The Master of Laws program begins with an orientation that introduces graduate students to DePaul's faculty, staff, library, computer and research facilities. Students who received legal training outside the United States also will participate in special courses introducing them to the differences between civil and common law systems, the foundations of the U.S. legal system, the methods of legal reasoning and analysis, and the basics of legal writing in the U.S. legal system. To earn the LLM in International Law, a student must complete 24 semester hours of credit with a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0. A summer term is counted as a semester for this purpose. Students who complete 24 credit hours with a GPA below the 2.0 GPA required to earn the degree will not be permitted to continue taking classes to improve their GPA. A student is automatically dismissed if he or she has a cumulative GPA below 2.0 for any three consecutive semesters.