First-year requirements provide the intellectual foundation on which to build a legal education that is tailored to meet individual needs and interests in the second and third years. A deep dive into the study of law and reasoning in the first year provides the framework for continued development of high-level skills in analysis, problem-solving, advocacy, speaking, and writing, and also helps students identify areas of law that interest and inspire them.
Each Vanderbilt Law School first-year J.D. student must complete a graded, two-semester Legal Research and Writing course. The course primarily teaches students to plan, research, organize, and write legal analysis and advocacy. The second semester also introduces oral advocacy.
Upper-level offerings are almost entirely elective, allowing students to choose from a broad curriculum, combining courses, clinics, externships, independent work, and courses outside the law school to accomplish career goals. Second- and third-year students also have the option of pursuing specific areas of interest through the law school's special academic programs.
* Please note: The list below is not exhaustive, and not all classes are offered every year. For all look at the most current Course Catalog, click here.
Criminal Procedure: Investigation | Multidistrict Litigation | Judicial Activism |
Corporate Litigation | Negotiation | Litigation Finance |
Evidence | Public Interest Litigation | Scientific Evidence |
Actual Innocence | Appellate Practice and Procedure | Comparative Perspectives on Counterterrorism |
Corporate Compliance | Health Care Fraud and Abuse | International Criminal Law |
Juvenile Justice | Mental Health Law: Deprivations of Life and Liberty | Policing in the 21st Century Short Course |
White Collar Crime Seminar |
Energy Law | Environmental Law I: Public Environmental Governance | Environmental Law II: Private Environmental Governance |
Land Use Planning | Energy & Environmental Federalism | Sustainable Cities |
Water Law | Local Government Law | Climate Law & Policy Lab |
Climate Change Governance Seminar | Clean Energy Transition Seminar |
Antitrust Law | Copyright Law | Entertainment Industry Transactions: Negotiation and Drafting |
First Amendment Constitutional Law | Intellectual Property and the Arts Clinic | Intellectual Property Licensing |
International Intellectual Property | Law of Cyberspace | Music and Copyright Seminar |
Patent Law | Trade Secrets | Trademarks Short Course |
Comparative Perspectives on Counterterrorism | Foreign Affairs | Immigration Law and Policy |
International Protection of Human Rights | International Trade Law | Islamic Law: from Mecca to Modernity |
Public International Law | Transnational Litigation | International Law Practice Lab |
Human Trafficking: Law, Policy, and Litigation | International Mergers and Acquisitions | International Renewable Energy Development and Finance |
International Labor Migration: Lawyering for Social Justice in Comparative Contexts | United Nations Law and Practice | Cybersecurity Law |
European Union Law |
Corporations and Business Entities | Introduction to Accounting | Introduction to Corporate Finance for Lawyers |
Federal Tax Law | Securities Regulation | Advanced Securities Regulation |
Alternative Business Entities Short Course | Bankruptcy | Business and Securities Research |
Contracts | Corporate Compliance | Corporate Legal Risk Management |
Disruptive Technologies and the Evolution of Corporate Law Short Course | Economic Regulation of Finance Seminar | Energy Industry Mergers and Acquisitions Short Course |
Entertainment Industry Transactions: Negotiation and Drafting | Government Contract Law | Healthcare Mergers & Acquisitions |
Hedge Fund Regulation and Compliance Short Course | Introduction to Private Equity Short Course | Mergers and Acquisitions |
Negotiation and Drafting of Key Corporate Documents | Partnership Taxation | Private Equity: Transactional Drafting and Practice |
Private Mergers and Acquisitions - Drafting and Negotiation | Real Estate Transactions | Role of In-House Counsel |
Taxation of Non-Profit/Tax Exempt Organizations | Venture Capital Seminar |
American Legal History | Appellate Practice and Procedure | Behind the Curtain of the Supreme Court Seminar |
Constitutional Law I - Structural Questions, Federalism, and Separation of Powers | Constitutional Law II - Individual Rights | Family Law |
Federal Courts and the Federal System | Federal Indian Law | Federalism Seminar |
First Amendment Constitutional Law | Foreign Affairs | Gender and the Law |
Government Contract Law | International Protection of Human Rights | Marijuana Law and Policy |
Policing in the 21st Century Short Course | Reproductive Rights and Justice | Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic |
Textualism and Originalism Seminar |
Law Practice 2050 | Law as a Business | Legal Operations |
Legal Problem Solving | Legal Project Management | Design Your Life in the Law |
Leading in the Law | Blockchains and Smart Contracts | Law of Cyberspace |
Legal Practice Technology | Non-Litigation Strategies for Change in Public and Social Policy | Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and the Law |
Actual Innocence | Education Law | Employment Discrimination Law |
Employment Law | Family Law | Immigration Law and Policy |
Juvenile Justice | Legal Interviewing and Counseling | Mental Health Law: Deprivations of Life and Liberty |
Non-Litigation Strategies for Change in Public and Social Policy | Poverty Law | Advanced Evidence & Trial Advocacy: Civil |
Legal Interviewing & Counseling | Litigating the Capital Punishment Case | Trial Advocacy |
Each semester, a limited number of non-law courses at other schools within Vanderbilt University are approved as electives eligible for credit toward the J.D. degree.
Students not participating in an approved dual degree program may receive credit for up to six credit hours of graduate-level study in non-law courses taken from other schools within Vanderbilt University.
Students participating in a dual degree program are eligible for permitted non-law elective credits determined by the program.
Vanderbilt's eight legal clinics allow students to learn both the theory and practice of law in context. Clinic students gain real-world legal experience by assuming the role of the lawyer under the expert guidance of members of the law faculty, working with actual clients and on real cases. The Externship Program allows students to choose and design placements tailored to their individual goals and interests.
If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the Admissions Office at 615-322-6452 or admissions@law.vanderbilt.edu.