Tuition is paid to the school where a student starts and the financial relationship is with that school until both programs have been completed. However, if Ottawa students take a course at a MSU college (such as the College of Business) other than the Law College, they will pay MSU tuition at the rate charged by that other college.

To keep each school up to date on the progress of students in the program, both schools will regularly exchange transcripts and other relevant information concerning academic performance. Students can elect to sign a form to authorize the automatic release of all of the information in their student file to the other school.

Until your J.D. degree is issued, you remain a student subject to the MSU Law Code of Student Discipline. You are responsible for complying with MSU Law standards for academic integrity with respect to all of your course work in Ottawa and for other conduct subject to the MSU Law Code of Student Discipline.

Ismail Adawe in MSU’s Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) is the point of contact for all international law students, and can answer questions about how doing the dual JD will impact your I-20 and Optional Practical Training (OPT). He can be contacted at adawe@msu.edu.

Canadian law prohibits the University of Ottawa from advising students on visa-related matters. Students who need to apply for a Canadian study permit should visit the Government of Canada’s Immigration and Citizenship website for more information.

The primary contact at MSU Law is Carrie Feeheley, Assistant Dean for Admissions and International Program in Room 368B. She can be emailed at feehelec@law.msu.edu or reached by phone at +1 517/432-6817.

Jenna Doucet is the Academic Advisor for University of Ottawa Dual J.D. students and can be reached at jenna.doucet@uottawa.ca, by phone at +1 613-562-5800 ext. 7413. Her office is at 57 Louis Pasteur Street, Room 237C.

Rachel Leck is the Assistant Dean for the University of Ottawa’s J.D. Program. She can be contacted at rachel.leck@uottawa.ca or by phone at +1 613-562-5800 ext. 2832. Her office is at 57 Louis Pasteur Street, Room 110.

In order to earn a J.D. degree at MSU College of Law students must have achieved each of the following standards:

• 88 semester hours of credit
• Earn at least 65 credit hours in attendance in regularly scheduled class sessions
• Cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or better
• Compliance with mandatory course requirements
• Compliance with the upper level writing requirement
• Earn at least 59 of the 88 credits at MSU Law or another ABA-accredited law school. At least 45 of these 59 credits must be earned at MSU Law, and must satisfy certain other relevant ABA criteria for classes. (Note: Students who transfer from another institution to MSU Law are ineligible to participate in the Dual J.D. Program)
• Complete J.D. requirements within 84 months from the initial day of enrollment
• Pay all mandatory charges and fees
• Satisfy graduation requirements of MSU Law and the University of Ottawa

Refer to the Student Handbook for more detailed information regarding graduation requirements.

There are two kinds of credits: MSU Law credits and transfer credits. MSU Law credits are those earned in classes taken at MSU Law or in an MSU Law study abroad program. For the Ottawa program, transfer credits are those taken at the University of Ottawa.

If a student needs to transfer only some of the credits in a semester (e.g., a student has 76 MSU Law credits and is taking 15 at Ottawa that semester), approved credits will be transferred in the order that they appear on the Ottawa transcript until the 88-credit requirement is met.

Not every course that you take at Ottawa will transfer and count toward your MSU Law degree. Specifically, course taken at Ottawa do not transfer where:

1. A grade below "C" was earned;
2. It would be redundant with an MSU Law course already taken; or
3. The 88-credit requirement is exceeded.

Normally, Dual J.D. students may transfer up to 29 credits from Ottawa in order to satisfy MSU Law's 88-credit graduation requirement. Since students spend two years in Ottawa and take the equivalent of 60 credits there, this should not be difficult.

MSU Law scrutinizes any course with the same or similar name as an MSU course, and may not allow the transfer of some credits from Ottawa if there is too much redundancy in course content.

Sometimes, course titles are redundant but content is significantly different, as with the required civil procedure, constitutional law, criminal law, and basic research courses at both schools. Students will receive credit for such courses taken at both institutions.

For upper-level courses, there are many courses with similar or identical titles but different content, which could also be counted for transfer. Others, such as international law, jurisprudence, and the like, are redundant and will not transfer.

If a student took a course in Ottawa and subsequently attempts to take a similar course at MSU Law, the student will be precluded from applying the second course for credit towards the J.D. degree at MSU Law. Students should be prepared to respond to a request to distinguish two similar-sounding courses if they want credit for the second one. To receive credit, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain permission from the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs before enrollment.

Ottawa requires students to take Property even if they took it at MSU Law, because the Canadian property course deals with First Nations issues not covered in the MSU Law course. Students taking Property at both schools will only be able to transfer two credits from the Ottawa course to their MSU Law record.

Some courses taken in Ottawa can fulfill MSU Law requirements.

Students whose first year in the Dual J.D. Program is at Ottawa will take the regular first-year curriculum there, including Torts, Contracts, and Property. Doing so will fulfill the MSU Law requirement of Torts, Contracts, and Property.

All students are required to take Research, Writing & Analysis, and Advocacy at MSU Law. All students must satisfy the Upper Level Writing Requirement (ULWR) of MSU Law by writing a paper at MSU Law and fully complying with the rules for receiving ULWR credit.

Students in the Dual J.D. Program may not participate in some extracurricular activities, including certain certificate programs and Law College journals. For example, students in the program are not eligible for the Michigan State Law Review, the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute, or Moot Court. For information on restrictions affecting other extracurricular activities, students should contact the director of the pertinent program or journal.

Credits earned in Ottawa will appear on your MSU Law transcript as ungraded, per MSU Law’s transfer admissions policies. These grades will not be factored into your MSU Law GPA, class rank, or graduation honors.

Students in the Dual J.D. Program will ordinarily not receive a final class rank.  To receive a final class rank upon graduation, a student must have received at least 70 graded credits at MSU Law. This excludes credits awarded as pass/fail or credit/no-credit, and also excludes credits awarded at other schools (such as those earned in Ottawa). To receive an interim class rank (i.e., a cumulative rank reported after each semester), a student’s first year must have been completed at MSU Law.

Students who do not receive a class rank can still get MSU Law grade comparisons with their MSU Law classmates for the same time period. The Registrar will generate semester reports of the GPAs of those students included in class-rank calculations, indicating decile cutoffs. In lieu of a class rank, those students excluded from class rank calculations can see in what decile their GPA from their time at MSU Law falls, and a letter from the Registrar detailing the same will be issued.

To be eligible for Class Honors (cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude) upon graduation, a student must have earned at least 53 graded credits at MSU Law. As with class rank, this excludes credits awarded as pass/fail or credit/no-credit, and also excludes credits awarded in Ottawa.

Every year the question arises about how to expedite grading exams of graduating students in the Dual J.D. Program, because the University of Ottawa needs to at least know whether a student is passing before MSU Law grades are due.

To accommodate Dual J.D. students who are completing their final semester at MSU Law and will also be graduating in Ottawa the same semester, and to protect the integrity of the grading system:

Professors with graduating Dual J.D. students will receive three exams for each one Dual J.D. student in the class. Thus, if there are two graduating Dual J.D. students in the class, the professor will receive six exams. The graduating Dual J.D. student(s) will be hidden within the group. Professors will be asked to review these exams and notify the Registrar's Office that the students will at least pass the course. The professor will then notify the registrar's office before the end of May as to whether the students for the sample of reviewed exams all passed the course. The Registrar's Office will track the submission of grades and notify the University of Ottawa as to whether the graduating Dual J.D. student(s) passed all courses. Final letter grades will be assigned to the reviewed exams when final grades for all students are submitted.

Because the University of Ottawa requires notification by the end of May whether graduating Dual J.D. students will pass all courses, affected professors must conduct an expedited, anonymous review of exams to determine whether graduating Dual J.D. Program students will pass. Because a student who elects the credit/no credit option receives no credit for a grade of C- or below, Dual J.D. students may not elect this option for courses taken in their final semester.