Queen’s University Faculty of Law
The information on this page was provided by the law school.
Official Guide to Canadian JD Programs
The JD Program
About Queen’s Law
Location
Queen’s University is situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory. To acknowledge this traditional territory is to recognize history that predates the earliest European colonies and its significance for the Indigenous peoples who lived, and continue to live, upon it. It is situated in the historic city of Kingston, midway between Toronto and Montreal. The compact campus borders residential neighbourhoods and Lake Ontario. Kingston’s vibrant downtown is within walking distance.
Queen’s Faculty of Law provides upgraded teaching facilities with wireless internet access, audio/visual equipment, full accessibility, a modern moot court room, a video conference facility and a student lounge with a kitchenette and fireplace.
Academic Excellence
Queen’s Law represents a long tradition of commitment to academic excellence, community spirit and service to society. We offer our students innovative instruction, interdisciplinary combined-degree programs, superb clinical programs and a strong broad curriculum informed by global perspective.
We are renowned for the strength of our curriculum in public law, criminal law, family law, clinical programs and mooting, and our more recent hiring has built strength in international law, business law, employment and labour law, and legal theory.
International Study
We are the only law school in Canada that offers its own study abroad facility at the Bader International Study Centre (BISC) at Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex, England. Each May and June, we offer 2 international law certificate programs in public international law and international business law.
In addition, we offer international exchange opportunities with some of the world’s leading law schools. For the most up-to-date list, visit our international exchanges website.
Student Life
Extracurricular Opportunities
Queen’s Faculty of Law is legendary for its vibrant and diverse range of student activities, organizations, initiatives and clubs. Law students are integral to faculty governance as members of Faculty Board Committees and as Faculty Board representatives. Many law students gain student leadership positions in the Society of Graduate and Professional Students and serve on Senate sub-committees as student representatives.
Law students interested in athletics and fitness may join a variety of intramural teams and use the Queen’s Centre, which offers superb aquatic, athletic and recreational facilities.
International Exchanges
Queen’s Law continues to develop partnerships with leading law schools
around the world, providing students with additional opportunities to
gain international legal perspectives. Paying Queen’s Law tuition fees,
our students earn degree credits while studying at one of our exchange
partner schools around the world!
International Law Programs at the BISC
Queen’s Law prepares law students for today’s international environment. Proof that we go the extra mile? We have our own Old English castle, complete with moat and peacocks. Only Queen’s Law offers International Law Programs each May and June at the Bader International Study Centre at Herstmonceux Castle.
Students will study and live at the 15th-century Herstmonceux Castle estate in East Sussex, 100 km southeast of London, England, and are immersed in a unique cultural learning experience. Students earn upper-year credits in an intensive and integrated academic program in International Business Law or Public International Law. Instructors and guests speakers are key players in international law who bring practical experience to the classroom. Completing one of the International Law Programs at the BISC can allow a student to complete the JD degree requirements in 2.5 years instead of the usual 3.
Moot Court Program
At Queen’s Law, training in advocacy is an integral part of our students’ legal education. First-year students often complete an oral advocacy exercise in their small sections and may participate in the Hicks Morley Moot in labour law. All upper-year students complete a course that enables them to develop essential legal research and written and oral advocacy skills.
Upper-year students also have the opportunity to try out for positions on competitive moot teams and the chance to represent Queen’s in national and international competitions with other law schools. Queen’s mooters travel across the country and around the world, gaining valuable courtroom experience and meeting leading Canadian and international lawyers and judges.
Our Moot Court Program is one of the largest at any Canadian law school. Each year, teams from Queen’s Law compete in up to 20 mooting competitions in a wide range of legal areas, including constitutional law, Aboriginal law, criminal law, international law, tax, securities law, environmental law, trade law, commercial arbitration, IP, labour arbitration, trial advocacy and client counselling.
Each year the number of mooters increases. At least one-third of all our graduates participate in a competitive moot during their time at Queen’s, with more than 75 students participating each year. This participation rate is among the highest of any law school in Canada. Our students’ record of success is remarkable, as evidenced by the number of trophies in our display cases.
The Queen’s Law Moot Advisory Council advises and assists the Faculty Board Moot Court Committee in strategic planning and promotion of the Moot Court Program through encouraging participation in the Program from alumni who have relevant interests, skills, knowledge, resources and contacts.
Queen's Law Clinics
Queen’s Law is proud to offer students a unique opportunity to learn. Our downtown clinical space merges five pro bono clinics: Queen’s Legal Aid, Business Law, Elder Law, Family Law and Prison Law.
From helping local businesses develop to aiding the incarcerated, clinic students earn academic credit while getting hands-on exposure to some of the most dynamic aspects of the legal profession.
Pro Bono Students Canada
The Queen’s Law chapter of PBSC attracts student volunteers seeking valuable practical experience in legal research and representation, while looking to gain exposure to unique areas of law. Students are supervised by practising lawyers and are asked to volunteer three hours per week during the academic year up to the end of March. Students can select from an impressive array of engaging community service projects.
Law Journals
Law Journals
Queen’s Law students play a central part in bringing out two fully refereed scholarly law reviews. Students who work on both journals receive hands-on training and experience in legal research and writing, in dealing with submissions from academics and scholarly practitioners, and in the planning and production of a major publication.
Queen’s Law Journal (QLJ)
The QLJ is one of Canada’s leading peer-reviewed legal publications, and is produced by a student editorial board under the direction of two faculty advisors. In 2015, Carswell published the QLJ-produced Canadian Guide to Legal Style: Canada’s first and only definitive guide to grammar and style conventions in legal writing.
Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal (CLELJ)
The CLELJ is Canada’s only specialized labour and employment law journal. It is a collaborative publication of the Queen’s Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace and Lancaster House, a Toronto labour law publisher. A team of student editors work on the CLELJ under the guidance of senior faculty editors.
Career Placement and Bar Passage
Tuition and Aid
| Expense | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition |
$18,287.66
|
| Fees |
$1,199.91
|
Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers
The Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach to applications that considers several factors in addition to grades and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) results. We endorse the goal that the geographic, ethnic, cultural, racial and socio-economic diversity of the Canadian population should be reflected in the ranks of those granted access to legal education.
Our Faculty of Law is enriched by the skills, knowledge and experiences of students who have been community leaders, excelled in extracurricular activities and enjoyed success in careers prior to the pursuit of a legal education as much as we benefit from students with inquiring minds who have excelled consistently in a broad range of academic disciplines.
As an applicant, you must have successfully completed a minimum of 3 full years of course work (or equivalent) in a degree program at a postsecondary institution that provides an academic environment and education that prepares students for potential success in advanced study at Queen’s.
There are four major categories of admission into first year: the General category, the Aboriginal category, the Black Student Applicant category and the Access category. The first-year class consists of about 208 students. Recently, up to 15% percent of students admitted to the first-year class have been from the Aboriginal and Access categories.
General Category
Your academic record and LSAT score are weighed most heavily in this category. The other Admissions Philosophy criteria are weighed carefully in making distinctions between applicants who are equally competitive on these bases.
To be a competitive applicant, you should have at least an “A-” average (grade point average [GPA] of 3.7) in the top 2 years of your undergraduate degree program at a full course load along with an LSAT score of at least 157.
Indigenous Peoples Category
Our Faculty of Law is committed to increasing Indigenous representation within the legal profession and therefore welcomes applications from Indigenous Peoples, including First Nation (Status and Non-Status), Métis and Inuit.
We will consider applications based on identification with your Indigenous community, as well as other factors, such as academic performance, LSAT results, employment history, letters of reference and a Personal Statement. The Admissions Committee uses this material to judge whether an applicant can undertake the JD degree program successfully.
If there is strong evidence of academic ability in the application, an exception might be made to the academic standards.
Black Student Applicant Category
Queen’s Faculty of Law is committed to increasing Black representation within the legal profession and supporting Black students who choose Queen’s.
We will consider applications based on any personal or professional experiences that allow an applicant to contribute to the law school community and further the law school’s goal of building a representative and diverse class cohort. We will also consider other factors such as academic performance, LSAT results, employment history, letters of reference and a Personal Statement. The Admissions Committee uses this material to judge whether an applicant can undertake the JD degree program successfully.
To be competitive in the admissions process, you should have at least a “B+” average (GPA of 3.5) in the top 2 years of your undergraduate degree program at a full course load, along with an LSAT score of at least 155. We may consider other evidence of academic ability in addition to these academic standards.
The Admissions Committee will endeavour to make decisions on completed applications early in the admission cycle for this category.
Access Category
Our Faculty of Law is committed to enhancing diversity in legal education and the legal profession. To this end, we encourage applications from candidates whose backgrounds, qualities or experiences allow them to make unique contributions to the law school community, the legal profession and society in general.
The Admissions Committee will consider these factors:
- Disability
- Educational and financial disadvantage
- Membership in a historically disadvantaged group
- Age
- Life and lived experience
- Any other factor relating either to educational barriers you faced, or to your ability to enrich the diversity of the law school community and the legal profession
You must demonstrate the following capabilities:
- That you have strong potential to complete the JD program.
- That you have the ability to reason and analyze.
- That you can express yourself effectively orally and in writing.
- That you possess the skills and attributes necessary to cope with the demands of law school.
Traditional measures of academic performance and LSAT scores may be given comparatively less weight in this category, while non-academic experience and personal factors confirming your special circumstances or unique qualities may be given comparatively more weight.
To be a competitive applicant, you should have at least a “B+” average (GPA of 3.5) in the top 2 years of your undergraduate degree program at a full course load along with an LSAT score of at least 155.