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Experience Guide

Make the most out of your university career by taking advantage of all that Laurier has to offer you. Volunteer work, campus clubs, leadership programs, studying abroad, work experience – there are so many ways you can extend your classroom experience into the real world.

Year-to-Year Experience Guides

The following is a year-to-year outline of the kinds of experiences that work well with your program.

Be Inspired: Maximize Your Academic Opportunities

First Yearbrain

Middle Years

  • Take Law and Society courses including The Canadian Legal System I and II, Perspectives on Justice, and Ethics and Professionalization.
  • Complete your remaining Foundations courses in Modernity: Critique and Resistance, and
    Academic Literacy: Humanities.
  • Explore courses in related areas of study and begin thinking about a minor or an option to complement your degree.
  • Submit your academic work to Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal for Contemporary Connections for a chance to be published.
  • Consider taking social innovation or entrepreneurship courses.
  • Propose topics for directed study courses in your fourth year and talk with your professors about these opportunities.
  • Participate in the Walls to Bridges course taking place at the Grand Valley Institution for Women with equal numbers of incarcerated students and Laurier students learning together as peers.

Final Year

Be Involved: Explore Work, Volunteer and Leadership Experience

First Yearspeech bubbles

Middle Years

Final Year

Be Engaged: Broaden Your Perspective

First Yearhead

Middle Years

Final Year

Be Inspired: Maximize Your Academic Opportunities

First Two Years (Laurier)brain

  • Take required courses and explore other programs of interest through electives.
  • Complete Foundations courses in your first two years.
  • Review your program requirements and plan for a successful degree path.
  • Meet with the Sussex program coordinator to make key academic decisions.
  • Consider taking courses where you can research social issues with community partners, with an experiential-learning component, with professional skills development or about social innovation and entrepreneurship.
  • Complete your application to the University of Sussex LLB program through UCAS (UK online application service).
  • Join the Laurier Sussex Residence Learning Cluster to enhance your academic and social success in the program.
  • Complete the Conducting Legal Research Certificate.
  • Earn certificates with Learning Skills and Development.

Middle Three Years (Sussex)

  • Connect with the Sussex program coordinator at Laurier.
  • Take courses to gain skills in presenting legal arguments, client interviewing and negotiation, criminal advocacy and legal research.
  • Enrol in Canadian Law classes offered at Sussex.
  • Choose elective courses based on your interest in a particular area of law such as commercial, criminal, environmental, family, human rights, international, sports and many more.
  • Apply to the National Accreditation Committee in Canada to seek your Certificate of Qualification.

Final Year (Laurier)

Be Involved: Explore Work, Volunteer and Leadership Experience

First Two Years (Laurier)speech bubbles

Middle Three Years (Sussex)

  • Apply for summer positions in legal firms in Canada or choose to stay in Europe for the summers.
  • Join the Canadian Student Law Society and other student clubs at Sussex.
  • Participate in moot court opportunities and competitions at Sussex.
  • Attend professional development workshops with faculty to increase your employability skills.
  • Participate in Sussex Clinical Legal Projects to develop and enhance your clinical legal education and deepen your skills for future employment.

Final Year (Laurier)

  • Apply for an executive/coordinator position with a student club or committee.
  • Decide on the Articling Program as part of the Lawyer Licensing Process and participate in recruitment activities (summer before final year).
  • Attend the Careers in Criminology and Law Fair.
  • Share your Laurier experience with prospective students at open house events.

Be Engaged: Broaden Your Perspective

First Two Years (Laurier)head

Middle Three Years (Sussex)

  • Learn about new perspectives and cultures through interacting with other students and opportunities available while in the UK (Sussex has students from more than 80 different countries).

Final Year (Laurier)

Checklistspencil

Completing the checklists below will also help ensure your academic, professional, and personal success during your time at Laurier – and beyond.

Academic Success Checklist

Experience Checklist

Career Opportunitieshandshake

When you're ready to start thinking about your life after graduation, you should check out the career and postgraduate options for people with a degree in Law and Society.