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McGill.CA / Law Admissions / Prospective graduate students / Admissions

Admissions deadlines and supporting documents

On this page: Required supporting documents | Application | Statement of academic program | Letters of recommendation | Transcripts | Test scores (if required) | Other required documents | Application fee |

This year, the online application system will become available starting October 15. Candidates can begin their application at that time, up until the application deadline reached (see below).

As of October 2012, McGill’s formerly paper-based graduate application process has been replaced with a more convenient electronic version. For detailed instructions on how to apply and upload required supporting documents in the new version, please see McGill's Future Graduate Students site on Preparing to apply.

Application deadline

The Date for Guaranteed Consideration to all graduate law programs (LL.M.*, D.C.L., Graduate Certificates) is January 15 Applications received after January 15 will NOT be considered by the Faculty of Law. N.B. The application fee remains non-refundable.

McGill Graduate Law offers the September entrance only; Winter and Summer admissions are not available. Applications submitted for the Winter and Summer terms will be cancelled by the Faculty of Law WITHOUT reimbursement of the application fee.

Special/Exchange/Visiting: The Faculty of Law does not accept special, exchange or visiting students.

*For information on the LL.M. Bioethics option, please refer to Biomedical Ethics Unit's Master's Program site in Medicine.

Required supporting documents

All required supporting documents must be received by January 22. Please refrain from sending any other documents or items, as these will not be considered in your application.

Your supporting documents must be uploaded via your Minerva account: please see McGill's Future Graduate Students site on Preparing to apply.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all required supporting documents are submitted as early as possible.

Application

Candidates must apply online. Read the instructions in How to Apply on our website before completing it. Refer to the instructions while completing the online application.

Statement of academic program

Applicants must complete a Statement of academic program.  The completed PDF form must be submitted electronically via Minerva by January 22. Candidates who select more than one program in their application should complete the form corresponding to the highest program level selected. It is not necessary to upload a statement for each program. These PDF forms can be saved with their entered data.

Master's thesis (D.C.L. applicants only)

D.C.L. applicants must provide a copy of their completed Master's thesis. If the thesis is still in progress, the applicant is required to submit 2-3 completed chapters. Thesis uploaded via the Minerva system should not exceed 10MB. If the size of your thesis exceeds the limit, please submit part equivalent to 10MB. 

Letters of recommendation

  • McGill will request letters of recommendation on your behalf from referees you identify on the application form.
  • Two letters of recommendation from professors are required
  • Referees will receive an email from Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies with instruction on how to submit their letter of reference
  • Referees must complete the Referee's Report & Reference Letter form [.pdf]
  • For the doctoral program, one of the letters must be from the applicant's Master's thesis supervisor.
  • Letters of recommendation must meet the following conditions:
    1. The electronic letter must be sent from a valid institutional or corporate e-mail address (domain). Electronic letters sent from public domain addresses such as Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail or Videotron, etc, cannot be accepted.
    2. The electronic letters must be specific as to which program the student has applied and include information that would aid an admissions committee in making an informed decision.
    3. The referee must indicate his/her position and full contact information at the institution.
    4. Electronic letters sent from a Career Centre or Portfolio Management Company must state that the letters are confidential.

Transcripts

  • Applicants must be graduates of an accredited university and hold a Bachelor of Laws Degree with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0/4.0 or its equivalent (Upper Second Class).
  • Applicants must upload transcripts of all university-level studies.  If your transcript does not specifically state that you have been awarded the degree, you must also send a document which confirms your graduation.
  • Applicants must submit a list of titles of courses taken in the major subject if the transcripts give code numbers only.
  • Applicants must attach an official grading system document used by the applicant's university. If this document is not received, the file will not be reviewed and will remain incomplete.
  • Transcripts in a language other than English or French must be accompanied by an English or French translation provided either by the school issuing the transcript or by a certified translator.
  • Transcripts sent to McGill become the property of the University. As such, they will not be returned or forwarded to other institutions.

Test scores (if required)

  • Please note that the latest date by which you can take any English test is January 15th. No test will be accepted beyond that date
  • The TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) official score report. The official score report must be sent directly to McGill University by the administrators of the TOEFL. Test scores are valid for two (2) years; scores will be accepted only if it can be obtained electronically from the test centres. Our Institution Code is 0935 and our Department Code is 03.
  • The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) official score report. The official score report must be sent directly to McGill University by the administrators of the IELTS. Test scores are valid for two (2) years. Our Institution Code is 0935 and our Department Code is 03.
  • The MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery), the University of Cambridge ESOL or EDEXCEL London Test of English official score report. The official score report must be mailed directly to the Graduate Law Programs Office by the administrators of each test. Test scores are valid for 2 years, scores will be accepted only if it can be obtained from the test centres with original paper copy to follow by mail.
  • The McGill Certificate of Proficiency in English or McGill Certificate of Proficiency – English for Professional Communication official transcript. Applicants should not submit official transcripts of studies at McGill University. The Admissions Office will obtain these results directly from Enrolment Services.
  • The GRE is not required.

Except for the TOEFL, official paper copy of score report must be mailed by test administrator to:

Graduate Programs in Law Faculty of Law
McGill University
Chancellor Day Hall, Room 406
3644 Peel Street
Montreal (Quebec)
H3A 1W9 CANADA.

Other required documents

  • Applicants must submit a Curriculum Vitae (résumé) highlighting their academic background and achievements, their work experience (including volunteer and community work), as well as extra-curricular activities and other significant interests.
  • Applicants must submit a recent passport-sized photograph of themselves.

Application fee

  • Applicants must pay a non-refundable application fee of $100, which is payable only by credit card (MasterCard, VISA or American Express).
Updated on Thu, 2012-12-06 12:01
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