Black Student Equitable Admissions Process
The Black Student Equitable Admissions Process (BSEAP) was introduced for the Fall 2021 admissions cycle in collaboration with and in response to the UCalgary Chapter of the Black Law Students’ Association (BLSA) Calls to Action released in June 2020. Specifically, in response to one of those Calls to Action calling for admission reform to encourage and increase the number of BIPOC applicants to the law school. UCalgary Law acknowledges the emotional labour the UCalgary Law BLSA has put in to the Calls to Action and is committed to working with our BLSA to address the existence and impact of systemic racism in the law school admission process and our larger society. The BSAP is one of the ways we as a Faculty will act to bring about meaningful change.
The BSEAP is an optional opportunity for applicants who self identify as being of Black African descent, or multi-racial students identifying with their Black ancestry that provides space and visibility for Black applicants to speak about their lived experience. It is intended to address the under representation of Black students within our law school and the larger legal community and lessen the systemic barriers that exist that lead to the under-representation of Black law students and, consequently, Black lawyers.
We are obligated to meet the needs of the legal community which can only be achieved if our student body more closely reflects the diversity of our population and students are able to meet the legal needs of that diverse community. Moreover, we are committed to uphold principles of equity, diversity and inclusion in our admissions and other processes at the law school.
As a first-year student, the Black Law Students Association at UCalgary Law was extremely welcoming, and I was excited about joining the community of Black students.
Marissa Schippanoski
current JD student
Applying under the BSEAP
In the online application, all applicants are asked to indicate if they self-identify as Black. If you answer yes to that question, you are eligible for the BSEAP review process. There are no additional supporting documents required to verify your Black identity under the BSEAP. After you self identify, you will be invited to complete an optional personal essay of up to 450 words which will be considered by the Admissions Committee in its holistic assessment process.
The BSEAP Review Process
All applications, including if you self-identify as Black, are first reviewed through our ordinary assessment process, using our regular criteria and judged to the same competitive standard. The optional personal essay will not be given a specific weight but will be considered as part of our comprehensive holistic admissions process. See more about JD admissions. You may receive an offer or waitlist notification based on that assessment.
If you are not admitted through the ordinary admission process, your application will automatically receive a second assessment based on the same comprehensive criteria and judged to the same competitive standard as under the initial review. This assessment will be completed by up to two members of the Black Student Equitable Admissions Process Subcommittee which includes members of the BLSA, Black law faculty and Black members of the wider legal community.
This second process is intended to ensure that those with a similar lived experience to Black applicants are involved in admission decisions and help applicants feel supported and that potential bias was not a factor in the initial admission decision. The BSEAP Subcommittee may make a recommendation to the Admissions Chair to reconsider the initial admission decision if it concludes that potential bias was a factor in the initial admission decision. Candidates who receive regrets will receive a letter containing personalized feedback on how to improve a future application from the BSEAP Subcommittee.
Funding for Black Students
- You are eligible for the Faculty of Law Undergraduate Award of Excellence for BIPOC students.
- The Inter Pipeline Award for Black Law Students, offered annually to a Black student entering the JD program, based on academic merit.
- The Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Award for BIPOC law students is awarded annually to a BIPOC student entering the JD program.
- The Agnes Stephanson Cooke Law Bursary for Black law students.
- You are eligible for all UCalgary Law awards, scholarships and bursaries.
- The Black Business and Professional Association has a national scholarship for students who meet the eligibility requirements.
- The Canadian Association of Black Lawyers has the Lucie and Thornton Blackburn Scholarship for students in their first or second year of study in a Canadian JD program.
- The Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals has the Dentons-CAUFP scholarship for first-year law students.
- Bennett Jones LLP has the Future Leaders in Law Scholarship Program.
- The Calgary Black Chambers in conjunction with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP has the Calgary Black Chambers Blakes Law Scholarship.
- The Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Diversity Scholarship Program provides up to two $2,500 scholarships each year to law students who seek to promote diversity and inclusion.
- The JD Bridges Foundation provides funding for LSAT prep materials and law school application fees.
Black Student Life
Black Law Students Association
BLSA Canada and its chapters at law schools nationwide are concerned by the challenges faced by the Black community in the legal profession. Promoting increased representation of Black students in law schools and law firms is our primary mission. BLSA Canada is proud to provide professional opportunities and resources for Black students, as well as a forum for formal and informal discussions about many subjects, including legal policy issues, effective career strategies, evolutions in substantive law, and access to justice for marginalized groups.
Visit the BLSA Calgary website
Student Ambassadors
We have several members of our Student Ambassadors who are Black. If you are interested in talking to one of them about life as a law student and about UCalgary Law, contact law.ambassadors@ucalgary.ca.
UCalgary BLSA Member Characteristics
BSEAP FAQs
The Black Student Equitable Admissions Process (BSEAP) was introduced in collaboration with and in response to the UCalgary Black Law Students’ Association (BLSA) Calls to Action released in June 2020. Specifically, in response to the Call to Action on admissions reform to encourage and increase the number of BIPOC applicants. UCalgary Law is committed to working with our BLSA to address the existence and impact of systemic racism in the law school admission process and our larger society. The BSEAP is one of the ways we as a faculty will act to bring about meaningful change.
The BSEAP is meant to provide space for Black applicants to speak about their lived experience and the barriers they have overcome. It is intended to address the under-representation of Black students within our law school and the larger legal community, and to lessen the systemic barriers that lead to the under-representation of Black law students and, consequently, Black lawyers. If they are not admitted under the ordinary admissions process, students who self identify as Black will have their application automatically reviewed by up to two members of the Black Student Equitable Admission Process Subcommittee which will be comprised of Black law students, Black faculty members and Black members of the wider legal community.
No. The criteria for admission under the BSEAP will be exactly the same as for the ordinary admission process. The BSEAP is not more or less competitive than the ordinary admissions process, and applicants will be assessed on the same admission criteria.
No, there are no quotas for students who participate in the BSEAP although it is our goal to encourage and increase the number of BIPOC applicants we receive through establishing the BSEAP.
No, the BSEAP does not disadvantage applicants who apply through the ordinary application process. Black applicants are assessed on the same criteria as applicants who apply under the ordinary application process. All admissions decisions will be merit-based, taking into account all criteria that forms part of our assessment. It will not be harder or easier to be admitted through either process. For applicants who do not identify as Black or Indigenous (the two distinct admission streams we have, other than our ordinary admission process), but wish to share information related to equity, diversity, lived experience or life achievements, they may do so through the essay choices available in the Statement of Purpose and Perspective.
No. The decision to self identify as a Black applicant and to use the space provided for a personal essay in the expanded Special Facts section is entirely optional.
No. Our intention is not to impose additional requirements or expectations on applicants under the BSEAP. Our intention is to make space for Black applicants, recognizing they are an underrepresented within our law school and the larger legal community. Black applicants are invited to share their unique interests and experiences, whatever those might be, just like any other applicant.
No, there is no other criteria that must be satisfied other than self-identification. The personal essay is optional. All applicants must acknowledge that the information provided in their application is truthful, complete and correct and that submitting information that is determined to be false, misleading or written by someone else may result in revocation of an offer prior to submitting their application.
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