Taking Classes at William & Mary
Some notes on what to expect when you arrive
Registration
Final course registration will take place during the orientation week before classes begin. You will first meet with a William & Mary faculty advisor to discuss your selections, then you will be registered for the courses you’ve chosen.
To find what courses are being offered, you can check two places: Cardozo (the Law School’s intranet) and Banner. In Cardozo, click ‘Courses’ in the upper-right corner and then choose the appropriate semester; you can then view the courses by time, type, or instructor, and also see when the courses’ exams are offered.
MyLaw
Many of your professors will use an online tool called MyLaw to post information about your courses. You may find your syllabus, course documents, and other relevant information on this site. (You will also use MyLaw to submit your final exams at the end of each semester.) After logging in with your W&M user ID and password, you will see a list of the courses in which you are enrolled. Click the course name to navigate to the specific information for that course.
Credits
To complete your LL.M. degree, you must earn a minimum of 24 credits in one academic year and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0. Your credits may be divided as you like over the course of the fall and spring semesters. If you are interested in the subject matter of a course and want to be in the class but not take the exam (or receive credit), you may audit the course, with the instructor’s permission. If you do not specify during the registration period that you plan to audit the course, then you will be expected to take the exam and will receive graded credit.
Class Structure
Most classes will be taken with American J.D. students. Many LL.M. students choose the first-year J.D. courses , such as Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, and Torts. Most classes will be lectures, but you may also take some seminar courses, which have smaller class sizes and are discussion-based. You can view the courses organized by category on Cardozo by selecting ‘Courses by type.’
Exams are held at the end of each semester, following the last day of classes. You can go to Cardozo and select ‘Course exam schedule’ to see when each class’s exam is held. Exams are written and may consist of essays, multiple choice questions, or a combination of both. Your professor will provide more specifics regarding the exam format. If you are from a country where English is not the national language, you will be given additional time to complete your exam. |
