Course Registration Manual

2. CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS & CHOICES

A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Upper-year courses are single-term, 3-credit hour courses. There are no full-year upper-year courses, with the exception of LAW539 Courts Clerkship.

To graduate, upper-year students must accumulate at least 60 credit hours after completing first-year courses. Assuming students wish to graduate within two years of completing first year, 30 credit hours must be taken in each of the second and third years of the program. However, the pace with which students proceed through the J.D. program is substantially within their control. So long as students complete all requirements for their degree within four academic years after completion of the first year of their J.D. program, the number of credit hours they carry in each academic year is up to them. However, students electing to take the 60 credit hours over three or four years, after first year of studies, should advise the Vice Dean of their plans.

No minimum number of credit hours per year (or per term) must be carried (please note: for student loan purposes, a student must be registered in full-time studies, defined as 9 credit hours per term). The maximum number of credit hours is 15 credits per term. This maximum may be exceeded only with the Vice Dean’s approval.

No year (2nd or 3rd) is attached to required upper-year courses. Hence, students may take any upper-year course any time after completion of first year.

Students should familiarize themselves with the required courses, the written work requirement, and the variety of optional courses available each year, and ensure that they meet all requirements for graduation in accordance with the permissible time lines and their goals.

Note: per the University Calendar, students may not repeat any course passed or courses for which they have received transfer credit except for reasons deemed sufficient, and verified in writing, by the Dean (or designate) of the Faculty in which they are enrolled. Email the Vice Dean’s office for further information at vicedeanoflaw@ualberta.ca.

B. SEVEN (7) REQUIRED COURSES (All required courses are worth 3 credits)

1.   Law 450 - Administrative Law

2.   Law 451 - Corporations Law

3.   Law 452 - Civil Procedure

4.   Law 453 - Evidence

5.   Law 456 - Professionalism & Ethics

6.   One of Law 455 - Legal Seminar OR Law 486 - Jurisprudence OR Law 496 - Legal History 

 AND 

7.   One course in Indigenous and Aboriginal Law selected from a roster of courses approved by the Indigenous and Aboriginal Law Committee as per CTA#28 from the TRC Final Report.  

*  Students enrolling in LAW486 Indigenous Law: Foundations and Methods and applying this section toward their Indigenous and Aboriginal Law course requirement may take an additional, different section of LAW455/486/496 to meet their 455/486/496 requirement without the approval of the Vice Dean.

C. WRITTEN WORK REQUIREMENT

In either the second or third year of the J.D. program a student is required to complete a written work assignment.

A student may satisfy this requirement by: 

(a)    obtaining a minimum grade of "C" in LAW 526 Research Paper where the normal range of the paper would be anywhere between 8,000 to 10,000 words in length; 

OR 

(b)    submitting a paper in a course in which the paper requirement constitutes no less than 60% of the final grade. The student must obtain a minimum grade of "C" on the paper. 

This requirement is typically fulfilled by completion of the required LAW455, 486 or 496 course.

D. MULTIPLE SECTIONS OF COURSES

In general, once you have taken a section of a course, you may not take a second section of the same course (for example, you may not take LAW503 Employment Law twice).

EXCEPTIONS

• LAW455/486/496 seminars *

* requires advance permission of Vice Dean. Permission will not be granted before March 28, 2024.

• LAW486 Indigenous Law: Foundations & Methods

• LAW589/599 seminars

• Failed courses

• LAW598 Moot Court Competition

Click here for more information on exceptions and approval for 2nd 455/486/496 sections.

E. UPPER-YEAR COURSES BY AREAS OF CONCENTRATION

The J.D. program does not have formal specializations. However, the following “clusters” of courses are intended to provide guidance for those interested in particular subjects or areas of study. Students should consult with the Vice Dean or any Faculty member for assistance with curriculum and timetable planning.

In preparation for admission to the bar, it is advantageous to leave Law School with a broad knowledge of the law.

(*)  DENOTES REQUIRED COURSES

CLICK SUBJECTS BELOW TO VIEW COURSE LISTS

F.    PREREQUISITES

Prerequisite courses for a course must be successfully taken before the course in question is taken. Prerequisites are not co-requisites. In special circumstances a prerequisite may be waived with the consent of the instructor AND the Vice Dean.

G.     CO-REQUISITES

Co-requisite courses for a course may be taken at the same time as the course in question. In special circumstances a co-requisite may be waived with the consent of the instructor AND the Vice Dean.

H. ACADEMIC DISTINCTIONS

The choices that you make in connection with courses, exchanges and the number of credits that you take in an academic year can affect your eligibility for academic distinctions that are awarded by the Faculty of Law.  You may wish to review the criteria for the academic distinctions that are set out below. If you have any questions, please contact Gloria Strathern, Prizes & Awards Coordinator: lawaward@ualberta.ca

MEDALS (top 3 ranked students over 3 years)

• Must complete degree in 3 years

• Minimum of 45 graded* U of A Faculty of Law credits required in upper years

• Out of Faculty U of A courses are not included in the calculation of the GPA

• Not available to transfer students

• Name of award (medal) appears on transcript

DEAN’S LIST (top 10% of class by year; minimum GPA of 3.5)

• Minimum of 27 credits in U of A Faculty of Law courses Fall/Winter term and Spring/Summer term immediately preceding

• Minimum of 18 graded U of A Faculty of Law credits required

• Out of Faculty U of A courses are not included in the calculation of the GPA

• Not available to students who have gone on visiting/exchange

• Students visiting/on exchange to the U of A Faculty of Law do not qualify

• Faculty of Law Prizes & Awards Committee has discretion when making assessment

• Appears on student’s transcript

FIRST CLASS STANDING (GPA of 3.5 or greater in the year)

• Requirement of a “normal full course load” has been interpreted to mean 24 credits in the Fall/Winter terms

• Not available to students who have gone on visiting/exchange

• Approved out of Faculty U of A courses are included in the calculation of the GPA

• No restriction on number of pass/fail courses

• Appears on student’s transcript

• Rounding rules are applied

DEGREE WITH DISTINCTION (GPA of 3.5 or greater in the last two years)

• Requirement of 60 credits completed in the last two academic years of the degree

• Courses may be taken Fall/Winter/Spring/Summer. (Cumulative assessment: student is not required to maintain a 3.5 average in both years)

• Visiting/exchange credits are allowed to a maximum of 15 credits

• Approved out of Faculty U of A courses are included in the calculation of the GPA

• No restriction on number of pass/fail courses

• MBA/JD students eligible based on JD grades only

• Appears on student’s transcript and on their parchment

• Rounding rules are applied

ELIGIBILITY FOR PRIZES AND AWARDS

• Only full-time students (24 credits per academic year Fall/Winter term) are eligible

• Exceptions may be made for course-based prizes

I. PASS/FAIL (CR/NC) COURSES - updated February 2024

* The following courses are graded on a pass/fail basis (no letter grades assigned):

LAW401 Foundations to Law

LAW538 Alberta Law Review

LAW539 Courts Clerkship

LAW589 Academic Supervised Internship

LAW589 Advanced Civil Procedure

[Note: LAW599 Advanced Civil Procedure receives letter grade]

LAW589 Alberta Utilities Commission Internship

LAW589 Early Career Lawyering

LAW589 Entrepreneurial Law Clinic 

[seminar segment receives letter grade]

LAW589 Gladue Seminar & Externship

LAW589 Human Rights Commission Internship

LAW589 JAG Internship

LAW589 Low Income & the Law Clinic I & II 

[seminar segment receives letter grade]

LAW589 Mental Health & the Law Clinic 

[seminar segment receives letter grade]

LAW589 Oceans Law (Spring intensive course)

[pending approval by Law Faculty Council in March 2024]

[Note: LAW599 or 544 Oceans Law Seminar receives letter grade]

LAW589 Prison Law 

LAW589 Public Interest Litigation Internship

LAW589 Public Prosecution Service of Canada Internship

LAW589 Wahkohtowin Principles & Practice (Summer intensive course)

LAW589 Wrongful Convictions