Canadian Official Guide

224 Dysart Road, 201 Robson Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2
Phone: 204.480.1485; Admissions Office: 204.474.8825
Internet: www.umanitoba.ca/law | E-mail: lawadmissions@umanitoba.ca

Introduction

The University of Manitoba has been involved in legal education since 1885. The Faculty's undergraduate program provides a standard curriculum.

The Faculty is located on the main campus of the university, which is situated on the banks of the Red River in a suburb of Winnipeg, a city of approximately 700,000 persons in the centre of Canada. It boasts a rich cultural life, being home, for example, to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The university has approximately 27,000 full-time students and 26 faculties and schools, many with extensive graduate programs and full recreational and other facilities.

Enrollment/Student Body

• More than 1,200 applicants
• 108 registered first-year class 2012
• 50 percent women
• Several provinces represented

The size of the student body is small enough that it is easy to become acquainted with most of the students and, over the three-year period, to develop lasting friendships with many of those in one's own year. Approximately 70 percent of the students are residents of Manitoba, with the balance coming from other provinces, mostly Ontario and British Columbia.

Faculty

• 67 total
• 27 full time
• 40 sessional (part time and clinical)
• 12 full-time women

Library and Physical Facilities

• 282,000 library volumes and equivalents
• Westlaw
• Quicklaw
• Westlaw Canada
• 3 full-time librarians, plus 7 other full-time staff
• Library seats 93
• 45 individual carrels
• 20 computer workstations (20 in computer lab)
• Wireless network

Curriculum

• 97 credit hours required to graduate
• 65 courses available
• Degrees available—JD, LLM

Approximately one-third of the program is elective courses. The program is designed in that each student who graduates has a balance of doctrinal and perspective courses and clinical law experience. Our program emphasizes clinical courses in the second and third years. The teaching year is September to April, with a two-week break in December and a one-week break in February. A student must comply with the progression rules in order to advance to the next year.

Special Programs

There is an Academic Support Program (tutoring) available.

The excellent litigation program is supplemented by the opportunity for some students to participate in local, regional, national, and international moot court competitions. Our students' record of success is outstanding.

Legal Aid Manitoba operates a law clinic at the Faculty which allows students to practise law under the supervision of an experienced lawyer. Students participate in all phases of a case from the initial client interview, right through to the trial. The cases involve a wide variety of legal problems. There is also a Small Business Law Clinic, and students can participate in Pro Bono Students Canada. The Faculty also has a special Legal History Project and a Legal Research Institute.

Admission

• Two full years of university degree-level courses toward a university degree
• Application deadline—November 1
• LSAT required
• Highest LSAT score used
• Oldest LSAT score accepted—June 2009
• Median GPA—3.90
• Median LSAT score—162
• Application fee—$125; Visa students—$125

Three categories of admission to first year:

1. Index Score Category (regular): Eighty percent of the first-year class is admitted through this category. The last LSAT considered is February in the year admission is sought. Application assessment is a 50/50 weighting of AGPA (Adjusted Grade-Point Average) and LSAT score using this formula:
   
2. Individual Consideration Category: Last LSAT accepted is December in year preceding admission. Coursework needs to be completed by September 1 in year of application. Application assessment is AGPA and LSAT score, 3 reference letters, personal statement, and résumé. Twenty-four applicants will be interviewed.
3. Aboriginal Category: Last LSAT accepted is February in the year admission is sought. Application assessment is AGPA and LSAT score, 3 reference letters, personal statement, and résumé.

GPA Calculation: All graded university degree level credit hours are used. The calculation is adjusted (if applicable) based on the table below:

Please visit: www.umanitoba.ca/law for complete details.

Student Activities

The Faculty publishes both the Manitoba Law Journal and the Canadian Journal for Human Rights, managed by a student editorial board with the assistance of faculty advisors. Credit can be given for editorial work. The Manitoba Law Students Association (MLSA) is represented on faculty council with five members and has representatives on every faculty committee. The MLSA has many committees and activities of its own. There is also an Association of Aboriginal Students.

Expenses and Financial Aid

• Tuition and fees—full time, approximately $9,600; half time, approximately $4,600
• Estimated additional expenses—$2,500 for books, supplies, photocopying, etc., plus living costs
• Entrance awards and bursaries available
• Financial aid available—Provincial Government Aid and Canada Student Loans

For student housing information, contact 101 Arthur V. Mauro Residence; phone: 204.474.9922.

Student Services

Student Services offers a wide range of services and programs to prospective and current students and alumni in the areas of admissions, financial aid, and career development.

Applicant Profile

University of Manitoba

The grid below shows AGPA/LSAT combinations in which offers were made to Index Score applicants only.

Applicant Group Applying for the 2012–2013 Academic Year

A = Number of applicants
O = Number of offers made

The figures in the above grid do not include offers made solely in the Individual Consideration and Aboriginal Categories.

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