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Planning your law school career

There is no one correct way to choose your law school courses. Academic advising can help you match programs and opportunities to your abilities, interests, and career goals, plus provide guidance on academic requirements and resources to support you to complete your program.

While every student will have different needs during their time at law school, we鈥檝e compiled a list of things everyone should consider when planning their courses.

Discover your passion

If you aren鈥檛 sure what area of law you want to study, it鈥檚 wise to take foundational courses鈥攁lso called 鈥渂lack letter law鈥� courses鈥攁cross a broad spectrum of areas.

Take classes from professors you would like to study with, even if you aren鈥檛 particularly interested in their subject matter. It鈥檚 possible that practice fields you haven鈥檛 considered may capture your interest.

Ask upper-year students to share their thoughts on professors and courses.

Your learning style

When choosing courses, it鈥檚 important to consider your learning style:

Do you enjoy writing papers? Can you organize your workload across the term? If so, you may decide to register for major paper classes (you can take up to three per academic year).

Do you prefer multiple modes of evaluation throughout the term or do you work best focusing on the final exam? Check last year鈥檚 syllabi online to get a sense of the course requirements and evaluation methods.

Be realistic about workload demands and pace your deadlines accordingly. Review the exam schedule carefully to avoid registering for courses that have back-to-back exams.

Get more advice, contact Academic Services

The Academic Peer Mentor Program matches first-year students with upper-year students who provide guidance on study skills and learning strategies. The program is not intended to duplicate or be a substitute for the formal academic instruction that occurs in class and through discussions with faculty members, but to supplement this instruction through a more structured approach to learning strategies. Peer mentors also offer a series of group sessions throughout the year that are open to all students.

Peer academic mentors have demonstrated academic excellence, and have excellent communication skills and a desire to assist first-year students and to contribute to the law school community.

For more information on the program, contact Student Engagement Coordinator law.jd.student@dal.ca 

In addition to the one-on-one support which is the main component of the  Academic Peer Mentor program, peer mentors will put on two Peer Facilitated Success Sessions in both the fall and winter terms. These sessions will cover topics such as learning from lectures, study skills and exam strategies, and will be open to any student to attend.

For more information on the program, contact Student Engagement Coordinator law.jd.student@dal.ca