lawyer

#Requirements for admission in law

Education requirements

Candidates must have a minimum of two years (60 credits) of university studies, or a diploma of collegial studies (DCS) from a Quebec College of General and Professional Education (CEGEP), at the time of registration. Students with a French Baccalaureate from Quebec (Collèges international Marie de France or Stanislas) are also eligible to apply.

While candidates who have completed 60 credits of university study are eligible to apply to the Faculty of Law, due to the high competition for admission, almost all students admitted in the “university” category have completed an undergraduate degree.

Applicants are not eligible to apply directly from a French Baccalaureate program completed outside of Quebec or from high school.  Applicants must meet the eligibility requirement mentioned above.

Note: Candidates admitted directly from CEGEP or a Quebec French Baccalaureate, who are interested in practicing in the United States, should be aware that Bar Admission requirements in a number of states include studies at the university level before studying law.

Language requirements

McGill's integrated program is offered in a bilingual environment. Candidates must demonstrate substantial reading ability in, and aural comprehension of, both English and French. Reading of complex substantive texts in French and English are assigned in all first-year courses and in many upper-year courses, irrespective of the language of instruction of the course. The Faculty's policy of passive bilingualism permits students to submit written work, write exams and ask questions in class in either English or French, regardless of the language of instruction. Students may fulfil their Moot Court requirements in English or French. First-year courses are offered in English and French, while a number of upper-year courses are offered in one language only. While examination questions are set in the language in which a course is given, any examination may contain extensive passages in either French or English. In order to get a sense of the level of reading comprehension that is expected of McGill Law students, candidates are encouraged to visit the website of the Supreme Court of Canada and to read judgments in English and in French. Candidates intending to proceed to the Bar of Quebec or the Board of Notaries of Quebec should carefully review the Language Requirements for Professions. The Charter of the French Language imposes certain mandatory language requirements on attorneys and notaries who practice in Quebec.