The profile of our 1L JD classes is currently drawn from data collected through the campus-wide UBC Student Diversity Census. The census data is an important tool in assessing how well the law school is meeting its commitments to diversity and the objective of building a legal profession that broadly reflects the society it serves. It will also guide our ongoing efforts to ensure that we have appropriate support available to our students.
We try our best to get a 100% response rate, but the survey is voluntary and response rates vary. Students can access and complete or update their responses in the survey through Canvas at any time, and we periodically update the data within each academic year.
In previous years, we’ve relied on data collected through our Allard Law 1L JD Demographic Survey. Since the questions are different, data from this survey is reported separately below.
If you have any further questions about the data, please contact communications@allard.ubc.ca.
UBC Student Diversity Census 2023 (1L JD)
Gender / Trans Experience
Question: What is the gender category that best represents you?
Results:
2023 (N=161) | |
Man | 41% |
Non-binary (e.g., genderqueer, genderfluid, etc.) | 1% |
Woman | 58% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Question: Are you someone with trans experience?
Results:
2023 (N=162) | |
Yes | 2% |
No | 98% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Sexual Orientation
Question: Please indicate which of the following terms best describes your sexual orientation. Select as many as apply (response options are displayed in alphabetical order):
Results:
2023 (N=156) | |
Asexual | 3% |
Bisexual | 10% |
Gay | 6% |
Heterosexual | 77% |
Lesbian | 3% |
Pansexual | 1% |
Queer | 4% |
Questioning/Unsure | 5% |
An identity not listed (please specify): | 0% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Religion & Spiritual Practice
Question: Please indicate whether you identify with any of the following religious and/or spiritual beliefs. Select all that apply.
Results:
2023 (N=140) | |
Buddhism | 2% |
Christianity | 19% |
Hinduism | 1% |
Indigenous Spiritual Tradition or Practices | 4% |
Islam | 7% |
Judaism | 3% |
Sikhism | 4% |
I am spiritual but do not belong to any specific religious affiliation. | 15% |
I am not religious or spiritual. | 50% |
If not listed above, please specify: | 2% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Indigeneity & Ethno-racial Identity
Question: Do you identify yourself as an Indigenous person of Canada?
Results:
2023 (N=162) | |
Yes | 6% |
No | 94% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Question: Please indicate which of the following terms best describe your ethno-racial identity. Please check all that apply.
Results:
2023 (N=158) | |
Black | 3% |
Central Asian | 1% |
Central/South/Latin American | 1% |
East Asian | 35% |
Middle Eastern/North African/Southwest Asian | 8% |
Oceanic/Pacific Islanders | 1% |
South Asian | 11% |
West Asian | 1% |
White | 40% |
Multiracial/ethnic | 11% |
Black - African/Afro-Arab/Afro-Caribbean/Afro-Latin American | 3% |
Black -Option to specify: | 1% |
South Asian - Indo-African/Indo-Caribbean | 0% |
White - Option to specify: | 6% |
Prefer to self-identify (please specify): | 2% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Question: Do you identify as a racialized person?
Results:
2023 (N=150) | |
Yes | 51% |
No | 49% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
First Generation University Student
Question: Are you a first-generation university student?
Results:
2023 (N=155) | |
Yes | 20% |
No | 77% |
I am not sure | 3% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Disability / Neurodiversity / Chronic Physical or Mental Health Condition(s)
Question: Do you identify as a Disabled Person, person with a disability or disabilities, a neurodivergent person, a person with a chronic physical health condition(s), or a person with a mental health condition(s)?
Results:
2023 (N=149) | |
Yes | 26% |
No | 74% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Parental Education
Question: What is the highest level of formal education of your most highly educated parent, guardian, or caregiver? (If more than one parent/guardian have the same level of education, please specify for one parent/guardian only.)
Results:
2023 (N=153) | |
Some high school or less (e.g., primary or elementary completion, etc.) | 3% |
Completed high school (e.g., GED, high school diploma) | 7% |
Some college or university | 6% |
Completed postsecondary certificate or diploma (below bachelor level) (e.g., Apprenticeship, certificate or college diploma, etc.) | 7% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 36% |
Professional Degree and/or Post-bachelor’s degree (e.g., Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry) | 8% |
Master’s Degree | 20% |
Doctoral Degree | 11% |
A category not listed; may include non-traditional education from outside Canada (please specify): | 1% |
I choose not to disclose | 0% |
Allard Law JD 1L Student Survey 2018-2022
Racialized / Ethnic identity
Question: Statistics Canada identifies the following categories in its Census of the Population. Please indicate how you self-identify.
This self-identification is not intended as an indication of one’s place of origin, citizenship, language or culture and recognizes that there are differences both between and among subgroups of persons of colour. If you are of mixed-descent, please indicate this by selecting all that apply, rather than using the “if none of the above” line—unless aspects of your self-identification do not appear in this list.
Results:
Data reported using Statistics Canada’s standard for “visible minority of person”
2022 (N=189) | 2021 (N=183) | 2020 (N=170) | 2019 (N=195) | 2018 (N=196) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Visible Minority (total) | 89 | 75 | 70 | 71 | 79 |
Arab | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Black | 14 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Chinese | 29 | 26 | 39 | 34 | 37 |
Filipino | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
Japanese | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Korean | 8 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Latin American | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
South Asian | 23 | 16 | 10 | 17 | 8 |
Southeast Asian | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
West Asian | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Visible Minority, n.i.e. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Multiple Visible Minorities | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Not a visible minority (non-Indigenous) | 78 | 88 | 81 | 105 | 93 |
Aboriginal Peoples of Canada | 17 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
Indigenous Peoples from outside of Canada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
None of the above | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Prefer not to respond | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Urban / Rural
Question: Did you grow up in an urban or rural region?
Results:
Urban | Rural | Prefer not to respond | |
---|---|---|---|
2018 (N=195) | 158 | 36 | 1 |
2019 (N=191) | 156 | 32 | 3 |
2020 (N=170) | 144 | 24 | 2 |
2021 (N=183) | 148 | 35 | 0 |
2022 (N=186) | 149 | 35 | 2 |
Sex / Gender / Sexual Orientation
Question: Which of these terms describes you (choose all that apply)?
Results:
UR = Total Unique Reponses
2019 (UR = 190) | 2020 (UR = 170) | 2021 (UR = 182) | 2022 (UR = 184) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Woman | 105 | 96 | 105 | 116 |
Man | 82 | 72 | 75 | 62 |
Non-binary | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
Transgender | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Two-spirited | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Questioning | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
I belong to / am part of another category | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Prefer not to respond | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Question: Do you identify as:
Results:
2019 (UR = 190) | 2020 (UR = 170) | 2021 (UR = 182) | 2022 (UR = 184) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
heterosexual / straight | 151 | 140 | 129 | 126 |
lesbian | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
gay | 16 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
bisexual / pansexual | 10 | 13 | 26 | 30 |
asexual | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
queer | 7 | 7 | 5 | 18 |
questioning / unsure | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
none of the above | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
prefer not to respond | 4 | 3 | 10 | 10 |
Religion
Question: According to the following Census Canada (Statistics Canada) categories, what is your religion, if any (including non-practicing)? Select all that apply.
Results:
UR = Total Unique Reponses
2019 (UR = 191) | 2020 (UR = 170) | 2021 (UR = 182) | 2022 (UR = 184) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Buddhist | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
Christian | 35 | 41 | 38 | 43 |
Hindu | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Jewish | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
Muslim | 7 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
Sikh | 7 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
Traditional (Aboriginal) Spirituality | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
Other | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
No religious affiliation | 65 | 64 | 66 | 66 |
non-religious/atheist | 56 | 47 | 46 | 35 |
Prefer not to respond | 13 | 8 | 13 | 16 |
Accessibility / Disability
Question (2022): Do you identify as a person with a disability?
Results:
Yes | No | Prefer not to respond | |
---|---|---|---|
2022 (N=191) | 39 | 140 | 5 |
Question (2022): What type of impairment, disability or condition do you have? Please select all that apply from the following categories:
Results:
2022 | |
---|---|
Physical | 24 |
Mental health-related conditions | 63 |
Learning disabilities | 4 |
Cognitive | 25 |
Sensory, nervous system or neurological conditions | 6 |
Question (2018-2021): Do you have a long-term or recurring physical, mental, medical, sensory, psychiatric or learning condition or impairment and (a) consider yourself to be disadvantaged by reason of that condition or impairment; or (b) believe that others will consider you disadvantaged by reason of that condition or impairment?
Results:
Yes | No | Prefer not to respond | |
---|---|---|---|
2018 (N=191) | 24 | 159 | 8 |
2019 (N=190) | 27 | 151 | 12 |
2020 (N=170) | 23 | 137 | 10 |
2021 (N=182) | 31 | 137 | 14 |
Parent's Education / Occupation
Question: What is the highest level of education that your parent(s)/guardian(s) achieved? If you have more than one parent/guardian, please choose the parent/guardian with the higher educational attainment.
Results:
Less than Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree or higher | Prefer not to respond | |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2019 (N=189) | 47 | 138 | 3 |
2020 (N=169) | 44 | 125 | 2 |
2021 (N=181) | 45 | 136 | 4 |
2022 (N=184) | 46 | 134 | 4 |
Question: For the parent/guardian you identified above as the one with the higher income, in which of the following Government of Canada job groups would his or her occupation best be classified?
NOTE: if this parent/guardian is retired, please use his or her last occupation before retirement.
Results:
Management | Professional | Technical/skilled | Intermediate | Labour | Prefer not to respond | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2019 (N=171) | 35 | 85 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 8 |
2020 (N=153) | 29 | 81 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 3 |
2021 (N=165) | 24 | 92 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 8 |
2o22 (N=169) | 30 | 88 | 15 | 20 | 11 | 5 |
Question: If you indicated that one of your parents/guardians work in a professional job (or used to before retirement), please indicate whether they worked in any of the following professions? Select all that apply.
Results:
Senior Management | Lawyer or Judge | Medical doctor/specialist, pharmacists, dentist, etc | Chartered or certified accountant | Professor | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2019 (n=171) | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 10 |
2020 (N=153) | 15 | 13 | 8 | 14 | 3 |
2021 (N=165) | 11 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 6 |
2022 (N=169) | 15 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 5 |