Because the academic quarters for upper-level classes are shorter than the semesters at other law schools, is less material covered?
No. Northeastern’s courses cover about the same amount of material as courses at other schools. Though the law school’s upper-level quarters are eleven weeks and semesters are usually fourteen or fifteen weeks, most semester schools run fifty-minute hours, but Northeastern uses sixty. Sixty-minute classes meeting three times a week for eleven weeks provide 1980 minutes of classroom time. Fifty-minute classes meeting three time a week for fourteen weeks provide 2100 minutes of classroom time. That is a difference of only about two hours. Northeastern’s compressed schedule eliminates much of the “hello and goodbye” portions of the semester. Professors rarely have leisurely introductions to courses, nor is there much time for in-class review. The pace certainly feels faster, though actual time in class differences tend to be small.
