Admissions

Programs	Fall (September)	Winter (January)	Spring/Summer (May)
Master of Laws (LL.M.) Doctorate in Law (Ph.D.)	February 1st February 1st	Closed September 1st	Closed December 1st

Winter and Summer admissions are not available for the LL.M. admission.

Subject to availability in the program, strong applications will continue to be accepted after the deadlines. International applicants are advised to apply well in advance of departmental deadlines as immigration procedures can be very lengthy.

Please note that all required supporting documents must be submitted in order in order for your application to be evaluated

 

Tuition Fees

Estimate the cost of university studies

Admission equivalencies (Equivalencies needed to undertake a master's or doctorate at the University of Ottawa)

Scholarships and Financial Support from the Office of the Vice-Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Scholarships and Financial Support from the Faculty of Law

Resources for International Students

Housing

No pre-evaluation service is available, you must submit an application with the necessary documents for an evaluation to be carried out. Applicants are advised that meeting the basic eligibility criteria does not guarantee admission to the program.

IMPORTANT

Note that documents submitted at the time of admission are the property of the University of Ottawa and can not be returned to applicants. Unnecessary documents will not be consulted, retained, or returned to applicants. These documents will be destroyed according to our administrative procedures.

Candidates to the LL.M. or Ph.D. are admitted on the basis of the quality of their complete application file.  Important elements considered by the Admission Committee include, but are not necessarily limited to, academic achievement, relevant professional experience, subject area of interest, research proposal submitted and language ability.

Check your emails regularly as the University of Ottawa will send you regular messages regarding the status of your application and if additional information is needed. The committee reserves the right to ask you to provide a copy of an article or a copy of a work that you have written.

** Please note that incomplete admissions applications will not be evaluated.

Please refer to the following information to help you prepare for your graduate application. The application process is entirely done online. You do not have to submit paper documents when submitting your application. This will come later.

Please note that you will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee of $ 100 (for most programs) to study your file.

Apply now.

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Step 1: Choose your program of study

Explore our programs to find the one that's right for you.

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Step 2: Confirm that you meet the admission requirements

Consult specific program requirements. 

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Step 3: Gather the necessary documents

The documents required for admission depend on the program you are interested in. Please refer to the list of specific program requirements.

Additional information

Transcripts and Diplomas:

• ​​If you study (or have studied) at the University of Ottawa, you do not  have to submit your transcripts or diplomas for the University of Ottawa.
• If you have studied at other post-secondary institutions, you must upload your transcripts and diplomas through the student portal. For more information on uploading files, see step 7.
• The submission of all transcripts of the universities attended including the grading scale is mandatory. This requirement applies to all types of courses and / or programs taken such as: regular programs (completed or not), exchange programs, letters of permission, online or correspondence courses, courses followed as a special student or visiting student, etc.
• Transcripts and diplomas in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a translation (in French or English) provided by the institution that issued them or by an authorized translator. A copy of the documents in the original language is still required; translation alone is not enough.
• Transcripts and diplomas will be verified to ensure their authenticity.
• In the event that you receive an offer of admission, you must arrange for an official copy of your transcripts and diplomas to be sent to the University of Ottawa.
• Please note that we do not accept third party transcripts (eg WES - World Education Services).
• College transcripts are not required.

Letter of Intent

This is an opportunity to provide an overview of your academic interests and ambitions, and to highlight why you would be a good candidate for the program. Comment on your relevant experiences (student exchange, work as a research assistant, law clerkship or other) and explain any “anomaly” in your academic itinerary (e.g. low grades in one semester because of illness, time spent away from academia etc.).

*Please note that we do not provide an example.

Description of your research project

The thesis or research paper proposal provides the Admissions Committee with the necessary information to assess your ability to develop and articulate a research project. Furthermore, the research proposal is used to match you with faculty members suitable for supervising your work, and is an important factor in selecting candidates for admission. It is, therefore, important that the proposal be well structured and carefully written. It is understood that, if admitted, this proposal may undergo significant changes as a result of further research and direction from the supervisor. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will lead to a rejection of your application.

*Please note that we do not provide an example.

For applications to the Master’s program, in any concentration, the description of your Master’s thesis proposal or research paper proposal (500 words) should include the following elements:

• Your full name
• Title of your intended research project
• Research Proposal: Specify your research area and give a description of the particular topic under consideration.
• Preparation: Comment on your background preparation and your suitability to undertake this topic: language abilities (if required), courses and seminars taken, any personal research or experience of note.

For applications to the Doctoral program, the description of your Doctoral thesis proposal (2,000 words) should include the following elements:

• Your full name
• Title of your intended research project
• Research Proposal: Specify your research area and give a description of the research project you would like to undertake during your Ph.D. (definition of the subject, research question, context, methodology and theoretical framework, if known)
• Preparation: Comment on your background preparation and your suitability to undertake this topic: language abilities (if required), courses and seminars taken, any personal research or experience of note.

For applications for admission to the Master of Laws with concentration in Notarial Law, course option, no project to submit.

Curriculum vitae

A detailed curriculum vitae, including your educational background, work experience and volunteer experience. If you have teaching experience and/or experience as a teaching assistant, please include the subject matter and language of instruction.

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Step 4: Gather the letters of recommendation

Once you have submitted your application and it has been transferred to uOttawa’s servers, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access uoZone, where you will be able to enter the name of your referees.

We require the submission of two letters of recommendation. Consult specific program requirements.

Given that these are an important part of the admissions process, it is recommended that you think carefully about who will provide a letter of reference.

We invite you to contact your referees two to three weeks before submitting your application to confirm their availability, as well as their e-mail address and professional title, as you will need to provide the name and contact information of your references on the uoZone Student Portal.

• Unless the application requirements for your program states that professional references are acceptable or required, letters of recommendation must come from qualified academic scholars who can attest to and demonstrate your potential for graduate-level study or research.
• Let the individuals know that the University of Ottawa’s letter of recommendation process is done online and is entirely confidential. They will receive a link by email to the secure online system.
• It is helpful to provide the individuals with a deadline in order to ensure they submit their letters of recommendation before the application deadline. Your application will not be considered complete (and thus not evaluated) until all your letters of recommendation are received.
• Letters of recommendation must be in English or French.
• We do not accept letters of recommendation from family members, friends, students, former or current classmates, employees or teaching assistants.
• It’s best to provide academic or work email addresses for those providing letters of recommendation. Email address from Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc. are discouraged.

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Step 5: Language requirements

French and English are the languages ​​of instruction at the University of Ottawa. All future students must demonstrate a minimum level of language proficiency in French or English before being admitted. We do not require skills in both languages.

Candidates with neither English nor French as their mother tongue must meet one of the following criteria:

Have completed a post-secondary diploma in French or English at a university whose language is French or English as one of the official languages ​​of instruction, in a country where English or French is the primary language. (The language condition will be removed only once your application is under evaluation).

OR

You may be exempted from proof of language proficiency if you submit documentation showing that you have obtained a post-secondary degree in a French or English-language university. (The language condition will be removed only once your application is under evaluation).

OR

Have obtained a minimum of 2 years full time university degree in French or English from a  North American University. (The language condition will be removed only once your application is under evaluation).

OR

Have the minimum scores required in one of the following language tests:

English-language program tests

• TOEFL (academic):  Internet-based: 100; Computer-based: 250; Paper-based: 600

    Please note that the University’s institution code is 993 and the department code for Law is 03.

• CAEL : 70
• PEARSON : 68
• MELAB : 87
• IELTS (academic module): 7.0
• CANTEST : 5.0 (listening/reading) and 4.5 (writing)

French-language program tests:

• DELF : Niveau B2
• DALF : Niveau C1 ou C2
• TESTCan: 4.5 (listening/reading) and 4.5 (writing)

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Step 6: Research supervisor

If you are applying to the LL.M. with thesis or research paper or to the Ph.D., you do not select a research supervisor. You will be assigned a supervisor by the Admissions Committee if you are admitted. If no supervisor is indicated on the offer of admission, the name will be communicated, by email, during you first year of registration in the program.

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Step 7: Apply now

The application process is done entirely online. Create your OUAC Account/Profile and complete the online application.

You will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee ($100 for most of the programs) when submitting your application.

Once you have submitted your application, payed the application fee and it has been transferred to uOttawa’s servers, you will receive an acknowledgement email from the University with instructions on how to access uoZone, where you will be able to upload the required documents (see step 8). This process can take up to 10 business days.

You do not need to submit official copies of the documents required at the time you submit your application. If you receive an offer of admission, you will need to request an official copy of all your transcripts. These transcripts will have to be sent to the Faculty directly from your previous institutions. International students may submit notarised documents, which must be received in official envelopes, sealed and endorsed by a legal counselor.

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Step 8 : Upload your documents

Once you have submitted your application and it has been transferred to uOttawa’s servers, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access uoZone. Once you have logged in, you must go in the "Applications" section to have access to the uoDoc: Upload Admissions Documents application where you will be able to upload your documents.

You must upload a full set of documents for each program you are applying to, through uoZone, the student portal. Regarding filenames and file format, please respect the following instructions:

• We highly recommend that you convert your documents to PDF formats.
• File names cannot include parentheses ( ), quotations “ or any other special characters.
• Keep the file name short and relevant to its content.
• Separate words with an underscore ( _ ).
• Make sure to preview your document since you cannot edit or delete once it is submitted.

Please do not download all your supporting documents in one file. Each element of the checklist must have a corresponding document. Otherwise, your request will be considered incomplete. If you submit non-required electronic documents, they will be deleted.

When all the documents from the checklist are uploaded, your file will be marked has completed in your uoZone portal.  Once our verification is done, you could be contacted if some documents are considered as problematic.

This process can take up to 10 business days.

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Step 9: Evaluation

An admission agent verifies that your application is complete (all required documents are received), calculates your average and sends your application to the admissions committee for the final decision.

All applications are reviewed by the Admissions Committee, which recommends your eligibility for the program.

You can consult your uoZone  account at any time to see the progress of the evaluation.

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Step 10: Decisions

Final decisions are communicated via your uoZone  account 4 to 6 weeks after your application is considered complete.

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Step 11: Offer of Admission

If you are admitted to a program, you will receive an offer of admission via your uoZone account.

No deposit is required to confirm your decision. However, we strongly recommend that you ACCEPT your offer to reserve a place in the program.

To accept your offer, you must log into your uoZone   account. Any conditions of admission specified on your offer must be met before enrolment in your classes.

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Refusal of admission

According to the academic regulation II-1, a refusal of admission by the faculty is final. Admission appeals are only considered on procedural grounds.