Top 7 Most Challenging Subjects in Law School

"Capital cannot emerge from circulation, nor can it appear outside of circulation. It must emerge within circulation, and at the same time, not within circulation" - from the complete works of Marx-Engels. Marxism is a timeless classic. No matter where you study, you will encounter this subject. You’ll face countless pages of dry, incomprehensible textbooks, grueling lectures on historical stages, theories, and ideologies, as well as exams that require deep reasoning and guessing the lecturer's mindset. Even just thinking about it sounds exhausting.

And in the end, even in your professional career, what remains likely won't be the content or principles you've learned, but only the memories of how difficult it was or some headings—very few will remember the actual lessons or theories taught, right?

As the name suggests, 'Administration' is 'governmental'! Law students often complain about how tough this subject is. You'll study government agencies, violations, and hear real stories about inefficiencies within government institutions. But since this is the one subject that exposes you to how these bodies function, their roles, and responsibilities, it carries a significant weight.

In law universities, this subject can be assessed through different exam formats: oral or written. As professors often say: 'Making the exam too easy is an insult to my students,' which is why the review period for Administrative Law is one of the busiest times for law students.

Following the struggles of Constitutional and Administrative Law, we now arrive at Land Law. Just the name of this subject already hints at the complexity of what law students must deal with. Land has been a contentious and complicated issue since ancient times, touching upon various areas of life. To regulate land, at least five legal documents have been created over time, not including numerous amendments and additions through the years: the 1953 Land Reform Law, the 1987 Land Law, the 1993 Land Law, the 2003 Land Law, and the 2013 Land Law, alongside countless decrees, circulars, and guidance documents that make law students’ heads spin.

Imagine having only 60 or 90 minutes to answer questions about such a vast number of legal documents. Even more daunting is the one-on-one oral exam with professors. The pressure is indescribable. Unsurprisingly, many law students fail this subject.

The final tough subject that law students dread, as mentioned by Mytour, is Taxation. It’s quite naive to think that studying law means avoiding calculations. Forget that misconception, law students—you’ll be doing plenty of math!

Not only will you calculate things like advance court fees, administrative fees, interest rates, but you’ll also be diving deep into taxes. Of course, you're not expected to become a tax accountant, but you must understand and apply numerous regulations to review reports, check documents, and navigate the vast array of legal texts. Taxation laws are endless, from statutes, decrees, circulars, resolutions to official letters. Among the most common taxes are: VAT, special consumption tax, personal income tax, corporate income tax, import-export tax, and resource tax... and many more. It’s a headache, right?

'The beginning is always the hardest!' Every law student faces this challenge in the first days of university: State and Law Theory. This subject encompasses a vast amount of knowledge and serves as the foundation for everything you’ll learn in the future. It’s no surprise that despite being diligent, even the most hardworking students struggle with the overwhelming amount of material and often find themselves completely confused.

As a result, the pain of consistently scoring below 5 points on exams becomes all too familiar. If economics students have advanced calculus, then Law Theory is just as complex, leaving students from the A and A1 streams in particular with a headache.

The Communist Party’s policies are a subject that makes law students both laugh and cry. This course covers the party’s policies throughout various historical stages, as well as key events in Vietnam’s history. During lessons, professors are quite relaxed, and students often hear fascinating historical stories. At first glance, it may feel like a high school history class, and history majors might think this would be an easy subject to pass without needing to focus too much on the exact wording. However, the reality is completely different.

The multiple-choice exam questions at Hanoi Law University are so tricky that they ask about specific dates, months, and years. Even on the exam day, students are still complaining about the challenging questions, which even veteran revolutionary leaders of the Party might have trouble recalling. Questions like, ‘When did President Ho Chi Minh visit Tân Trào?’ or ‘How many years of Party membership did General Võ Nguyên Giáp have by the time of his passing?’ leave students struggling to keep up.

Much like the course on State and Law Theory, the Constitution is a subject that haunts every law student during the semester. While dedication might get you through State Theory or a sharp memory might help you with the Party's policies, it won’t be enough to pass the Constitution course.

The Constitution is a complex blend of theory and political principles. If State Theory is a 10 in difficulty, the Constitution is a solid 9.9 — just as challenging. The topics in this course are often completely new, making them difficult to understand and memorize. However, there’s a silver lining: the exam format for this subject is written, and you’re allowed to refer to your notes, textbooks, and personal class notes. So make sure to take diligent notes and stay on top of the material from the very beginning.