1L Reading Groups

First-year JD students have an exciting opportunity to enroll in faculty-led reading groups. The groups, of no more than 12 students, will meet four or five times over the course of the academic year to discuss readings, films, or other materials related to a topic of special interest to the faculty convener. 

The reading groups are ungraded and highly informal. Participation is entirely optional. The idea is to provide small groups of students the opportunity to get to know a professor and each other, in the context of discussing interesting topics that will range well beyond the 1L curriculum.

Please take a look at the 1L Reading Group descriptions to determine which groups might interest you:

See the course description of the various reading group.

Note some groups may be conducted remotely, a mix of hybrid and in person and some are exclusively in person. See the hyperlinks below to determine if a faculty member will offer their sessions remote, hybrid, or exclusively in person. The “Fn” column on the far left of the schedule will have a footnote telling you the mode used for each reading group.  

Fall 2023

Spring 2024

Please keep in mind that the reading group modes are described slightly differently than the standard footnote definition. See below for the slight changes to the footnote definitions and how they will apply to reading groups.   

  • EPCV - Exclusively in person COVID schedule. This particular section is offered in an exclusively in-person mode. The class requires all enrollees to participate in person unless ill.
  • HCV - This class is offered in a hybrid mode integrating in-person and remote instruction. Despite in-person opportunities, enrollees in this class may opt to participate remotely in some or all sessions and in some or all aspects of the course. 
  • RCV - This class is offered via remote instruction only
    • [NOTE:  You can see descriptions of all the reading groups under both links, but the fall and spring meeting times are specifically listed for the designated semester.]

Please note that 1L Reading Groups were scheduled so that they will not conflict with your classes. Also note that you will not be permitted to register for a 1L Reading Group with a faculty member that is teaching one of your assigned 1L courses. (This does NOT apply to 1L electives.  Therefore, you may sign up for and take a 1L Reading Group with someone who later becomes your 1L Elective faculty member.)

 

Registration

Register for a 1L Reading Group

  • The site will be available August 16, 2023 at 1:30pm through August 23, 2023 at 9:30am. 
  • Log in using your NetID (your initials and a series of numbers – ex. xyz123) and related password.  This would be the same information you use to log in to Albert/ NYU Home.  
  • Click on “Registration” on the left sidebar.
  • The list of 1L Reading Groups and a text box to list your ranking will appear.
  • The results of the 1L Reading Group registration process will be posted to Albert on August 25, 2023 by 4:00pm. 

This is a simple ranking system. Please indicate your first, second, third, etc. choices. You can rank as many as 10 reading groups, and we encourage you to number all the way to 10 to avoid the risk of getting shut out entirely. Ranking fewer groups will not increase the odds of getting into your highest choices.

Remember that you will not be permitted to register for a group led by a faculty member who is teaching one of your assigned 1L courses. By checking your unofficial transcript in Albert you can see who your fall and spring semester professors will be. You should not rank groups that either your fall or spring semester faculty lead. 

We will honor your preference to the extent possible, while maintaining classes of no more than 12 students. The results of the 1L Reading Group registration process will be posted on August 25 by 4:00pm. Please check your schedule in Albert.

If you obtain a seat in your preferred 1L Reading Group, please be sure to check NYU Brightspace to see if there are any announcements from your professor.