A glimpse into the Faculty’s exchange program this term and a chat with one of the visiting students
Coming back to school after a summer away is always a busy time at the Faculty of Law. There are so many new faces on campus and new people to meet. I’m not only talking about this year’s new cohort of 1Ls (although we’re very excited for them to join us), but also this semester’s international exchange students.
With the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, U of T Law is able to welcome exchange students from all over the world. This semester, the law school is hosting students from the Australian National University, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Queen Mary University of London, University of Manchester, Trinity College Dublin, and the University of Auckland.
I spoke with Lia, one of our exchange students, to see how her time at the Faculty has been so far.
Originally from Greece but completing her degree in London, UK, Lia is in her third year of undergraduate studies in Law. When asked about her thoughts about U of T Law, she said it was “a bit more intense” than the LLB program at her home institution, but this was to be expected as students here are completing JD and LLM degrees. One thing she really likes about the Faculty is the variety of courses that we can take. She explained that “in London, we can’t take as many credits as you can here; having more space in my schedule allows me to try out different areas of interest.”
Lia did, however, express that she was “disheartened” to find out she would not have access to the U of T Career Development Office (CDO), particularly as she “hoped to explore the Toronto job market while on exchange here.” The Faculty told Lia that she could not utilize the CDO because the law school’s outgoing exchange students don’t use their host institution’s career offices. The CDO answered requests for comment on the rationale behind this policy by clarifying the scope of their services. The CDO explained that “the policy of the Faculty of Law and the CDO is for exchange students to continue to rely on the career services of their home institutions, which, in our view, will be best positioned to provide such students with fulsome career support. The CDO, in turn, continues to support our JD students as they study abroad.”
In general, though, Lia has enjoyed her time on exchange so far and she thinks that Toronto is a “great city.” Thank you to Lia for having a chat with me, and welcome to all of our international exchange students! We are very excited that you are here, and we hope that your time at U of T will be the highlight of your degree.
