Upper Year Applicants (Transfer, Letter of Permission,Exchange, Auditing and NCA Students)

Transfer Students

Students who have completed their first year of study at a Canadian common law school and have written the LSAT may apply to the Faculty to complete two years of legal study and receive their JD from the University of Calgary.

An application to Transfer in this way is made on our usual Application Form.  The application deadline for Transfer students is June 1st. All supporting documents are due June 1. This includes an LSAT score, certified transcripts (one copy only please) from all post-secondary educational institutions attended, and two letters of reference forwarded directly from the referees to the Faculty of Law Admissions Office. Two should be academic references, and at least one letter must be from a law professor. The Admissions Committee reserves the right to review an applicant's file with only one reference letter.  Applicants must indicate in their statements of interest their reasons for wishing to transfer to the University of Calgary.

Applicants will be assessed by the Director of Admissions or a member of the Admissions Committee using the same criteria as for students being admitted into first year law at the Faculty. In addition, the Director or member will assess the extent to which an applicant's previous studies in law prepare her or him for performing at the same level as students who have been in the Calgary program since the beginning of their first year. Consideration will also be given to the Applicant's stated reasons for wishing to transfer.  Space limitations in the Faculty will be a factor in admitting applicants; in some years few or no transfer applicants will be admitted.

Applicants who are admitted as Transfer students must successfully complete at least two years of study in the Faculty in order to be entitled to a JD from the University of Calgary.  Applicants may be required to complete courses from the first year program at the University of Calgary, depending on the courses they have taken at the point of admission to the Faculty.

Applications to transfer will not be accepted from persons who are not studying at a Canadian common law school or who have already completed more than one full year of studies at a Canadian common law school. 

For more information, e-mail law@ucalgary.ca.

Letter of Permission (LOP)

Students who have completed at least one year of study at a Canadian or US law school may apply to study law at the University of Calgary for one year or one semester.  (Students from International law schools who have signed an official exchange agreement with the University of Calgary may apply to spend a year at the University of Calgary as an exchange student: see below).

Applicants who wish to study at the Faculty for one year or one semester must apply on the usual application form and include a Statement of Interest outlining the reasons why they wish to attend the University of Calgary. They must also provide a Letter of Permission from the Law Faculty at which they are currently studying, giving them permission to take courses in Calgary for the year. The application deadline for Letter of Permission students beginning the program in September is June 1st.

All supporting documents are due June 1. This includes an LSAT score, certified transcripts (one copy only please) from all post-secondary educational institutions attended, and two letters of reference forwarded directly from the referees to the Faculty of Law Admissions Office. Two letters must be from law professors. The Admissions Committee reserves the right to review an applicant's file with only two reference letters. Applicants must indicate in their statements of interest their reasons for wishing to attend the University of Calgary.  

Applicants who wish to take a calendar year (January - December), or the Winter Session only (January - April) in the Faculty on a Letter of Permission may apply no later than October 1. Supporting documents in such cases are due October 1.

Exceptionally, Letter of Permission applicants from Canadian Civil Law or Francophone Schools which do not themselves require the LSAT as part of their admissions process may apply to the Faculty without writing the LSAT.

Applicants will be assessed by the Admissions Committee based on their reasons for application, the contribution they will make to the law school and their suitability for legal studies at the Faculty of Law.  Space limitations in the Faculty will be a factor in admitting applicants.

Letter of Permission applicants may require that certain courses be completed while they are at the University of Calgary. The availability of those courses must be confirmed with the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law prior to enrollment, as space is not always available in those courses.  It is the sole responsibility of the Letter of Permission applicant to ensure that all graduation requirements from their home law school are satisfied.

Applicants should also be aware that normally compulsory courses may not be taken by Letter of Permission students due to space constraints and, as well, that all the courses to be taken by Letter of Permission applicants must be approved by the Associate Dean prior to enrollment.

Letter of Permission students do not receive a JD from the University of Calgary.

For more information, e-mail law@ucalgary.ca.

 

Exchange Students

Students enrolled at a non-Canadian law school may apply to study at the University of Calgary as exchange students for one semester or one year. 

Exchange applicants must submit an Exchange Student Application, a Statement of Interest, one set of transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended and two letters of reference.  The documents are to be submitted through the Applicant's home institution.  Applicants must indicate in their statements of interest their reasons for wishing to attend the University of Calgary.

Exchange applicants are not required to write the LSAT.  However, exchange applicants may be required to complete the TOFEL and demonstrate appropriate competency in written and spoken English.  Account will be taken of the TOFEL score as well as the English competency indicated by other documents submitted by the applicant.

Exchange applicants pay tuition to their home institution, except for certain incidental fees such as purchase of a Calgary Transit pass.

Exchange applications are coordinated by the Centre for International Students and Study Abroad at the University of Calgary before being sent to the Faculty of Law for approval.  Exchange applicants should contact the Centre to identify additional requirements that may exist with respect to the admission to the University of Calgary.  Exchange applications are reviewed by the Director of Admissions or a Member of the Admissions Committee based on their reasons for application, the contribution they will make to the law school and their suitability for legal studies at the Faculty of Law.  Space limitations in the Faculty will be a factor in admitting applicants.

Exchange applicants should also be aware that normally compulsory courses may not be taken by Exchange students due to space constraints and, as well, that all the courses to be taken Exchange students must be approved by the Associate Dean prior to enrollment.

Auditing and Other Special Students

Practitioners who already have an LLB or JD, and Graduate Students currently enrolled in a post-graduate degree program at this University or elsewhere may, subject to space constraints, be admitted into one or more JD courses either for credit or to audit.

(a) Auditing

Space restrictions limit the number of students allowed to audit law courses. Applicants must meet with the Associate Dean to discuss course selection.

Auditors may not participate in class discussions, assignments, examinations, or in parts of courses such as laboratories. They may participate in class discussion with the instructor's consent. If the instructor wishes the student to participate in activities other than class discussions, permission must be obtained from the Associate Dean. All admission, registration and fee deadlines which apply to regular students must be met by students who are auditing.

Applicants are required to contact the Admissions Office at the Faculty of Law to complete the necessary documentation. Fees are paid on a per course basis.

(b) Courses for credit

The approval of the Associate Dean is required before any person, not enrolled in the JD, LLM or PhD programs, will be permitted to take a course for credit in the Faculty of Law. Permission will only be granted to University of Calgary students registered in the Faculty of Graduate Studies, persons holding a law degree from an accredited Canadian or American law school, and students admitted to the University of Calgary through an international student exchange program.

Before allowing University of Calgary students registered in the Faculty of Graduate Studies to take a JD course for credit, it is the Faculty of Law's practice to require that the proposed JD course be related to the graduate student's research and that the graduate student have their supervisor's consent.

Due to resource constraints, persons holding a law degree from an accredited Canadian or American law school will not be permitted to enroll in compulsory courses at the Faculty of Law absent exceptional circumstances. 

For more information, e-mail law@ucalgary.ca

The National Committee on Accreditation (NCA)

Individuals who have obtained a law degree from a non-Canadian school or a civil law degree from the province of Quebec should contact the National Committee on Accreditation to request a complete assessment of their degree. The University of Calgary's law school policy does not currently admit students to take one or more courses for credit in full or partial satisfaction of the requirement of the National Committee on Accreditation.

For more information on having your credentials assessed, you can contact the NCA by telephone at (613) 236-1700, by email at nca@flsc.ca  or their mailing address:

National Committee on Accreditation
c/o Federation of Law Societies of Canada
World Exchange Plaza
45 O'Connor, Suite 1810
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1P 1A4

See also the NCA website.

The Internationally Trained Lawyers Program

The new "Internationally Trained Lawyers Program" is a bridge training program for internationally trained lawyers. For further information, visit their website . Call 416-978-6770 or email itlprogram.law@utoronto.ca.