The following information is for incoming exchange students from approved partner institutions who have been nominated to attend the Allard School of Law at UBC for a one semester or full year exchange.
Please note that the Allard School of Law only accepts exchange students from Law Schools with which we have established law-specific exchange agreements. More information can be found on UBC’s Go Global website.
2024-2025 Law Courses
The course offerings for 2024-2025 will be released in June, 2024. The list of courses will be posted to the Allard Law Upper Year Courses & Exams webpage once ready. Students should carefully review all information on that webpage, including the following documents:
- Upper Year Course Descriptions (Fall/Spring)
- Examination Schedule
- Course Listing and Scheduling Details
- Overall Timetable
Please note that courses may be added or cancelled and changes may be made throughout the academic year. Please also note that we cannot guarantee that the same courses will be offered in the same terms in future academic years beyond 2024-2025.
2024-2025 Course Registration
- Registration will occur in July 2024 for the 2024-2025 academic year. The Exchange Student Registration Date will be provided prior to July.
- You are allowed to register for a maximum of 15 credits per term (effective 2024W) or up to 30 credits per Winter Session (terms 1 and 2 combined).
- You are allowed to register for a maximum of 15 credits per term (effective 2024W) or up to 30 credits per Winter Session (terms 1 and 2 combined).
- You must self-register into your law courses using UBC Workday Student (additional registration instructions will be provided prior to July). Go Global does not register incoming exchange students in law courses and Course Selection forms sent to Go Global do not result in registration.
- Any exchange student who registers in a Law course before the Registration Date will be dropped from the course by Academic Services staff. Please note exchange students do not need to pay a registration deposit.
If you require course advising or have any questions about LAW courses, please contact Barbara Wang, Manager, Student Affairs by email or by booking an appointment through Calendly.
Course Advising and Frequently Asked Questions (this information will be updated prior to July 2024)
The Allard School of Law has a Course Selection Advice webpage and FAQs that all exchange students should review. Additionally, below are answers to some frequently asked questions from exchange students:
What courses can I take as an exchange student?
- Law courses are listed as "LAW" followed by the course number and section number (e.g. LAW 300.001). The course number designates the level of the course and the section number designates the section of a course. If a course has multiple sections, you should consult the Upper Year Course Descriptions document to determine which section may be best for you.
- You may enroll in most 300 and 400 level Law courses. The 300- and 400-level courses designate upper year JD courses. The classification of a course as 300 or 400 is arbitrary and there is no distinction in level of difficulty between a 300 or 400 level course.
- The following courses are not available to exchange students:
- 200-level courses. Law’s 200-level courses are reserved for first year JD students.
- Upper year courses that are mandatory courses for JD students. The mandatory upper year JD courses are:
- Law 304 Transnational Law
- Law 347: Federalism
- Law 300: Jurisprudence & Critical Perspectives
- Law 372: Administrative Law
- Law 468: Ethics & Professionalism
- Note: In exceptional cases and subject to seat availability, exchange students may be permitted to take one of these courses. See more on requesting permission below.
- Certain upper year courses that meet the experiential learning course requirement for JD students. These courses are as follows:
- Law 446: Topics in Corporate Law: Corporate Solicitors' Workshop
- Law 460: Advanced Corporate Law: Shareholder Litigation
- Law 472: The Allan McEachern Course in Trial Advocacy
- Law 474: Trial Advocacy
- Law 477: Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
- Law 478: Foundations of Dispute Resolution
- Note: In exceptional cases and subject to seat availability, exchange students may be permitted to take one of these courses. See more on requesting permission below.
- Certain upper year courses that are pre-requisite courses for experiential learning courses are typically unavailable to exchange students. JD students need to enroll in these courses and will have priority. In exceptional cases and subject to seat availability, exchange students may be permitted to take one of these courses. See more on requesting permission below.
- 200-level courses. Law’s 200-level courses are reserved for first year JD students.
- UBC has specific degree criteria and mandatory courses for our JD students. You do not need to follow our mandatory degree criteria.
- Some Law exchange students take courses in other Faculties. The law school does not recommend doing this due to the possibility of exam conflicts (please see Assessment Methods & Mandatory Exams below).
How do I request permission to take a course that is not typically available to exchange students?
You may request permission to take a restricted course by consulting Kaila Mikkelsen, the Assistant Dean, Students. However, students should note the following with respect to these requests:
- You should reach out to Kaila before the start of term. When you email Kaila, you should include the course and section number for the course you are interested in taking. You must also ensure that there are no conflicts in your timetable.
- Permission to enroll in a restricted course may be granted on an exceptional basis. It is not guaranteed.
- All requests are subject to seat availability. Course seats can fluctuate greatly between the initial round of course registration in July and the start of term. This means that decisions will not be made until just shortly before the term begins. By the time you receive your decision, other courses may have filled and you may not have as many options. Therefore, we recommend that you enroll in a backup course while you wait for your decision.
What if I haven’t taken the UBC pre-requisite course?
- The course descriptions for courses sometimes mention pre-requisites. You should consider these carefully when choosing your courses to ensure you have the proper background to be successful in a course. However, please note that the lack of a pre-requisite will not prevent you from registering for the course. If you feel qualified to take the law course, please ignore the pre-requisite message on the Student Services Centre website when registering and proceed with your course registration.
- Students who do not have a basic understanding of Canadian Constitutional Law (including the Divisions of Powers and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms) may struggle in upper-year courses (e.g. Evidence, Advanced Criminal Law courses, etc.) that assume a knowledge of Canadian Constitutional Law as it relates to those areas of law.
How many credits should I take?
- A full-time course load for an Allard School of Law student is ~15 credits per term, or 30 credits per year. Some students take fewer credits and some take more. You should follow the credit guidelines required by your home institution.
Do I have to attend class?
- Attendance is required in all law courses. You should ensure, when choosing your schedule, that you can attend the classes that you sign up for. Allard Law's term dates are available on the Allard Law Upper Year Courses & Exams webpage. Note that The Allard School of Law does not cancel classes for Imagine Day in Term 1. If you have a class scheduled on Imagine Day, you are expected to attend class.
Assessment Methods & Mandatory Exams
- 300- and 400- level courses are assessed by either an exam, assignments or final paper or some combination thereof. Carefully review the online course description for the method of assessment.
- If a course is assessed by a final paper, most final papers are due on the last day of exams each term although some instructors choose an earlier deadline.
- If a course is assessed by an exam, you must attend and write that exam. The law school releases the final exam schedule for December and April in the summer, and students are expected to attend and write exams for which they are registered. The final exam schedule will be released one week prior to July registration.
- If you are enrolled in a non-Law course, please note that your Law studies take priority and the law school will not reschedule a Law exam to accommodate a non-Law exam conflict.
- We do not provide extra time in examinations to students whose first language is not English. Additionally, dictionary use in an exam is at the discretion of the instructor, and may not be permitted.
Can I participate in a Law clinic or moot?
- Exchange students are permitted to participate in certain clinics (see below) and moots, however, priority for spots will go to Allard Law students first. Selection for these opportunities occurred in the spring term prior to exchange students receiving notification of their Allard exchange, so it is unlikely that space will be available. However, if you are interested you should contact Barbara Wang, Manager, Student Affairs by email.
- Some of our clinical programs (Business Law Clinic; Criminal Clinic; Indigenous Community Legal Clinic; Rise Women's Legal Centre) require students to obtain Temporary Articles through the Law Society of British Columbia. The Law Society will not grant temporary articles to international exchange students, and therefore, these particular clinical programs may not be available to most exchange students.
- The Law Students' Legal Advice Program welcomes exchange students who wish to participate in its for credit program. More information is available on the Clinics page.
Will I have access to career advising, job postings, and the Career Services Office at Allard Law?
- The Allard Law Career Services Office (CSO) provides career education and advising to Allard Law students, and in limited circumstances, Allard Law alumni.
- However, because exchange students generally do not pay tuition or fees to Allard Law, they are not eligible for CSO Access, including one-on-one advising appointments, the CSO’s job postings website, and CSO print resources. Exchange students have limited access to the following CSO Programming during the academic term(s) in which they attend classes at Allard Law: CSO Information Sessions, Career Panels, and Career Fairs and Forums.
- For detailed information regarding access to the CSO, please see this policy.
Key Contacts
Academic and Course Registration Questions: please contact Barbara Wang, Manager, Student Affairs by email or by booking an appointment through Calendly.
All other Exchange Questions including Exchange Applications, Visas, Housing, etc.: please contact the Go Global Office. Go Global manages all aspects of the exchange experience except academic advising and matters pertaining to your study at Allard Law. Please consult the Go Global website or your Go Global advisor with any questions you may have about visas, housing, and exchange application matters.