UVic Law FAQs
Admission to UVic Law
- Does the Faculty of Law treat college courses the same as university courses?
- Does the Faculty have a preference for a specific area of undergraduate study?
- Does the Faculty give preference to UVic grads or B.C. residents?
- Are work experience, volunteer work and extracurricular activities considered in the evaluation?
- What admissions categories are there?
- Is there a Mature Student admissions category?
- What is the application deadline?
- How much is the application fee?
- Are letters of reference required?
- Can I apply online?
- When can I expect to be notified if I have been accepted?
- May I defer my acceptance to a subsequent year?
- How early can I write the LSAT and TOEFL before applying?
1. Does the Faculty of Law treat college courses the same as university courses?
All college courses which qualify as university transfer courses are treated in the same manner as university courses.
2. Does the Faculty have a preference for a specific area of undergraduate study?
No. Our students come from a broad spectrum of academic disciplines and a wide variety of undergraduate degree programs.
3. Does the Faculty give preference to UVic grads or B.C. residents?
Neither. Residency is not a factor in our admissions decisions.
4. Are work experience, volunteer work and extracurricular activities considered in the evaluation?
When an applicant is borderline competitive, the Admissions Committee assesses the subjective factors of extra-curricular activities, community involvement, work experience and other relevant personal characteristics for bonus points. If an applicant is not already competitive, based on their GPA and LSAT score, these bonus points are sometimes enough to place them in an offer position. If the applicant is still not competitive, the bonus points provide us with a more accurate ranking of the applicants who will make up our waitlist. It is important to note that these subjective factors will not compensate for an LSAT score or GPA that is significantly lower than the competitive level. Extra-curricular activities generally refer to those that are related to academics, rather than sporting or social activities. Community involvement may encompass participation in a wide range of community activities (such as participation in cultural or religious organizations, charitable groups, public advocacy groups or political organizations) or otherwise assisting in community activities. Work experience may involve a wide variety of work situations, anything from work in the service sector to internships at provincial legislatures. Work experience does not have to be law-related. Examples of things that people have included under personal characteristics in the past include involvement in varsity athletics (which can be difficult to successfully balance with academics) or some adversity that they had to overcome to pursue their post-secondary education.
5. What admissions categories are there?
First Year:
Regular Category
Special Access Category
Aboriginal Category
Upper Year:
Transfer Applicants
Visiting Applicants
Joint Common Law/Civil Law Applicants
National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) Applicants
Summer Session
6. Is there a Mature Student admissions category?
We do not have a mature applicant category, but we do consider work experience in assessing applications in both the Regular admission category and the Special Access category. Age is not a factor in the admissions process. As well, it is extremely unlikely that anyone with fewer than three years of university or college would be admitted in any of our applicant categories.
7. What is the application deadline?
December 1 for entry as a first-year student
April 30 for entry as an upper-year student
March 31 for entry as a Summer Session student
Please note, during our transition year with a new application deadline of December 1st, first-year applications, which includes Regular, Special Access and Aboriginal categories, will be accepted through to February 1st, 2012.
8. How much is the application fee?
$75 for first-year and upper-year applicants
$35 for Summer Session applicants
9. Are letters of reference required?
We do not require letters of reference in our Regular category. However, we do request that applicants provide us with the names of referees whom we can contact with respect to an applicant's work experience, community involvement and other extra-curricular activities.
We do require two letters of reference for our Special Access and Aboriginal categories, one of which must be an academic reference. The other letter should be a character or employment reference.
Applicants to UVic's Faculty of Law may apply directly online. The online application form streamlines the admissions process, but does require a credit card payment. If you do not have a credit card, you will have to submit a paper application.
11. When can I expect to be notified if I have been accepted?
We begin evaluating an application when all of the supporting documentation has been received. Some offers of admission are made as early as November. We maintain what is often referred to as a "rolling" admissions process. Offers of admission are only open for acceptance for a limited period of time.
If the offer is not accepted within the time specified, the place will be offered to another applicant. The majority of our offers are made during the months of January and February, and the process is mostly complete by the end of May. At that time, we will ask a number of applicants whether they wish to remain on a "waiting list". If any places become available, offers will be made to applicants on the waiting list up until registration day.
12. May I defer my acceptance to a subsequent year?
Deferral of acceptance will be granted only in exceptional circumstances, such as unique study or work opportunities, or personal or family hardships. If permission is granted to defer enrolment to the following year, the full acceptance deposit of $400 must remain with the Faculty.
13. How early can I write the LSAT and TOEFL before applying?
We will accept LSAT scores that are up to five years old. (For example, if you are applying by the February deadline for entry in 2009, then the oldest LSAT that will be accepted would be from the February 2004 sitting of the exam.) We will only be able to receive your TOEFL score if it was written within the past two years.
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