Our full-time first-year program is designed to teach the fundamentals of legal analysis and reasoning, as well as legal research and writing, in a supportive setting. 

In your 2L & 3L years of law school, you will have time both to explore the curriculum to determine where your interests lie and to develop the lawyering skills you will need when you graduate.

The graduation requirements and Wisconsin Diploma Privilege requirements will guide some of your course selection, but your schedule will largely be filled with electives in your 2L & 3L years. You will get to choose from an extraordinary breadth and depth of course offerings, affording you the opportunity to explore cutting-edge legal issues in the classroom and to apply your knowledge in one of our many clinical programs.

For general guidance on course selection, see Planning Your Academic Program, which includes:

• Principles of course selection
• How to select courses
• Five approaches to selecting courses
• Other considerations, including:
  • Bar exams
  • Sequence of courses
  • Transcripts
  • Study Abroad
  • Faculty connections
• Areas of practice

To plan a personalized curriculum plan, reach out to our Academic Advisor Angela Nash. 

Part-time students must complete the first-year curriculum within two years of entering and must complete the course work required for the J.D. degree within six years. First-year courses generally require you to be on campus four or five times per week and some are offered in the late afternoon or early evening.

Part-time students wishing to take courses only in the late afternoon or early evening should note that one-half of the first-year program courses are generally offered later in the day in alternate years, thus making it easier to complete the first-year program within the requisite two years.

For more information about going part-time, see:

• Student Handbook 2.1.1: First-Year Part-Time Schedules
• Student Handbook 10.3: Special Issues for Part-Time Students

1L students gain intensive legal analysis, advocacy, and writing experience in their first year at UW Law School, while upper-level students build on that foundation with advanced courses.

For more information, view the Legal Analysis, Advocacy, and Writing Program.

Experiential learning provides hands-on experience and facilitates the development of practical skills, judgment and professional identity. The end goal of experiential learning is to equip our students to hit the ground running as a new lawyer.

For more information, view all Experiential Learning programs or jump directly to a particular program:

At the University of Wisconsin Law School, we are committed to providing our students with the skills and knowledge needed to be excellent lawyers. Our long-standing law-in-action tradition in particular empowers our graduates to navigate an increasingly complex, competitive and challenging world.

The UW Law School faculty have established the following learning outcomes that we expect our students to attain by graduation:

1. Students will demonstrate competency in their knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law.
2. Students will demonstrate competency in legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem-solving, and written and oral communication appropriate for a variety of legal contexts.
3. Students will demonstrate competency in their awareness of ethical dilemmas likely to arise in legal practice and in their capability to identify and use legal and other resources that will lead to effective resolution of these dilemmas.
4. Students will demonstrate competency in other professional skills needed as a member of the legal profession.
5. Students will understand the concept of the law-in-action, including the procedures and social forces that influence legal outcomes and that affect the ability of legal professionals to represent clients and to create effective law.