Pacific Coast University School of Law (PCU) is registered with the State Bar of California Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE), as an Unaccredited Fixed-Facility Law School, and is authorized by the CBE to confer a Juris Doctor degree on all graduates of its J.D. program.

Requirements for The Degree

Juris Doctor (J.D.) Degree candidates must fulfill the following minimum requirements:

  • Earn 144 quarter units (four academic years);
  • Maintain a grade point average not lower than 70%;
  • Successfully complete the thirteen Bar subjects: Business Associations, Civil Procedure, Community Property, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Property, Remedies, Torts, and Wills and Trusts;
  • The Juris Doctor with Distinction is awarded to students who pursue their entire Law course at PCU with an overall 91% (3.5 GPA) or higher.

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Library / Legal Research Facilities

Pacific Coast University’s law library meets the CBE Registered Unaccredited Fixed Facility Law School requirements. The library consists of more than 4700 traditional hardbound volumes and is supplemented by computer workstations that provide online legal research tools and sites. In line with the common practice in the profession, each student is provided a password and instructions on how to use Lexis Nexis online service to perform legal research.

The library meets the legal research needs of Pacific Coast University School of Law students by providing background information on cases in casebooks and classroom texts. The library also serves as a legal information resource for locally-based Pacific Coast University School of Law alumni in their research of current rulings from State and Federal Courts.

Law-library research
PCU-Letters

First-Year Law Students’ Examination
(“Baby Bar”)

First-Year Law Students must pass the First-Year Law Students’ Examination after completing the first year of law school. The uNiversity will not grant credit for any law study until the examination is passed. Said passage must be achieved within the first three consecutive administrations after the applicant becomes eligible to take the examination. An applicant who does not pass the examination within three consecutive administrations of first becoming eligible to take the examination but who subsequently passes the examination will receive credit for his or her first year of law study only.

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The examination covers three subjects: Contracts, Criminal Law and Torts All incoming First Year Law Students;

FYLSE Exams are one day, four essay questions, and one hundred multiple-choice questions. They are given in June and October only. Four hours are allocated for completing the four essay questions and three hours for one hundred multiple-choice questions.

Questions and Facts

After you complete your first year of law school in May. You will have to take the June FYLSE exam. June results are given in mid-August, and from the October administration in mid-December. If you pass, you can register for the 2nd year of law school in August.

Students that do not pass the FYLSE exam and wish to advance to their second year of law study will risk not receiving credit for course units taken in the first and second year of law school. The units will not be transferable to other law schools.

Those enrolled in our law degree program must register as students with the State Bar of California. Registration requires the completion of a form directly on the State Bar’s official website, www.calbar.ca.gov.
 
“The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally in physical classroom facilities( principally by correspondence/ principally by technological means including interactive classes).”
 
“Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Title 4, Division 1, Chapter 1 Rule 4.3(I) of the Rules of the State Bar of California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination. A student who passes the First-Year Law Students Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s J.D. program. If the dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible for re-enrollment in this law school’s J.D. degree program but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.”
 
“Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or be admitted to practice law in jurisdictions other than California. A student who intends to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.” 

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PCU Certificate

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Eligibility to Sit for the Bar Exam in Other Jurisdictions

The Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements, a publication by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, provides detailed information on bar admissions requirements in all jurisdictions.

Information About Admission to the State Bar of California and the California Bar Examination

The State Bar of California maintains information about qualifications to sit for the California Bar Exam, including dates, fees, and locations at www.admission.calbar.ca.gov. 

PCU’s Bar Examination Passing Rate

Statistics 
Statistics for previous bar exam pass rates, including historical data for individual law schools in California, can also be found here.

Complete our 2021-2022 Application Form

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