The certificate program was initiated as part of the law school’s effort to provide students with broad and deep exposure to immigration and citizenship law and help prepare students for practice in the area. The certificate is awarded upon completion of at least 15 units of immigration law, citizenship law and related courses, a substantial research paper on an immigration or citizenship law related topic, and student must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 in graded certificate classes.
Immigration Law Certificate Requirements
To qualify for the Immigration Certificate students are required to take the foundation course Law 292 Immigration Law and Procedure. The remaining units may be satisfied by taking any of the Foundation Immigration Law Courses or Elective Courses as described below. Students also may petition the immigration law faculty supervisors for certificate credit in immigration law related courses and activities which are not explicitly listed.
Independent or Group Study
Students may satisfy up to 4 units of the 15 units through independent study or group study. Any group study (Law 498) must be approved by at least one of the Immigration Law Faculty. A paper written for group study will not satisfy the writing requirement without prior approval from a supervising immigration law faculty member.
Writing Requirement
Students must write a writing-requirement-quality paper, approved by one of the Immigration Law Faculty on an immigration law related law topic through a seminar, an independent study, or law review or law journal. The paper should develop and defend a thesis and demonstrate original thought and analysis. The paper may be based on revisions to briefs or other writing done as part of the UC Davis law clinics that meet the writing requirement specifications. Students who are writing papers independent of a seminar should consult early with one of the Immigration Law Faculty on paper topics and must submit a proposed topic to the supervising faculty member by May of their second year of law school and submit a draft of the paper by December of their third year. Specific deadlines should be established with your Immigration Law Faculty Advisor.
Foundation Courses
- 292A Advanced Topics in Immigration and Citizenship Law Seminar (2)
- 233 Asylum and Refugee Law (2)
- 292 Immigration Law and Procedure (3)
- 440 Immigration Law Clinic (4 each semester)
Students also may obtain credit towards the Immigration Law Certificate by completing an immigration-related article through LAW 416 for the UC Davis Law Review. Additionally, students have the option to satisfy up to 8 units of the required 15 units through the Immigration Law Clinic or approved externships in Immigration Law during the school year.
Elective Courses
The courses below do not focus exclusively on Immigration Law but they do touch on issues that relate to Immigration Law and/or immigrants and citizens. Elective courses are offered on a rotating basis. Not all courses will be taught in any given year. Please check the Course Descriptions webpage for current course offerings.
Elective Courses
- 235 Administrative Law (3)
- 227B Advanced Criminal Procedure (3)
- 235C Advanced Topics in Administrative Law (2)
- 233B Comparative Forced Displacement (2)
- 258C Conscious Lawyering (1)
- 227A Criminal Procedure (3 or 4)
- 222 Critical Race Theory Seminar (2 or 3)
- 260 Employment Discrimination (3 or 4)
- 260A Employment Law (3)
- 272 Family Law (3)
- 259 Feminist Legal Theory (2)
- 248B Human Rights in Context (2)
- 292C Humanizing Deportation (2)
- 292B Immigration Crimes (2)
- 270 International Business Transactions (2 or 3)
- 248 International Law (3)
- 251 Labor Law (2 or 3)
- 254A Law and Rural Livelihoods (3)
- 214A Migration, Work, and Taxation (2)
- 288CS National Security Law (2)
- 258 Professional Responsibility (2 or 3)
- 222D Race and the Law (2)
- 263A Trial Practice (3)
- 259B Women’s Human Rights (2)
- 250B Writing Requirement Workshop (1)
Immigration Law Certificate Form
Upon satisfying the above requirements, students should complete the Immigration Law Certificate Form, and have one of the Immigration Law Faculty sign off and return the form to the Law School Registrar's Office.