Registration
Registration for Spring 2025 Classes
Registration for the Spring 2025 semester will start on Monday, October 28 and proceed according to the following schedule.
Phase One: Fall Registration 3L Students
Monday, October 28 at 12:45 PM, Registration Begins
Phase Two: Fall Registration 2L Students
Wednesday, October 30 at 12:45 PM, Registration Begins
Add/Drop ends January 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM for the Spring Semester.
Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis, so be sure you do not wait until late in your registration time slot to register. To maximize your chances of getting the classes you want, and to ensure you receive priority for classes, you must register during the time set aside for your class year.
Clinic Registration:
Clinic Registration for Spring 2025 will take place October 7 - October 10.
How to Register
The law school uses NOVASIS for registration, which means you can register from anywhere you choose. All the information you need to register and navigate the registration site can be found here on the Registrar's web site.
To Register for Classes Online
- Login to My Nova
- Click on "Registration Tools"
- Click on "Register, Add or Drop Classes"
- Select the Term
- To add a course, either Search for a Course or Enter the CRN, then click Add. This will add the course to your Summary. Click Submit on your course summary to submit changes.
- To register from a Plan, click on the Plans tab and add courses from the plan to your Summary. Click Submit on your course summary to submit changes.
- To drop a course, choose Drop in your Course Summary and Click Submit.
- To accept a Waitlist Seat, choose Web Registered on the Course Summary and Click Submit.
Before You Register
You are required to register for between 12 and 18 hours of credit in each semester.
Before registering it is very important that you consult with an Academic Advisor and also review the Graduation Requirements.
Read the course description for each class you are considering. Be sure you are not signing up for a class for which you do not have the proper prerequisites. Course descriptions are available on the Course Catalog in Novasis, and students are strongly urged to review them before registering.
Note: Fridays are scheduled lightly with primarily first-year courses, small sections of specialized courses, and multi-sectioned courses. This is done to allow students involved in externships to schedule their required on-site hours. Also, from 12:15 to 1:30 PM each day, no classes have been scheduled to facilitate meetings with advisors and other group meetings.
Registration Checklist
- Talk to your advisor or other faculty member about your course selections.
- Review the Graduation Checklist to be sure you are compliant with the graduation requirements.
- Try logging in to NOVASIS before registration to be sure you see the correct registration time for your class. If you do not, contact this office right away. All holds need to be addressed by the student prior to registration.
- Review all of the registration information on the Registrar's site. There are detailed instructions to help you with everything involved in registering for classes, as well as other helpful information.
- Read the course descriptions in the online catalog. Check to see if the classes you want have prerequisites. Also look for any instructions the professor gives as to attending the first class, confirming your acceptance of the class etc.
- Create your preferred schedule for both fall and spring semesters. Please do not register for classes you really do not intend to take as this will limit the choices for your fellow classmates.
- If you are on a Journal, be sure to register for BOTH semesters
- It is your responsibility to ensure that you have met all graduation requirements for your graduation year including that you have completed at least 90 credit hours.
The Registrar's Office will be happy to help you with any questions you have about registration:
Email: registrar@law.villanova.edu Phone: 610-519-7017
Registering for Clinics
We have seven clinic courses at the Law School. Clinic course descriptions can be found on the Clinic website. Clinic registration takes place before you register for other courses so that you can plan your schedule around your commitments in clinic. Clinic registration does not take place on Novasis. You can find the application forms and more information on the Clinic Registration site.
Dropping a Clinic
Students enrolled in Clinics cannot drop a clinic absent extraordinary circumstances. Your commitment to the clinic is an indication of the professional responsibility you will be entrusted with in your live client matters. Given the demands associated with certifying students for practice in respective clinics and the importance of advance notice needed to schedule appropriate client matters, we cannot accommodate drops solely due to scheduling issues. If you have an unforeseen emergency or other serious concern that will prevent you from participating in clinic, please contact the Director of the clinic in which you are enrolled as soon as possible and provide a detailed explanation.
Registering for Externships
Students interested in externships should consult the Externship information provided on the School website here for the most current information about externship offerings. Anyone who has questions should contact Matthew McGovern, Director of Experiential Learning. Externships have unique requirements and the selection process varies greatly for each one. Students may register for the following externships on NOVASIS:
- Defender Association of Philadelphia
- District Attorney - Philadelphia
- Montgomery County Juvenile Justice
- Pennsylvania Innocence Project
Externships not on this list will require approval by the Director of Experiential Learning. Please submit an Externship Enrollment Application to request approval. The application is available here. Once approved, the Director will notify the Registrar's Office that you should be enrolled in the externship.
Judicial Externships
Students who apply directly to particular judges and secure externship positions must submit the Externship Enrollment Application to request approval. The application is available here. Once approved, the Director will notify the Registrar's Office that you should be enrolled in the externship. Students who secure judicial externships through the School’s Externship Lottery do not have to submit the application. For Lottery positions, the Director will notify the Registrar’s Office that those students should be enrolled in externships.
Create Your Own Externship
If no available clinic or externship offers the experience you're looking for, you may create your own. The law school has an externship policy that allows the Dean's designate, the Director of Experiential Learning, to approve externships for three credits that comply with the policy. The School’s Externship Policy is available here.
An externship that does not comply with any aspect of the policy must be approved by the full faculty after review by the Curriculum Committee. In special circumstances, when truly unusual and valuable opportunities have presented themselves, students have obtained approval of externships outside the specific provisions of the policy.
