Inclusive admission

The deadline for all first-year applications is December 1 (4 p.m. PST). All applications submitted must be complete and include all required documentation by this deadline.

The Inclusive Admission application stream seeks to identify outstanding applicants to both the Juris Doctor (JD) and Juris Doctor/Juris Indigenarum (JD/JID) programs. It is designed to account for the fact that General Admission may exclude from consideration deserving applicants who bring valuable skills, experiences and abilities to our Faculty and the legal profession. In particular, this traditional approach does not acknowledge the systemic and personal barriers that exist in many forms, and which generate inequities that can have significant impacts on academic opportunities and metrics. Nor does it acknowledge that challenging such obstacles and barriers often involves demonstrating an exceptional skillset of particular relevance to our Faculty and its focus on training a more diverse and inclusive profession.

Your application for Inclusive Admission will consist of several components that will be weighed alongside the regular application materials every applicant to UVic Law must submit. Please carefully review the following list of materials, and the associated commentary that follows.

Submission of the ;
Payment of the application fee;
Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score (written no later than the January test date);
including both Part A and B, Part A not exceeding 750 words;
One copy of a transcript for all post-secondary studies including exchange and study abroad transcripts;
Inclusive Admission Statement (required for all applicants);
Supporting Documentation (if applicable); and
Two (2) Letters of Reference (required, but obligations differ for JD and JD/JID applications: see commentary)
; and
TOEFL results (if applicable).

The necessary materials must be uploaded with your application to UVic Law by the published admissions deadline date. An incomplete application will not be considered.

Recognizing that the study of law is a rigorous and demanding pursuit, applicants are expected to demonstrate a high likelihood of success through academics, LSAT scores, and/or life experiences. All applicants will be considered for admission in this stream holistically, through an anti-racism, decolonization and unconscious bias equity and inclusion lens. This admissions stream is highly competitive. While there is no specific quota for this stream, in a typical year we receive far more qualified and deserving applications than we have space to accommodate. In 2021-2022, 14 students from this stream were admitted in the JD program and 3 in the JD/JID program.

We are looking to admit strong students who will come to UVic Law and thrive. The Juris Doctor (JD) and Juris Doctor/Juris Indigenarum (JD/JID) programs are rigorous, and it makes the most sense to enter a program when one is ready to do so. If admitted, it is important to understand that, while we have supports within the Faculty, you are responsible for and accountable to yourself. Readiness to face this type of a program frequently requires a strong support system. Proactive steps should be taken to ensure that this is the right path for you.

While this is not an exhaustive list, we generally consider applicants for Inclusive Admission who have faced obstacles or inequities due to:

A medical diagnosis;
An event, such as one that altered your academic plans or affected your ability to perform academically at a traditionally competitive level;
Extraordinary responsibilities, including caregiving; or
Systemic barriers and inequities, whether endured because of indigeneity, race, ethnicity, physical or mental disabilities, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, economic, political, cultural or other factors.

Inclusive Admission Statement

All applicants in this stream must submit an Inclusive Admission Statement. This should be a statement of no more than 1000 words that explains why you are an outstanding candidate for UVic Law. It is separate and distinct from your Personal Statement that all applicants to UVic Law are required to submit.

Your Inclusive Admission Statement should explain not only the reasons why you are not applying for General Admission but the ways in which you would be an exceptional candidate for UVic Law, particularly because of or in spite of any challenges or barriers you have encountered and overcome. Your statement should logically lead from point to point and avoid inconsequential information.

Your Inclusive Admission Statement should share the relevant experiences and/or obstacles that you feel qualify you for this stream, how those experiences and/or obstacles impacted you, and how you responded to them. In explaining how you responded to these challenges, you may discuss both concrete strategies and approaches you employed, as well as your personal growth, including in terms of skills and self-understanding. You are also encouraged to share how these experiences will benefit both the academic community at UVic Law, as well as the legal profession.

The Inclusive Admission Statement must be clear and concise, telling a logical story. Applicants must be persuasive in explaining the nexus between the challenges faced and the application requirements, as well as evidence of their readiness to study in this rigorous field. Evidence of the ability to succeed in law school should be apparent through a superior graduate-level writing ability, effective oral expression, and the ability to reason and analyze.

Applicants might consider some of the following questions:

If you faced particular challenges, how did you grow from them?
Did you gain any exceptional or transferrable skills in the process?
Why would you benefit from studying at UVic Law?
Why would UVic Law or the legal profession benefit from you as a student?
How will your experiences (including those with community, culture, or systemic or structural discrimination) enrich UVic Law’s learning environment?
Have you made achievements in occupational endeavours, community, public service, and/or cultural activities that indicate an ability to succeed in law school?
What specific career goals do you have? How are these goals connected to your past experiences or activities?
Do you have a specific connection to or involvement with your community or culture?
How do you plan to support and/or further the advancement of your community or culture in light of the needs or challenges faced by your community or culture?
What supports do you have in place to ensure your success in law school?
Are there any additional factors that you would like us to consider that you have not already listed?

In recruiting empowered applicants to UVic Law, we acknowledge that the applicant is equally responsible to engage in this process with commitment and preparedness. In order for the 番茄社区 Committee to consider strengths based on lived experiences, the applicant must demonstrate that they have taken the steps necessary to be prepared for this program.

Supporting Documentation

We recognize that application through Inclusive Admission may involve sharing personal and/or traumatic experiences that may trigger the applicant, particularly through an impersonal document-based process. The 番茄社区 Committee acknowledges sharing such information requires great courage and vulnerability. Given these concerns, while some documentary materials are requested to support your application, we understand that these some of these materials may be sensitive, and their collection and inclusion may cause additional trauma or be unnecessarily invasive. We also recognize that supporting documentation may be impossible to obtain in some circumstances.

We therefore ask that applicants exercise their judgment when submitting documents, and bring to our attention when supporting documentation is inappropriate under the circumstances or otherwise unavailable. As an example, certain forms of barriers or obstacles may not be capable of generating supporting documentation. Please use special consideration before submitting documentation of a confidential or graphic nature.

If you have not completed the minimum number of academic units specified for General Admission, as one of your supporting documents, state the reasons why you believe that it would not be feasible for you to complete such academic units prior to commencement of law school. Your explanation should be no longer than 500 words.

Two Letters of Reference

Applicants to the Juris Doctor (JD) program: One letter must be academic and one must be character or employment. Character references should be professional or academic in nature, rather than from family or family friends.
Applicants to the Joint Juris Doctor/Juris Indigenarum (JD/JID) program: One letter must be academic and one letter must speak to your suitability for and commitment to this program.

Please note that considerable weight is given to reference letters, as this is a window into how others in your life see you. Choose your sources wisely. Someone who can speak to your specific attributes and academic ability with sincerity and without reservation is preferred.

Reference letters must be sent directly from your referees to the Law 番茄社区 Office by email (lclerk2@uvic.ca) no later than December 1 (4 p.m. PST).

All information collected for the purposes of admission to the UVic Faculty of Law will be kept confidential. Your information may be shared with the Law 番茄社区 staff and the 番茄社区 Committee reviewing your file. If an offer of admission is extended and you accept, your admission file, in its entirety, will be forwarded to the Faculty of Law Academic and Student Relations Office. Your admission file may be accessed by authorized faculty and staff for the purpose of carrying out their duties relating to your academic status and to provide educational and related services including assessment for awards and applying Faculty of Law and 番茄社区 policies regarding academic integrity, accommodation and academic concessions.

With this in mind, please redact sensitive identifying information, such as Social Insurance Numbers and bank account information. Should you have any questions about confidentiality or sensitive information, feel free to email the 番茄社区 Officer at lawadmss@uvic.ca.

We would like to acknowledge the students, staff, and faculty who have generously contributed their time, energy and effort to the revision of this admission stream. I would especially, like to acknowledge a former applicant who upon receiving a denial from UVic Law within the former Discretionary stream, generously reached out to the 番茄社区 Office to provide feedback about the language within this stream and their own experience of applying within it. These changes are a reflection of the understanding and shared commitment at UVic Law. A movement from deficiency to abundance. An acknowledgement that language is powerful, especially in relation to applicants.

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