High Tech Law Certificate Requirements

(as amended August 2017)

access the Certificate Application (pdf) or apply online

To earn the High Tech Law Certificate (HTLC), a student must satisfy the requirements specified below. LLM students are ineligible to receive an HTLC.

I.  The HTLC Coursework Requirement:

Units are eligible to count towards the HTLC only if the student received a grade of C- or better (or credit/pass, if the course is graded credit-no credit or pass-no pass) in the course in which the units were earned. Also, to be eligible for the HTLC, a student must achieve an overall grade point average of at least C+ (2.67) in graded units counted towards the certificate. Externship units may count towards the certificate, but only if the externship involved a substantial amount of work on high tech legal issues as determined by the HTLI Director. Except as expressly specified below, only units completed at Santa Clara University may be counted toward the HTLC.

To complete the HTLC coursework requirement, a student must complete 15 units of HTLC-designated courses, including the Intellectual Property Survey course. In addition, at least 10 of the 15 total units of HTLC-designated courses required for the certificate must be completed on a graded basis. In other words, a student may count no more than 5 ungraded units (i.e., units earned with a grade of pass or credit) towards the 15 total units required for the certificate.

Students have two options for completing the coursework necessary to earn an HTLC. In addition, with both options the HTLC can be earned “with Honors.”

Option No. 1: Coursework required to earn a “general” HTLC (i.e., without a Specialization)

A student who completes Intellectual Property Survey and any 12 additional elective units of HTLC-designated coursework as specified above is eligible for a general—i.e., non-specialized—HTLC.

Option No. 2: Coursework required to earn a “specialized” HTLC (i.e., with a Specialization)

A student may opt instead to complete a particular set of HTLC-designated courses to earn one of the three specialized versions of the HTLC specified below.

HTLC, Intellectual Property Specialization: To be eligible for the HTLC I.P. Specialization, a student must complete the following coursework:

  • Intellectual Property Survey
  • International IP
  • One professional skills course relating to IP (including Patent Prosecution, IP Litigation, Technology Licensing or other courses identified as IP professional skills courses)
  • Enough additional elective units of HTLC-designated courses to reach a total of 15 units that satisfy the grading-related requirement specific above

HTLC, International Specialization: To be eligible for the International Specialization, a student must complete the following coursework:

  • Intellectual Property Survey
  • International IP
  • International Law or International Business Transactions
  • One of the SCU-operated summer abroad programs
  • Enough additional elective units of HTLC-designated or International Law Certificate-designated courses to reach a total of 15 units that satisfy the grading-related requirement specific above

HTLC, Corporate Specialization: To be eligible for the Corporate Specialization, a student must complete the following coursework:

  • Intellectual Property Survey
  • At least one of the following three courses:
    • Venture Capital
    • Legal Issues of Start-up Businesses
    • Entrepreneurs Law Clinic
  • Securities Regulation
  • Enough additional elective units of HTLC-designated courses to reach a total of 15 units that satisfy the grading-related requirement specific above

A student may earn only one of the above specializations. Students who meet the requirements for more than one specialization may select which one they wish to receive, but may only receive one.

Earning an HTLC (either general or specialized) with Honors

A student is also eligible to earn the HTLC (with or without a specialization) “with honors” if the student achieves an overall grade point average of at least B+ (3.67) in graded units counted towards the certificate.

II. Additional HTLC Policies

 Candidacy

A full-time student is permitted to indicate progress towards the HTLC on his or her resumes only if he or she has completed, or is currently enrolled in, a cumulative total of at least the following number of units of HTLI-designated coursework:

In the _____ Semester Total HTLC Units Completed or Enrolled
Third 3
Fourth 9
Fifth 12
Sixth 15

The requirements adjust proportionately for part-time students.

Multiple Certificates

A student may earn the HTLC and another certificate if he or she meets the requirements for both certificates.  However, the requirements for other certificates may include restrictions on students’ ability to count the same units or paper toward more than one certificate. Furthermore, students cannot earn both the HTLC and the Privacy Law Certificate.