. The College of Law shall award a “Certificate of Concentration” in connection with the grant of the Juris Doctor degree to each graduating student who qualifies for a Certificate of Concentration under these Rules. The Certificate shall be labeled a “Certificate of Concentration in [Subject Area],” and shall indicate that the student has successfully completed the requirements for the Certificate.
B. General Requirements. The Faculty of the College of Law shall from time to time designate specialties within the law as “Areas of Concentration,” shall designate relevant upper-level specialized courses in each designated Area of Concentration as “Required Courses” or “Elective Courses” for that area, and shall establish the requirements for eligibility for a Certificate of Concentration in each area, in accordance with these Rules. The Dean may, in his or her discretion, make an interim designation of a course as “Required” or “Elective” in a particular subject area. In general, subject to particular requirements within each Area of Concentration, to be eligible for a Certificate of Concentration in a particular area, a student, by the time of receiving the J.D. degree, must (1) have completed all the requirements for the Certificate of Concentration in the subject area, and (2) must have a 2.7 or greater cumulative grade point average in all Required courses and designated Elective courses in the subject area, as described in section D below.
C. Certificate Courses. “Certificate courses” are Required or Elective Courses designated as satisfying requirements for eligibility for a Certificate of Concentration in a particular area. To be eligible for a Certificate in a particular area, a student must have successfully completed all Required courses for the certificate and enough designated Elective courses to achieve a minimum of 10 credits in the particular area. Certificate-eligible courses taken during a student’s last term before graduation may be offered to satisfy the course requirements, except that the Certificate will be finally awarded only if the student successfully completes all the course requirements, and achieves the required minimum grade point average.
D. Minimum Grade Point Average. To be eligible for a Certificate in an Area of Concentration, a student must have achieved a minimum grade point average of 2.7 in all Required courses and in all graded Elective courses designated by the student to reach the required 10-credit minimum of certificate courses in the subject area. Furthermore, if a student earns a 3.3 or greater grade point average in all Required courses and designated Elective courses in the subject area, the student will earn a “Certificate of Concentration with Distinction.”
E. Research and Writing Component. To be eligible for a Certificate in an Area of Concentration, a student must complete one of the following Research and Writing Components (20-page minimum):
- Advanced Topics/Seminar in the Area of Concentration, subject to the advanced approval of the paper topic/project by the Faculty Coordinator; or
- Independent Research (with paper) in the Area of Concentration, subject to the advanced approval of the paper topic/project by the Faculty Coordinator; or
- In connection with service on the Law Review, the completion of a final draft Note or Article in the Area of Concentration, if the Faculty Coordinator accepts the final draft of the Note or Article as sufficient in length and quality to be counted as completion of a Certificate Research and Writing Component; or
- Advanced Research and Writing paper in the Area of Concentration, if the Faculty Coordinator accepts the final draft of the paper as sufficient in length and quality to be counted as completion of a Certificate Research and Writing Component; or
- Participation in a Moot Court competition in the Area of Concentration, if the Faculty Coordinator determines that the participation on the competition brief is sufficient in length and quality to be counted as completion of a Certificate Research and Writing Component.
F. Certificate-Eligible Courses Completed at Other Law Schools. An upper-level course completed by a College of Law student at another law school shall qualify as a “Certificate-eligible” Course if the Faculty Coordinator determines that it is substantially similar in content and rigor to a Certificate Course taught at the College of Law and is otherwise appropriate to be a Certificate-eligible course, except that ungraded or pass/fail courses taken at another law school shall not be considered Certificate-eligible courses, and a course that substantially duplicates a course already completed by a student at the College of Law shall not be considered a Certificate-eligible course as to that student. The grades earned in courses taken at another law school will not be counted towards the minimum 2.7 GPA required for the certificate, nor for the minimum 3.3 GPA required for the certificate with distinction. If a student has received credit at another law school for a course determined by the Faculty Coordinator to be “Certificate-eligible,” the student may not apply toward a Certificate the credits from a College of Law course that substantially duplicates the course completed for credit at the other law school.
G. Faculty Coordinator. The Dean shall appoint a Faculty Coordinator for each Area of Concentration. The Faculty Coordinator shall be responsible for advising students concerning the Certificate requirements in the area, and shall be responsible for general oversight of the Certificate program.
H. Application for a Certificate of Concentration. Each student who wishes to be awarded a Certificate of Concentration must file an “Application for a Certificate in [Subject Area]” with the Faculty Coordinator at least 4 weeks before the student proposes to graduate. The Application shall demonstrate compliance with all the requirements for the Certificate, except that the Application may designate Certificate courses taken during the last term in the College of Law which will be applied to satisfy the Required courses, the 10-credit hour minimum, and the GPA requirement. Once the College of Law Registrar inputs credits and GPA earned for Certificate courses, the Faculty Coordinator and the Associate Dean will certify whether all of the requirements of the certificate have been met.