Faculty of Law

About Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law at the University of Sherbrooke is a Canadian law school located in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Established in 1954, the institution operates within the main campus of the University of Sherbrooke, providing legal education primarily in the French language. It operates under the governance of the university while maintaining its specific academic structure tailored to legal studies. The faculty offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs designed to prepare students for legal practice, scholarly research, and public service within Quebec, across Canada, and internationally.

At the undergraduate level, the faculty offers a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. Because Quebec operates under a civil law jurisdiction while the rest of Canada uses common law, the faculty provides specialized dual-degree options and combined pathways. Students can pursue a joint LL.B. and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) or combined programs in civil law and common law, enabling graduates to seek admission to legal bars across Canadian provinces. The curriculum covers foundational subjects such as constitutional law, criminal law, civil obligations, property law, administrative law, and legal methodology.

In addition to traditional legal coursework, the Faculty of Law is recognized for its integrated practical training model. It was among the first law faculties in Canada to incorporate cooperative education, allowing students to alternate between academic semesters and paid professional work placements in law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. The faculty also integrates practical legal drafting, advocacy training, and legal technology instruction into its standard degree pathways.

At the graduate level, the institution offers Master of Laws (LL.M.) programs with various concentrations, including health law and policy, business law, international law, and legal information technology. A specialized graduate diploma in common law is available for students holding a civil law degree. The faculty also awards a Doctor of Laws (Ph.D.) degree for advanced research. Academic departments and specialized research centers within the faculty focus on areas such as health law, intellectual property, environmental law, and legal informatics.

The physical infrastructure of the Faculty of Law includes dedicated lecture halls, seminar rooms, faculty offices, and specialized practice spaces such as a moot courtroom used for practical litigation training and competitive mooting events. Students have access to the Albert-Leblanc Law Library, which holds extensive collections of Canadian, legal, civil law, and international legal texts, legal journals, and digital databases. The library serves as the primary resource center for legal research on the university’s main campus.

The programs offered by the Faculty of Law are recognized by the Barreau du Québec (the Quebec Bar Association) and the Chambre des notaires du Québec, qualifying graduates to enter the professional training programs required to practice as lawyers or notaries in the province. Programs incorporating common law training also meet the requirements set by provincial law societies across Canada for national legal accreditation.

The Faculty of Law maintains partnerships with international universities, facilitating student exchange programs and collaborative research initiatives. These international agreements allow qualified law students to complete a portion of their studies abroad, gaining exposure to foreign legal systems and international law frameworks. The faculty also hosts visiting scholars, professional seminars, and academic conferences aimed at advancing research in emerging fields of law, particularly legal technology, bioethics, and legal pedagogy.