Experiential Learning
The 'practice-ready' approach to the legal education at UND Law is supported by many experiential learning opportunities providing hands-on, practical experience inside and outside the classroom
At UND Law, our goal is for our graduates to gain a skill set to be "practice-ready" when they graduate. Each student completes six credits of experiential coursework through our robust externships program, simulation courses, skills competitions or other programs, such as the Innocence Project.
Externship Program
The UND School of Law Externship program provides students an opportunity to gain academic credit for qualified work in a legal setting.
Experiential Learning and Simulation Courses
Students have the opportunity to work closely with faculty in developing practical skills through simulation courses. UND Law students can gain skills related to litigation as well as other areas of law practice. Simulation courses include Trial Advocacy, Advanced Trial Advocacy, Business Planning, Corporate Drafting, Estate Planning, International Human Rights Advocacy, Pretrial Practice, Transactional Drafting, and Tribal Clerkship & Codification.
Additional Programs
North Dakota Legislative Internship
During each North Dakota Legislative Session, at least 12 UND Law students spend a semester in Bismarck, North Dakota working full-time at the North Dakota State Capitol with the experienced attorneys at the North Dakota Legislative Council and the North Dakota Attorney General’s office.
Student Skills Competitions
UND Law students compete in moot court and trial competitions, both at the School of Law and across the country. Each year, the North Dakota Supreme Court judges the final round of the law school’s Moot Court Competition, and local judges and attorneys participate in the law school’s internal trial competition, the Carrigan Cup. Recent national and regional competitions include the National Energy & Sustainability Moot Court Competition, the UCLA Cyber Crimes Moot Court Competition, the National Civil Rights Competition, the UNLV Gaming Law Moot Court Competition, the National Native American Law Student Association Moot Court Competition, and the National Trial Competition sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Innocence Project
UND Law Professor Steven Morrison has partnered with Innocence Project Minnesota to bring the project to North Dakota. A select group of students have an opportunity to work with the project to gain valuable experience while working on cases of people wrongfully convicted of crimes. The focus in on cases in the state of North Dakota.
Summer Scholarship and Grant Awards
UND Law, Edson & Margaret Larson Foundation, the State Bar Association of North Dakota, and the North Dakota Bar Foundation continued to promote the Rural Justice program to support summer law-related positions in rural areas throughout the state to address the critical unmet need for attorneys to serve the citizens of North Dakota in rural areas. The scholarship and grant awards to work in legal positions in the summer are:
- School of Law Larson Foundation Summer Law Rural Justice Practice Scholarships
- School of Law Public Interest Summer Work Grants
- School of Law Rural Justice Judicial Clerkships