General eligibility requirements

All applicants must have a minimum of:

• 60 credits of university studies,
  or
• a diploma of collegial studies (DCS) from a Quebec College of General and Professional Education (CEGEP). Students with a French Baccalaureate from Quebec (Collège international Marie de France, or Collège Stanislas) are also eligible to apply.

Candidates from a French Baccalaureate program completed outside of Quebec, or who are finishing high school not eligible to apply.

While candidates with 60 credits of university studies are eligible to apply to the Faculty of Law, admission to the program is highly competitive. Almost all students admitted in the “University” category will have completed an undergraduate degree before starting our BCL/JD program.

In our holistic file review, there are no minimum thresholds for GPA, LSAT score and R-score. While the numerical aspects of the applicant's file are not in themselves decisive, students offered admission at McGill Law nonetheless tend to have outstanding academic records, in addition to their other qualities.

We provide the following statistics on our incoming class for information purposes only. The tables below do not indicate eligibility requirements.

McGill's BCL/JD program is offered in a bilingual environment. Candidates must demonstrate that they are at least passively bilingual, which means that they have at a minimum an advanced intermediate level of reading and aural comprehension of both English and French.

Passive bilingualism is a minimum requirement, not a competitive admissions asset.

Bilingualism in a classroom settings

Under the Faculty’s passive bilingualism policy, students can participate in classroom discussions, submit written work, write exams, and fulfill any oral advocacy requirements in either French or English, regardless of the language of instruction of the course.

Complex substantive texts in both languages are assigned as readings in all first-year courses and in many upper-year courses. While examination questions are set in the language in which the course is given, any examination may also contain extensive passages in either French or English.

Due to space limitations, it is not always possible for students to be registered in courses given in their preferred language. Almost all first-year students will be registered in at least one class given in French.

Evaluating bilingualism

To demonstrate that they meet bilingualism requirements, candidates must indicate in their application how they acquired both English and French. They must also submit transcripts from any post-secondary English and French language courses they have taken. The Admissions Committee reviews each candidate’s CV and references to take into account work or volunteering experiences in each language.

Language testing

The Admissions Committee may request that a candidate undergo a language test if it is unclear that this person has the required proficiency. Applications that include no evidence of passive bilingualism will likely be rejected.

Language testing is NOT an admissions interview. It does not indicate a positive or negative assessment of an application.

Conditional admissions

If a candidate has a good bilingual proficiency, but falls slightly short of the Faculty’s requirements, the Admissions Committee may extend an admissions offer conditional to the candidate completing a language course prior to the start of the program. The language course must be approved by the Admissions Office.

Support for Indigenous applicants

We offer support to Indigenous candidates to help them meet language proficiency requirements. Please consult the Indigenous Applicants page for more information.

Self-evaluating your bilingualism level

To gain a sense of the level of reading comprehension that is expected of McGill Law students, candidates are encouraged to visit the Supreme Court of Canada's website and to read judgments in English and in French.

French language self-assessment questionnaire

Egan vs Canada excerpts