Apply to the FTLP Program

All the information you need to apply to the Foreign Trained Lawyers Program at UCalgary Law.

The FTLP is designed to meet the unique needs of internationally-trained lawyers who wish to practice common law in Canada. Those internationally-trained lawyers fall into two broad categories:

Newcomers to Canada, including international students, who have obtained their legal education in common law, civil law, or both, and may have practiced law in their home jurisdictions, and either have obtained their Canadian Permanent Residence or Citizenship status, or will have the requisite immigration status to work in Canada when they do their articles after program completion.
Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents who have obtained their legal education in common law, civil law, or both, outside Canada and have returned or are intending to return to Canada to practice common law.

NOTE: You must apply to the National Committee on Accreditation to receive your Assessment Report detailing the Canadian common law subjects that you need to pass before applying to the program.

Before completing this application, we strongly advise that you contact our International Student Services Office for information about being an international student in Canada, study permits, post-graduate work permits, and any related visa and immigration considerations which you may need to take into account. Requirements relative to work permits have recently changed. At present, the Program does not meet the requirements for the Post-Graduate Work Permit Program. To learn more about work permits, please visit this website. The Program representatives cannot provide advice regarding immigration issues.

Please be aware that completion of the Program does not guarantee that you will become a Permanent Resident of Canada or that you will be able to work in Canada.

Please refer to the section “Licensing and Employment Process for Foreign Trained Lawyers” to ensure that you understand the pathway to practice for foreign trained lawyers in Canada. In order to complete Step 3 “Complete your Articles,” you will need to have the appropriate immigration status to enable you to be able to work in Canada.

The minimum requirements for admission to the FTLP Post-Bachelor's certificate are:

A completed law degree (LLB, JD, or equivalent) from an approved, recognized, accredited or otherwise accepted law school;
A valid National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) Assessment Report, issued within the last five (5) years, that shows required courses and law degree information;
A valid NCA Assessment Completion Report (if applicable) that shows any progress made since receiving the NCA Assessment Report;
Proof of English language proficiency, measured via one of the below methods:
1. The language of instruction of the Applicant’s legal academic qualifications was English, and such qualifications were obtained in a country where English is an official language, or;
2. Completion of the International English Language Test System (IELTS) Academic test, with a minimum score of 7.0 across all of the following elements: writing, speaking, reading and listening, and;
Your personal statement (maximum 750 words) stating who you are, your non-academic pursuits, your lived experiences, and three (3) reasons why you want to take the program;
Your resume.

Admission to the Program is competitive. Meeting the minimum requirements outlined above does not guarantee admission. Each year, 30-40 students will be granted admission. Decisions on applications and offers of admission to the FTLP are made by the Executive Director, Professor Wrightson. Offers are made on a rolling basis, so if the FTLP is for you, submit your application early.

My favourite part of the Program are the skills I’ve learnt and the connections I’ve built. I would recommend this Program 100%.

Enuwa Blessing Odinya

Lawyer from Nigeria, 2023/24 FTLP student

Completion of 24 units of coursework

Students in the FTLP must complete the following 24 units of coursework achieving a satisfactory performance:

Course descriptions can be found in the University Calendar.

For clarity, successful completion of Law 400, 410, 420, 503 and 510 fulfills the educational requirements of the five core subjects in the Canadian-specific content outlined by the NCA in its Policy Manual March 31, 2023, section 5.2. Those NCA core subjects are Canadian Administrative Law, Canadian Constitutional Law, Canadian Criminal Law, Canadian Professional Responsibility (also known as Ethical Lawyering), and Foundations in Canadian Law. The FTLP course Law 430 Professional Development is approved by the NCA as satisfying its requirement for competency in Legal Research and Writing. Satisfactory performance in Faculty of Law courses is a C- or higher or a CR. See further the Faculty of Law Regulations section 3 and Appendix B https://calendar.ucalgary.ca/departments/LA/overview.

Course overload and additional courses (LWFT courses)

Students in the FTLP who are considering applying to take a course overload, that is, courses in addition to the FTLP’s six mandatory courses, need to consider the following carefully.

Students considering applying to take LWFT courses must keep in mind that LWFT courses are only offered during the day. The additional courses are:

Admission to additional courses is granted at the discretion of the Associate Dean (Academic) (ADA). The decision of the ADA is final. The decision by the ADA to approve any additional courses is focused on ensuring students are well positioned to be successful in the FTLP. The factors which the ADA will take into account, include but are not limited to:

Previous law school performance;
Additional courses required by the NCA in the assessment report/letter;
Availability of spots in additional courses;
Ability to pay the course fee if applicable;
Ability to attend day-time classes.

On approval by the ADA, during the first year of the FTLP, students may take one LWFT course in addition to the FTLP requirements and pay no additional tuition. If a student is approved by the ADA to take JD courses post-FTLP, that is in a subsequent year to the FTLP, they must pay the applicable tuition and fees.

If the NCA’s assessment report/letter requires additional courses on top of the 24 units required in the FTLP plus the one optional course, students in the FTLP may take up to a maximum of 3 additional LWFT courses upon approval of the ADA and upon payment of the applicable tuition.

Time limit

Students are expected to complete the FTLP Post-bachelor’s Certificate in 12 months. The maximum time allowed to complete the FTLP requirements, and any additional courses, is 3 years.

To access the online application, an eID is required.

Current and former UCalgary students/applicants: Use your previous eID, which is typically firstname.lastname. If you forgot your password, find out how to reset it.

New applicants: you must create an eID before starting your application.

For help with creating an eID or with recovering a previous eID/password, please contact the UCalgary IT Support Centre.

Important dates:

Applications for the 2025-2026 cohort open January 6th, 2025.

Applications and supporting documents due for International Students on January 27, 2025.

Applications and supporting documents due for Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents on June 15, 2025.

Within a few days of submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation email with your student identification number (UCID). This email will go to your UCalgary email address if you already have one. If you don't see your email within a couple of days, check your spam folder, in case your email filtered the auto-generated email. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure your application is complete. Please note, incomplete applications cannot be evaluated.

Rolling admissions

A form of rolling admissions is used, which means that some decisions are sent out before all the files have been read. Please note that this does not mean that your application will be necessarily read in the order it was submitted. Applications will start to be assessed as they become complete. This is one reason to have your application submitted and supporting documents in as early as possible.

Due to the nature of the assessment process, there is no typical timeframe in which you will receive a decision after your application becomes complete. You may receive a decision very quickly, or you might receive a decision later in the admission cycle.

All applicants will receive either an offer, regrets, or waitlist notification through your My UCalgary Student Centre no later than the middle of July.

Waitlist

There are no rankings assigned to those who are on the waitlist. The Executive Director will consider everyone on the waitlist to determine who will receive an offer at the time a spot becomes available.

This means that we cannot estimate how long it will take for each waitlisted applicant to receive a final decision; waitlisted applicants may receive their final decision as late as early August.

We want you to know that based on past experience, there are often changes to our class list throughout the application cycle. The final roster will likely include individuals whose application was waitlisted at some point.

Is funding available for the program?

The Foreign-Trained Lawyers Program qualifies for funding from Alberta Student Aid. Information about how to apply can be found on the Government of Alberta website. If you are from a Canadian province or territory other than Alberta, you can apply to receive government student loan assistance by applying through your home province or territory.

I am in my last year of my law degree. Can I still apply?

No. Applications to the Program without a valid NCA Assessment Report will not be considered. Your NCA Assessment Report cannot be carried out until you have completed your law degree. Therefore, you need to have finished your law degree and the NCA must have issued you with your NCA Assessment Report before you apply to the Program. Check with the NCA directly to find out the current turnaround time for the issuing of assessment reports.

I haven't received my NCA assessment yet. Can I still apply?

Are courses available individually in order for me to fulfill NCA requirements?

No. The FTLP is offered as a six mandatory course Program only and it is not permissible to take anything less than those six courses. In addition, the Faculty of Law does not permit enrolment in individual JD courses.

Do I need to submit my university transcripts with my application?

No. You need only submit copies (not originals) of your university transcripts with your application. We will confirm with the NCA directly that your copies conform with the originals which you will have provided to the NCA.

If I have met the NCA’s ELP requirement, do I need to take the IELTS test?

No.

Do I need to submit letters of reference or recommendation?

No. Letters of reference or recommendation are not required to apply to the program.

Can I complete an LLM instead of the FTLP?

No. Our LLM programs are not approved as law degrees sufficient for admission to a Canadian common law law society.

Can I do the program remotely/online?

No. The FTLP is government-approved as an in-person in-class program only.

Can I do the program part-time?

No. The FTLP is government-approved as a full-time program only.

When does the FTLP begin?

The FTLP begins in Fall term with the four-week intensive course Law 420 Foundations of Canadian Law. See the Academic Schedule for term dates and other important dates. Please note that the Academic Schedule is updated regularly for future academic years.

When are classes held?

All classes for the FTLP mandatory courses (see the section “Completion of 24 units of course work” above) are held on weekday evenings. All classes for additional courses are held during the day.

Once I am enrolled in the FTLP, can I enrol in additional courses?

No. The FTLP is a full-time study load. Students can be approved for a course overload at the discretion of the Associate Dean (Academic). Students who wish to apply to do a course overload must go through the approved process as explained in the Course Overload and Additional Courses section on this webpage.

Does this program offer scholarships?

Unfortunately we do not offer scholarships at this time.

Can I get immigration advice from anyone in the program?

No. We are not authorized to offer advice with respect to immigration matters, including study permits, work permits, and visas. The University of Calgary provides general assistance on immigration matters for international students. Please contact our International Services team at iss@ucalgary.ca for assistance.