How to apply

Application deadlines

Online applications for September 2024 entry will open on September 1, 2023, and the official application deadline is December 15, 2023. Applicants are responsible for checking their own applications to ensure that all documents listed below are submitted by the deadline. Referees must submit their assessments by December 22, 2023 and no later.

Applicants who are registered for a graduate program at another institution and interested in visiting to work with a specific faculty member should follow the visiting research application instructions.  VRS applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Online Application

Review the Graduate Admissions and Records' documentation requirements to ensure that you submit the correct format of documents.  As part of your online application, you must: 

  • Attach electronic, unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary institutions at which you have been registered.  Check the law graduate program minimum requirements to ensure that your application will be considered. Our minimum requirements for the law graduate programs are generally higher than other university-wide requirements.

    If you are in the process of completing a program, but expect that you will have graduated by September 1, then you apply with your in-progress transcripts and your application will be reviewed according to the usual process.
  • A recent TOEFL or IELTS detailed score, if applicable. See the law program minimum requirements to determine if you will be required to submit a score and if you meet the requirements. Our minimum requirements for the law graduate programs are higher than other university-wide requirements and you must include the detailed score which includes the score on each component.
  • Applicants for the LLM program are also required to electronically attach:
    • A one to two page LLM thesis proposal indicating your area of research interest and stating your research question, research methods, and/or the research directions you wish to pursue. You should reference the literature that you propose to draw upon and examine. The proposal should highlight the interdisciplinary dimension of the project and explain how your research will engage with the relationship between law and society.  You must specify the faculty member(s) that you would like to work with, and explain why. There is a strict two-page maximum for this proposal.
  • Applicants for the PhD program are also required to electronically attach:
    • A five-page PhD dissertation proposal indicating your area of research interest and stating, as far as possible, your research question, research methods, and/or the research directions you wish to pursue. You should reference the literature that you propose to draw upon and examine. The proposal should highlight the interdisciplinary dimension of the project and explain how your research will engage with the relationship between law and society.  You must specify the faculty member(s) that you would like to work with, and explain why. There is a strict five-page maximum for this proposal.
    • A sample of your research writing (e.g., a completed segment of a master's thesis or published article).
  • Enter the names and email addresses of two professors or other academic authorities familiar with your work. The application system will send assessment form information directly to your two referees by email upon submission of your application. Assessment information will be collected electronically from your referees; paper/hard-copy documents are not required. These tips for soliciting great scholarship reference letters may also be useful for your application.

    You will not be able to see the assessments but you will be able to see if they have been completed.  You are responsible to ensure that two assessments are submitted by December 22, 2023.
  • Pay the application fee once you have completed your application.  Contact if you are experiencing difficulties with the online application or need to pay by wire transfer.

You are responsible for confirming that all your documents have been correctly submitted by the deadline.  The Faculty of Law will only be able to fully assess applications with all required elements.  You can check your documents and application status online, upload new documents, and resend any outstanding referee requests until December 15, 2023. After that, the system will not permit any additional or new uploads or submissions. The only exception will be the submissions from your referees, who have until December 22, 2023.