Curriculum Questions on Bar Exam Application

Instructions for Juris Doctor Applicants Completing Curriculum Questions on Bar Exam Application

  1. Select from the drop down list the ABA school from which you graduated or will graduate.
  2. Enter the total number of credits awarded or will be awarded to you upon the date of graduation. This should include transfer credits from another law school,credits earned for study in a foreign country, joint degree credits (only credits awarded towards the J.D.) and credits awarded for advanced standing in the Juris Doctor degree program.
  3. Indicate whether you received transfer credit from attendance at the U.S. campus of another law school.  If the answer is "Yes," select the law school from the drop down list in 3A and select the total number of transfer credits accepted from this other school in 3B. If the transfer credit is from a Non-ABA approved law school in the United States select Non-ABA School, which is located at the bottom of the law school drop down list.  If the transfer credit is from a school located in a foreign country select Foreign Law School, which is located at the bottom of the law school drop down list.
  4. Indicate whether you were admitted into the J.D. program with advanced standing based on prior law study in a foreign country.  This question is applicable to students with a prior law degree from a foreign country who was awarded credit for the foreign study towards the J.D. degree.


    Note: For questions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 – include all credits awarded to the applicant, if any, whether earned at the current law school or at the U.S.campus of a law school from which credits were transferred.


  5. Enter the total number of credits awarded to the applicant for stand-alone course(s) in professional responsibility (Rule520.3[c][1][iii]).
  6. Enter the total number of credits awarded to the applicant for clinical coursework (Rule520.3[c][2]).
  7. Enter the total number of credits awarded to the applicant for field placement programs and externships.  If the field placement program or externship had a separate classroom instructional component, enter the number of credits awarded for this component in part “A”(Rule520.3[c][3]).
  8. Enter the total number of credits awarded to the applicant toward the Juris Doctor for joint degree courses or other Non-Law courses taught outside the law school. Only include those joint degree credits that are being counted toward the Juris Doctor degree (Rule 520.3[c][5]).
  9. Indicate whether you received credit for any coursework conducted by distance education.  Distance education is an educational process in which more than one-third of the course instruction is characterized by separation, in time or place or both, between instructor and student, and technology is used to deliver instruction.  This includes synchronous and asynchronous distance education (i.e., audiovisual or online course instruction, correspondence or pre-recorded lectures). If the answer is "Yes," enter the total number of credits awarded to the applicant for distance education courses in 9A (Rule520.3[c][6]).
  10. In question 10A, enter the month and year the applicant first commenced the study of law whether at the current law school or at another law school from which the applicant received transfer credits. In 10B, enter the month when the candidate completed all coursework for the J.D. degree. (Note that this is not necessarily the same as the month and year of graduation).

The applicant's answers to these questions will be used to generate a Certificate of Attendance form that will be emailed to the applicant. The applicant should forward the Certificate of Attendance form to an appropriate official at the law school. The Certification Box that will appear at the bottom of the Certificate of Attendance form must be completed by an authorized official of the law school awarding the Juris Doctor degree, and the form must be filed with the Board by the law school.  The law school may make any necessary corrections to the top portion of the form by crossing out the incorrect information and initialing the correction.  Completed forms must be received in the Board’s office no later than February 1st for the February examination and no later than June 15th for the July examination.  The Court Rules referred to on the bar exam application and on the Certificate of Attendance Form that will be generated may be found on the Board’s website.

J.D. Certificate of Attendance - NYS Bar Exam - Answers

Question 2. Credits Awarded for Stand-Alone Professional Responsibility Course(s) (Rule520.3[c][1][iii])

Answer: 3 (Students are only allowed to take one Professional Responsibility course during their law school tenure.)

Question 3. Credits Awarded for Clinical Coursework in Law School (Rule520.3[c][2])

Answer: Based on Rule 520.3[c]2], the sum of the credits for the seminar and the casework combined would be the correct answer.

Question 4. Credits Awarded for Field Placement Programs or Externship (Rule520.3[c][3])*a.

Answer:  The sum of the credits for the seminar and fieldwork combined would be the correct answer.

Question 4a.  Credits Awarded, if any,for a Classroom Instructional Component of Field Placement Program or Externship.

Answer: This applies strictly to the Seminar (in-class) portion of the Externship.

Question 5.  Credits Awarded for Joint Degree Courses or Other Non-Law Courses Taught Outside of the Law School (Rule520.3[c][5]). Only include the credits awarded toward the Juris Doctor degree.

Answer: This would apply to students who took classes at the Gabelli School of Business and received credit.

Question 6.  How many credits were awarded for Distance Education courses (this includes livea udiovisual or online web-conferencing, correspondence or pre-recorded lectures)? (SeeRule 520.3[c][6])Exclude credits for classroom courses that were converted to distance education learning courses in Spring 2020 to Fall 2021.

Answer:  Pursuant to the ruleas stated by the NYS Court of Appeals, any courses that would
normally be administered in the classroom but that were converted to online courses, due to the global health crisis, will not be counted as distance learning. The rule applies to all classroom-based courses administered online from Spring 2020 through Spring 2022.

However, if you were enrolled in the following Hybrid Courses during any semester, you must declare the associated credits as Distance Education credits:

  • Professional Responsibility (Hybrid) with Prof. Russelle Pearce
  • Corporations (Hybrid) with Prof. Jeff Colon

Question 7.  Number of Calendar Months for Completion of Juris Doctor degree (520.3[d][4]).

Question 7a.  Enter the month and year the applicant first commenced the study of law whether at your current law school or at another law school from which you received transfer credits.

Answer: The transfer students start date should be when they started laws chool period, not just when they started with Fordham Law School.

Question 7b.  Enter the month and year the applicant completed all coursework for the Juris Doctor degree. Note that this is not necessarily the same as the month of graduation.

Answer: May 2023 graduates will have completed all coursework in May of 2023.