How to Apply

You must ask all post-secondary institutions you attended to submit official transcripts directly to the JD Admissions Office, including semesters on exchange, transferred credit transcripts, and law school transcripts for upper-year applicants. If you are enrolled in a post-secondary program at the time of your application, you must submit a current transcript by the deadline for supporting documents, and your final school transcript once it becomes available. 

If your undergraduate degree was completed at an institution outside of Canada and the United States, we ask that you please submit a detailed course-by-course transcript assessment through a foreign credential evaluation service such as World Education Services.

If you studied at UBC, we can access your records electronically. You'll still need to request any additional transcripts for transfer credits and credits from exchange institutions or with Go Global. For all other post-secondary institutions, you must arrange for your school to send your official transcripts directly to our admissions office. 

Official transcripts may be sent directly from your institution by email (preferred), mail, or delivered in person.

Send by email

You can have your post-secondary institutions email transcripts directly to admissions@allard.ubc.ca.

Send by mail

JD Admissions
Allard School of Law, UBC
1822 East Mall
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z1

In-person Drop Off

You can drop off your official transcripts at the Admission Office during office hours (Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm). Official transcripts need to be in their original sealed envelope.

We will access your LSAT score and writing sample directly from the Law School Admission Council once you send us your LSAT file number. The median score of successful applicants is 166 (93rd percentile).

You can write the LSAT exam as many times as allowed by the LSAC. Currently, you may take the LSAT seven times in a lifetime and five times in one testing year. For more information on current test-taking limits, please visit the LSAC website. Your score will be valid for five years. The January score is the latest that we will consider for your application, but we strongly encourage you to take the exam earlier. We will not review your application until we receive all the documents, including an LSAT score and writing sample..

There are many LSAT preparation options available. Whether you decide to study by yourself or take a course depends on your study style. If you want help preparing for the LSAT, LSAC offers a free test prep course through their LawHub resource. You can also ask our Law Student Ambassadors about the resources they found helpful.

The personal statement is different for applicants in the General category. 

For General category applicants, the personal statement will be a series of short questions on the online application:

• (Maximum 500 words) Tell us how your past education, employment, extracurricular activities and/or other experiences have prepared you for the study of law.
• (Maximum 400 words): Tell us about a course, lecture, seminar, or other educational experience in your post-secondary studies that changed your perspective on something important to you.
• (Maximum 400 words) Tell us about how equity and diversity have mattered in your life.

Read our blog post for 6 Tips for Writing a Great Personal Statement.

Applicants in all other categories will need to submit a written statement (essay) of no more than 3 pages (about 1,500 words). Your application will be judged individually on its merits, so use this letter to show us your unique circumstances and achievements. We are interested in reading about:

• why you want to study law, what makes you well-suited to the study of law (e.g., the particular skills, interests and/or experiences you have), and what contributions you think you would make to the Allard School of Law,
• your personal history, relevant qualities and attributes, and achievements that enhance your application (e.g., academically related extra-curricular activities, community involvement, work experience (paid or volunteer), parental or caregiver responsibilities), and
• whether your academic performance was briefly affected by a short-term medical condition or other circumstances (with relevant supporting documentation).

Don't forget to submit documentation (e.g., medical reports, if applicable) to support your personal statement.

Reference letters are only required for Discretionary, Indigenous, Transfer, Advanced Standing or Visiting (Letter of Permission) applicants categories.

There are no set guidelines for the form and format of your letters, except:

• For first year applicants, we prefer that one is a professional reference and the other academic, but you can submit two references of the same type if necessary.
• For upper-year applicants, both letters of reference should be from law professors at your current school. 

Please make sure that referees use your full name so we are able to match the letter to your file.

Please have your referees email reference letters to admissions@allard.ubc.ca.  

These are documents that support your personal statement. The type of documents you choose to send us will depend entirely on what you write in your personal statement, and can include medical reports, financial documentation, letters from professionals you've seen, or other documents as needed.

Applicants in the Indigenous category are required to provide evidence of their Indigenous identity; this can be a photocopy of an enrolment card, an ancestry document, or any other document from the federal, provincial, territorial or Indigenous government that supports your self-identification.

If you identify as Non-Status, please contact admissions@allard.ubc.ca for information on what to submit in your personal statement.

If you are applying as a Transfer student, your current law school must send us a letter of good standing from the Dean or his/her official representative stating your current year of study and that you are a student in good standing.

Please have your institution email the letter to admissions@allard.ubc.ca.  

If you are applying as a Visiting (Letter of Permission) student, your school must send us a letter of permission from the law school Dean or his/her official representative. The letter should say:

• that you are a student in good standing,
• that credits earned at the Allard School of Law will be applied toward your degree at your current school,
• the session for which permission is given, and
• a list of any specific courses you will be required to take during your visit.

Please have your institution email the letter of permission to admissions@allard.ubc.ca.  

If you received your previous law education outside of Canada or in a Canadian civil law program and want to enter the Allard School of Law as an Advanced Standing applicant, you will need to apply to the National Committee on Accreditation (or NCA) to have your education and work experience assessed. In its assessment, the NCA will determine what additional training you require in a Canadian law school to be eligible to practice law in Canada. 

For more information, see the NCA Website.