Awards Process

Statement of Process for Program Specific Graduate Awards (June 2004)

The Graduate Studies Committee of the Faculty of Law selects the recipients of the graduate student scholarships and awards specific to the Faculty of Law (e.g., N.D. McDermid scholarship, Alberta Law Foundation scholarships, Faculty of Law Graduate Scholarship). The Committee is chaired by the Graduate Program Director, and includes two other faculty members, appointed by the Dean, and one graduate student in their second or third year in the program.

Early in March of each year, the Graduate Studies Committee first selects the applicants to be admitted to the LL.M. program. All applications are first reviewed by the Chair of the Committee and the Chair screens out those applications which do not meet the program's minimum requirements. All applications which meet the minimum requirements are then read and ranked by all Committee members. The Committee then meets to reach a consensus on the ranking of the applicants, determine how many offers of admission to make, and establish a wait list for admissions.

Once the ranking of the applicants is established, recipients of the scholarships and awards are determined. Potential recipients include only those students to receive offers of admission. The two criteria used by the Committee are:

1. academic merit, as reflected in the ranking of the applications by the Committee; and
2. financial need, including the differential fees to be paid by international students and Canadian Customs and Immigration requirements that visa students be able to demonstrate they have sufficient funding for one year's tuition fees and one year's living expenses.