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Exchange Programmes


Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law is committed to promoting student opportunities to study in other countries and in civil law traditions. Exchanges are normally for one term and open to third year students. Home tuition arrangements generally apply where Dalhousie students are allowed to study at exchange partner institutions without additional tuition fees.

The application deadline is on or about March 15 each year and students wishing to undertake an exchange must forward a letter of interest and CV to the Chair of the International Linkages Committee. Selection may be competitive and the following criteria may be considered: fluency in local language of instruction; demonstrated interest in a particular field of law which is an area of emphasis or specialization at the exchange law school in question; reasons for studying abroad; how the exchange experience will enhance career plans; academic performance (students should have at least a B grade average in law school). No student shall receive credit for participation in more than one exchange programme.

Students wishing to obtain further details on existing exchanges, listed below, are advised to consult the latest information available at the Sir James Dunn Law Library’s Reserve Desk (listed under Exchange Programmes). A public information session about available exchange opportunities is normally held in the Schulich School of Law each January. Appropriate web sites, faculty liaison persons and the Chair of the International Linkages Committee may also be consulted.

1. Semester at a Québec Law School (Civil Law)

Students may receive credit for a semester of study at any civil law faculty in Quebec.

Students interested in getting involved in such a programme must have sufficient capacity in the French language to attend classes given in French, although examinations could be written in English. Interested students should contact the Associate Dean, Academic at the Schulich School of Law.

2. The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Exchange Programme

The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) offers its classes in three trimesters, the normal class load being for four 4-credit classes in the Autumn, three in the Winter and three in the Spring, for a total of 40 credits. Students can go there for the third trimester without missing any class time at Dalhousie and can earn seven Dalhousie credits for one Amsterdam trimester.

Exceptionally, a student who has planned his or her classes properly may be granted 14 credits for the equivalent of a full term’s work at VU. Such a student would have to attend both second and third trimesters at VU in third year. It may also be possible to attain this level of the Schulich School of Law credit by attending VU twice, in the third trimester after completion of Dalhousie’s second year and in the second or third trimester in Dalhousie’s third year, with the permission of the Studies Committee.

3. Semester at the University of Maine Law School

Students who have completed half the work needed for graduation from the Schulich School of Law are eligible to spend one semester at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland and receive full credit towards their degree at Dalhousie. The programme received the approval of the Qualifications Committee of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. This opportunity to live in the United States and study at an American Law School should interest both students who contemplate graduate work in the United States and those who would find background in American law helpful.

4. National University of Singapore

Up to four Dalhousie students per year may study at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS), which has wide offerings in commercial law, environmental law, maritime law and international law. Further information may be obtained at www.nus.sg/NUSinfo/LAW/handbook/index.html.

5. European Exchanges

The Schulich School of Law has established exchanges with the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, Lund University in Sweden, and with the private Bucerius Law School in Germany. Up to two Dalhousie students may study in one term at any of these three institutions, although the students going to Bucerius may do so only in the Fall Term as Bucerius runs a special Fall Section for all incoming students.

6. North American Consortium on Legal Education (NACLE)

Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law, in collaboration with McGill and the University of Ottawa, has entered into an exchange agreement with partner institutions in the United States and Mexico. Dalhousie students may study for a term at the University of Arizona James R. Rogers College of Law, the University of Houston Law Centre (which has a noted Health Law programme and may therefore be of great interest to Dalhousie students interested in Health Law), Universidad Panamericana (Mexico City) and the Instituto Technologio de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Escuela de Derecho (ITESM). (Please note: even though an exchange agreement is in place, the need to achieve equal numbers of incoming and outgoing students may mean places at Arizona may not be available.) Fluency in Spanish is required for Panamericana and highly recommended for Monterrey. In addition, special research exchanges, preferably at the graduate level, may be arranged with the Universidad Nacional Autonomo de Mexico, Instituto de Investigaciones Juridicas. Consult www.nacle.org for further information. Funding assistance may be available for two students per year.

7. Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Located in Brisbane and one of Australia’s largest law schools, QUT Faculty of Law offers a broad range of courses with particular strengths in business law, information technology, environmental law and property law. Up to four Dalhousie students may study for a full academic term at QUT per year. For further information consult www.qut.edu.au/.