Students' Grades
Grades are not due in the Registrar's Office from professors until close to or after the start of the following academic term. Therefore, they are not available to students until some time after that, as the grades must first be verified, fit to the grading scale, approved by the Vice Dean and posted to each student's academic record. Approved grades can viewed by students who have a valid USD email account by going to the Law Student tab of MySanDiego.
Current Grading Policy
*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spring 2020 grading was mandatory Pass/No Credit, except for grades previously posted for courses completed early in the semester.
The Law School uses the following grading system for all students effective Fall 2018:
| Grade | Value |
|---|---|
| A+ | 4.2 – 4.3 |
| A | 3.9 – 4.1 |
| A- | 3.5 – 3.8 |
| B+ | 3.2 – 3.4 |
| B | 2.9 – 3.1 |
| B- | 2.5 – 2.8 |
| C+ | 2.2 – 2.4 |
| C | 1.9 – 2.1 |
| C- | 1.5 – 1.8 |
| D+ | 1.3 – 1.4 |
| D | 1.1 – 1.2 |
| F | 1.0 |
| H (Honors) | N/A |
| L (Low Pass) | 1.7 |
| P (Pass) | N/A |
Grading for all first-year courses can include any grade from 4.3 (A+) to 1.0 (F) on a mandatory curve. The average of the grades for each course must be between 3.15 and 3.25. The grade distribution must be as follows.
- 20-25% of all grades for the class must be 3.7 or above;
- 20-25% of all grades for the class must be 2.6 or below; and
- 8-12% of all grades for the class must be 2.0 or below; these grades may be counted toward satisfying the requirement that 20-25% receive a 2.6 or below.
Students who complete the fall semester of their first year of law study and receive a GPA below 3.0 shall be subject to the Academic Improvement Plan pursuant to Academic Rule I.M.1.
First-year students who do not maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.4 or better at the end of the entire first year will be academically disqualified pursuant to Academic Rule XVII.A.1. Disqualified students who have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.2 may petition for readmission.
Grading for all upper-class courses not on the four-tier system or pass-fail system can use any grade from 4.3 (A+) to 1.0 (F) on a mandatory curve. The average of the grades for each course must be between 3.3 and 3.4. The grade distribution must be as follows:
- 20-25% of all grades for the class must be 3.7 or above;
- 25-30% of all grades for the class must be 3.0 or below; and
- Not more than 8% of all grades for the class can be 2.0 or lower.
EXCEPTION: The curve is only recommended, rather than mandatory, for upper-class courses with an enrollment of fewer than 26 JD students and for graduate tax courses (except Tax I and Corporate Tax [formerly Tax II]). The mean for such courses cannot exceed 3.6.
Prior Grading Policies
- Fall '15 - Summer '18
- Fall '05 - Summer '15
- Summer '96 - Spring '05
For all students, the School of Law used the following grading system from fall 2015 through summer 2018:
| Grade | Value |
|---|---|
| A+ | 4.2 – 4.3 |
| A | 3.9 – 4.1 |
| A- | 3.5 – 3.8 |
| B+ | 3.2 – 3.4 |
| B | 2.9 – 3.1 |
| B- | 2.5 – 2.8 |
| C+ | 2.2 – 2.4 |
| C | 1.9 – 2.1 |
| C- | 1.5 – 1.8 |
| D+ | 1.3 – 1.4 |
| D | 1.1 – 1.2 |
| F | 1.0 |
| H (Honors) | N/A |
| L (Low Pass) | 1.7 |
| P (Pass) | N/A |
Grading for all first-year courses can include any grade from 4.3 (A+) to 1.0 (F) on a mandatory curve. The average of the grades for each course must be between 2.95 and 3.05. The grade distribution must be as follows.
- 20-25% of all grades for the class must be in the range of 4.3 to 3.5;
- 20-25% of all grades for the class must be 2.4 or lower; and
- 8-12% of all grades for the class must be 1.8 or lower; these grades may be counted toward satisfying the requirement that 20-25% receive a 2.4 or lower.
First-year students who complete the fall semester of their first year of law study and receive two or more grades of C- or a GPA of 2.3 or below will be subject to First Year Academic Supervision pursuant to Academic Rule I.M.1.
First-year students who do not maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.1 or better at the end of spring semester will be disqualified. Disqualified students who: (1) have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher; or (2) do not rank in the bottom 3 percent of their respective division (day or evening) may petition for readmission.
Grading for all upper-class courses not on the four-tier system can use any grade from 4.3 (A+) to 1.0 (F) on a mandatory curve. The average of the grades for each course must be between 3.1 and 3.2, i.e., a target of 3.15. The grade distribution must be as follows:
- 20-25% of all grades for the class must be in the range of 4.3 to 3.5;
- 25-30% of all grades for the class must be 2.8 or lower; and
- Not more than 8% of all grades for the class can be 1.8 or lower.
EXCEPTION: The curve is only recommended, rather than mandatory, for upper-class courses with an enrollment of fewer than 20 students and for graduate tax courses (except Tax I and Corporate Tax [formerly Tax II]). The mean for such courses cannot exceed 3.4.