Frequently Asked Questions

Applications for the Fall intake open on September 1. Applications along with supporting documents will be accepted until the final deadline date of February 10. Applications are considered on a rolling basis and offers will be made in advance of this date. Thus, students are encouraged to submit complete applications as early as possible.

Visit the applications page for instructions on how to apply.

Visit the applications page for instructions on how to apply.

The application fee for Canadian students is $124.29 and is non-refundable. The application fee for International students is $167.09 and is non-refundable. We do not offer fee waivers. Further details are available on the applications page.

You may select from one of the following three categories of Admission: Regular Applicant, Indigenous Canadian Applicant or Special Consideration Applicant.

All Applicants:

1. Obtained an undergraduate degree in an approved course of study from a degree-granting institution; or
2. Successfully completed the first 3 years (minimum 90 credits) or more of an approved course of studies leading to an undergraduate degree from a degree-granting institution.

Indigenous Canadian Applicant:

If you are Indigenous, you may apply in either the Regular or the Indigenous Canadian applicant category. See the Indigenous Applicants page for more information.

Special Consideration Applicant:

Include details about your circumstances in the "Special Facts" text box of the application (max 4000 characters).

Because of special circumstances in life, your application may not be as competitive as a regular applicant and you may seek admission under the Special Consideration category. Examples of special circumstances in life include disability or special needs, financial disadvantage, age (over 30), membership in a historically disadvantaged group, residency in a small and/or remote community, or any other factors that you would ask the Admissions Committee to consider. Please provide a reason for your lower than average LSAT or GPA, and explain how you have overcome your circumstances and are now able to succeed in law school. 

The type of undergraduate degree you select is not important to us. We encourage you to complete a Bachelor’s degree in a discipline that you enjoy. We find that students who enjoy what they learn, likely get better grades. TRU Law accepts students into the faculty from a variety of academic disciplines, which creates an enriched and diverse environment in the law school. You can expect that students in your class will come from a variety of undergraduate, social, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds.

Only official transcripts will be accepted, and they must be sent directly from the granting institution. If you are in the process of completing your Fall semester, please wait until your final fall grades are posted before requesting your post-secondary institution to send us your transcripts. Your application will not be assessed until those grades are completed and received.

Official electronic copies can be sent to lawadmissions@tru.ca (if using MyCreds type in our email address).

If the institution is sending hard copies, please have them sent to:

Admissions, Faculty of Law

Thompson Rivers University

805 TRU Way

Kamloops, BC, V2C 0C8

No. We require all your grades completed by December 31, of the year prior to the intake year (ie. if applying for Fall 2024, we would require final transcripts for grades completed by December 31, 2023).

Your LSAT must be written by January of the intake year.

Be sure to note on your application when you will be taking the LSAT and include your LSAC ID number. We will wait until your final scores are received before assessing your application.

No.  Your highest LSAT score will be reported and considered when your application is reviewed. However, all scores are included in the application file for the admission committee members to view. A significant increase in score will be noted.

To register for the LSAT, please visit www.lsac.org.

Yes. You will need two letters of reference. Reference letters should be one to two pages in length. All reference letters must be forwarded directly by the referees via email to lawadmissions@tru.ca - please ensure your first and last name appear in the subject line.

Applicants are responsible for requesting letters from their referees. TRU Law does not reach out to them to request a letter. 

Non-academic references should be written by someone who has had interactions with you in a professional capacity. Examples of non-academic references include a current employer, a former employer, or an individual from an organization that you have volunteered with. Applicants are encouraged to avoid non-academic references from family members.

Through the personal statement, members of the admissions committee attempt to develop some insight into your history, experience, and character.

TRU Faculty of Law is interested in selecting excellent candidates who will thrive and succeed in law school and beyond. TRU law students and graduates have in a short time built a reputation as self-starting, resilient, collaborative, and ethically-centred.

We are proud of a student body that is representative of Canada’s diverse population, and we produce graduates who serve communities throughout British Columbia and the nation. We are committed to improving access to legal education and legal services for Canada's Indigenous peoples, and also for communities throughout the interior of the province.

We invite you to identify any ways in which your background, interests, and ambitions align with any of the objectives of the Faculty of Law and will contribute to the vibrant culture and continued success of the law school and its growing body of graduates. Your personal statement should be no longer than 750 words.

Be sure to visit your myTRU account to check the status of your application and see if anything is missing. You’ll need your TRU ID number to log in, so be sure to check your junk mail if you do not receive it via email within 3-5 business days of applying. If you have applied in previous years, your TRU ID number has not changed and so you WILL NOT receive an email after you apply. If you have trouble logging in, please reach out to our IT Department at ITServiceDesk@tru.ca

$11,305.20 for tuition and fees per semester (2023/24 school year), for a total of $22,610.40 for the first year. Please note, tuition and fees tend to go up by about 2% per year. This does not include the cost of books or $248 for the Health & Dental Plan. International student fees for 1L (2023/24) come to $44,217.40 per year.

No. The JD program at TRU Law is a full-time, 3-year program. First-year students can expect to have classes Monday through Friday.

It is a three-year degree program.

Most TRU Law students choose to article after graduation. In the past five years, 96-98% of students known to be seeking articles reportedly secured them within nine months of graduation. Our students have been successful in obtaining positions in private practice, including with well-known regional, national, and international law firms. They’ve obtained clerkship positions with various Canadian courts, and they’ve obtained jobs with government employers, non-profits, and corporations.

Students at TRU Law, as well as TRU Law alumni, receive year-round support from the TRU Law Career Services Office, which provides career-related information and services to connect students and recent graduates with the legal community.

For details about job placements, please see our Employment Outcomes page.

There is no minimum GPA or LSAT required to apply, however, this is a competitive program, so the stronger your grades and LSAT score are, the more likely you are to be accepted.

The GPA has a weight of 60% and is calculated using your 20 most recent undergrad academic courses, (converted to TRU’s 4.33 grade scheme, if applicable). The LSAT has a weight of 40%. Bonus points can be added to your score during the holistic review process taking higher education such as a Master, PhD, Grad Diploma, etc. into consideration, plus your CV, reference letters, and statement.

Due to this holistic process, the LSAT and GPA ranges vary greatly, since other factors are considered. Grades of at least an A- and scores of at least 160 tend to be average, though there are successful candidates with scores higher and lower than those averages, due to the holistic review. Please note that our averages can and do change each year. A score that may have been sufficient in years past, may not be strong enough the following year.

No problem. We’ll hold onto any documentation until your application comes through, and then we’ll match the documents to your file.

The Admissions Committee will see all of your grades from your post-secondary institutions, however, only the most recent 20 academic undergraduate courses will be used to calculate the admissions GPA.

We do not drop any of those grades.

Since pass/fail grades do not provide us with enough information about your abilities, these courses are not considered when calculating your GPA.

Not necessarily. Completed files will be reviewed first. If they are competitive, they will receive an early offer, if not, you’ll hear back from us later in the cycle.

Yes. Please take a look at our European exchange school partners here.

Yes of course! Our students are happy to chat with you. Please reach out to a TRU Law Ambassador here.

No. We will register you into all of your first-year courses. You will receive your schedule in late June.

No. However, you may choose to apply as a Special Consideration applicant.

Some offers will be sent out as early as November. We hope to have all files reviewed by the end of April each year. Please note that this is subject to the number of applications each year and staffing levels.

Only complete files get reviewed. If your file remains incomplete at the end of February, your file will not be reviewed.