Choice Shouldn’t Be Something That Has to Wait Until Graduation
In the upper years of your JD, you create a unique program of study that spans our diverse course offerings. And you choose how you prefer to earn credit, whether by taking part in a lecture or seminar, developing a research paper, serving as senior editor for an Osgoode-based law journal, participating in a clinical program, taking a graduate course in another York faculty, or pursuing an international exchange at a partner law school.
First-Year Courses (Mandatory)
- Ethical Lawyering in a Global Community
- Public and Constitutional Law
- Tort Law
- Contract Law
- Criminal Law
- Introductory Lawyering Skills
- Legal Process
- Property Law
- Perspective Option seminar
Upper-Year Course Offerings
Mandatory
- Administrative Law (beginning with the class entering in 2024)
Extensive Options
Including business law, constitutional and administrative law, family law, health law, human rights law, Indigenous law, intellectual property law, labour law, legal information technology, legal theory, natural resources and the law, property law, regulatory law, social justice, equality and the law, taxation law, transnational law. See the full range of courses and seminars.
Specialized Streams
Students with defined interests can focus on one of the following four optional curricular streams:
- International, Comparative and Transnational Law
- Labour and Employment Law
- Litigation, Dispute Resolution and the Administration of Justice
- Tax Law
Joint Programs
You can expand your scope by pursuing one of four joint and combined degree programs:
- Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA) with the Schulich School of Business
- Juris Doctor/Master of Environmental Studies (JD/MES) with the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change
- Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Philosophy (JD/MA) with the Department of Philosophy
- Juris Doctor/Bachelor of Law (Civil) (JD/LLB (Civil)) with the Université de Montréal, Faculté de Droit
Enrichment Activities
The JD program offers a wealth of opportunities to complement your academic work – from our summer internship programs to research collaborations, work in student government and editorial roles with Osgoode-based law journals. Whether your goal is to connect and collaborate with fellow students or dive into a research project with faculty support, we work with you to find the right fit.
Global Reach
Students seeking to tackle global issues or pursue international careers find significant opportunities at Osgoode. In addition to learning about international dimensions of law in many core courses, you can choose to structure your entire program of study through the International, Comparative and Transnational Law (ICT) curricular stream; pursue the International and Transnational Law Intensive Program or Immigration and Refugee Law Intensive Program; or immerse yourself in legal issues affecting communities across the globe through our Ian Scott summer internship program or the student-directed International Legal Partnership.