The Allard School of Law offers a broad range of courses and experiential offerings in a wide variety of areas. From clinical programs, to moots, to intensive directed research with a professor, and the opportunity to specialize in an area of law, there is a range of opportunities available for our students.
Photo of Allard Law's Student Affairs Team: Patricia Penaflorida, Barbara Wang, Kaila Mikkelsen, Susan Morin, Andrea Falco, Cherry Chiu, Katie Gardner. Missing: Morgan Jacko.
Information about course offerings, degree requirements, exam schedules, timetables and computerized exams are available in this section.
General Advising
The Assistant Dean, Students, Kaila Mikkelsen, is available to assist you with course selection, explain degree requirements and assist with managing your academic work. She is happy to meet with you one-on-one or to correspond by phone or email. You may also reach out to our Manager, Student Affairs, Zack Uganec, for academic advising, especially if you have questions about experiential opportunities. Zack also provides advising to incoming exchange students. Indigenous students, or JD students with an interest in Indigenous Law, may also reach out to the Acting Associate Director, Indigenous Legal Studies, Ivonne Kusuma, for advising. Appointments with Kaila can be made online via Calendly.
Registration Questions
If you have registration questions, please contact Susan Morin, Director, Academic Services (Allard 151, morin@allard.ubc.ca or 604-822-6731) or Patricia Penaflorida, Academic Services Coordinator (Allard 149, penaflorida@allard.ubc.ca or 604-827-5728).
Choosing Courses
When choosing courses there are a number of factors to consider. The following are some tips:
- Tentatively plan out your academic schedule for the entirety of your degree. Consider prerequisites that you need for advanced courses and try to take them early in your legal education
- Review the optional Specializations and Concentrations and consider the courses needed for each one. Carefully build the requirements into your planned schedule
- Consider whether you wish to participate in a moot or clinical program, and ensure you have the appropriate pre-requisites
- Consider whether you wish to clerk. In BC, the courts provide a list of courses they expect clerks to take.
- Investigate whether there are any recommended or required courses for the bar exam/course in the jurisdiction in which you wish to practice, and ensure you take courses to prepare you for practice if that is your intended career path
- Take classes with assessments methods that complement your skills. Often different sections of a course are assessed in different ways – one section with a paper, another with an exam. Seminars are smaller and have more group discussion; foundational classes tend to be larger with more of a lecture style.
- Take courses that interest you and appeal to you, even if you never intend to practice in that area of Law. Take courses with profs you like even if the subject area is not immediately interesting. You never know what rea of law will ultimately appeal to you. Have fun!
- Consider whether you wish to take a semester or full-year exchange, or participate in a joint legal education program. Carefully plan your schedule to ensure you are able to take your required courses at Allard Law.
- If you have no idea what area of law you want to take, you can’t go wrong by taking foundational courses across a broad spectrum of areas. Consider whether you like a specific professor’s style of teaching or assessment method as this can often have a huge impact on your enjoyment and success in a class. Ask upper-year students for their thoughts on professors and classes, and ensure you ask about the advice giver’s learning style (as how they learn may be different from you).
You should also review the Upper-Year Course Selection Advice, Policies and FAQs and Degree Requirements, and the Advice from the Associate Dean, Academic Affairs (PDF).