Supports for Prospective Applicants
We are committed to supporting Black students who are interested in applying to McGill Law. While we do not have a separate application stream for Black students, we do have a holistic review process. You are encouraged to self-identify in your Personal Statement.
Additionally, the Black Law Students’ Association of McGill (BLSAM) offers Personal Statement and CV review workshops in the Fall for university and mature applicants and in the winter for CEGEP applicants. If selected for interviews, the latter can also take advantage of mock interviews and mentorship offered by BLSAM members.
Moreover, prospective Black law students can benefit from the bursary program offered by the JD Bridges Foundation, which covers some of the law school application fees, LSAT and LSAT prep course fees and connects the recipients with a personal statement mentor.
Being Black at McGill Law
Once at McGill Law, you will find many resources to support you during your time here.
BLSAM offers year-round programming for Black students, such as social events, conferences, and workshops. Some past events include an alumni cocktail event and the fall welcome event where students went roller-skating and for dinner. The Faculty of Law financially supports BLSAM members’ attendance at the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada’s annual conference.
Black Students’ Network is available to all McGill students and offers social and political events by and for Black Students, in addition to hosting discussions and providing mentoring and resources.
A number of academic activities for credit may be of special interest to Black students. A course in Critical Race Theory is offered each year by one of the faculty’s professor who does research in that area. Each year, Black students participate in the Julius Alexander Diversity Moot, run by the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada. Several of the community organizations in which students do for-credit legal clinic placements serve Montreal’s Black communities, such as the Clinique juridique du Grand Montréal and the Clinique juridique de Saint-Michel.
Support for Wellness
The Faculty of Law hosts writing circles throughout the semester, including open and closed sessions for BIPOC students. As a law student you can expect to enter a facilitated space where you are invited to write with the support of prompts, techniques and strategies to dive deeper into your stories, your ideas, your power and your voice. Here you can offload stress and share experiences.
Financial Assistance
Black students may benefit from financial aid, bursaries, and scholarships. The Faculty of Law has awards for which there is a preference for Black students or for BIPOC students. In order to help us more effectively allocate these scholarships and address systemic barriers, we invite applicants to share self-identifying and contextualizing information in their admission application (e.g. in their Personal Statement and/or Extenuating Circumstances letter).
