Orientation information for admitted students
New international students at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law must attend two orientation sessions: the university orientation session sponsored by the Office of International Services, which will be completed online before you arrive, and the law school orientation session, which is partially online and partially in-person.
Important information about university orientation
The Office of International Services (OIS) provides an online orientation session for new international students to help you understand how to adapt to living in Bloomington, studying at the University, and maintaining your student status with SEVIS. To ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about university orientation available, you will need to pay attention to information from OIS available on their website, through an online system called iStart, or in emails from an account named "NEWTOIU@indiana.edu." You will receive an invitation to an IU website called Canvas where you will complete the online university orientation sessions. Make sure you have set up your IU computing accounts so that you can complete IU orientation.
All new international students in the LLM, MCL, Certificate, SJD, PHD or exchange programs who are in the United States on a student visa are required to complete the online university orientation. You will start this process by filling out your iStart checklist. You will not be eligible to register for fall semester courses until you have completed the required online orientation sessions.
Important information about law school orientation
The Office of Graduate Legal Studies (GLS) provides an orientation session for all new graduate and exchange students at the Law School. The orientation process actually begins once you receive your letter of admission and access to the "You're Admitted!" web pages. On these pages, we offer information that you need to know prior to arriving in Bloomington -- the orientation schedule, suggestions for how to prepare for law school classes, housing information, general information about the city of Bloomington, and brief introductions from our staff members.
Approximately one month before you arrive, you will receive an invitation via email to participate in the Law School’s online orientation module on Canvas. Just like the University’s online orientation, you must complete the Law School’s online and in-person orientation sessions in order to be able to register for classes.
The Law School’s in-person orientation session normally takes place at the Maurer School of Law in the second week of August for the fall semester and in the first week of January for the spring semester. Orientation consists of both mandatory and optional activities. During the law school orientation, we will discuss topics such as degree program requirements and choosing classes, and other topics, such as resources for professional development, tips for surviving the first month of law school, and a guide to the course registration system. LLM, MCL, certificate and exchange students will meet with an academic advisor and make course selections for the fall semester. Participation in law school orientation is mandatory.
Please note that students in the PHD and SJD programs will follow a slightly different orientation schedule than other graduate students.