The Peter A. Allard School of Law (Allard Law) at the University of British Columbia and the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law (HKU) Joint Legal Education Program is the result of an agreement entered into by Allard Law and HKU in 2008. Students who successfully complete the program are able to pursue the professional qualifications required to practice law in both Hong Kong and Canada. Please note that the regular professional training requirements of each jurisdiction must also be met before you can start to practice law in either jurisdiction. See Appendix B for more details on those requirements.
BASIC
Allard Law students will complete the first two years of their J.D. degree at Allard Law and, if admitted by HKU to the program, will subsequently attend HKU Law (https://www.law.hku.hk/) for one year. After successful completion of that year Allard Law will award them their J.D. degree.
Students will then spend a second year at HKU enrolled in the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL program), subject to application for admission, which is a pre-requisite to be permitted to pursue professional qualifications in Hong Kong.
Up to five Allard Law J.D. students may be admitted to the program each year and the admission process is handled by HKU.
SPECIFICS FOR ALLARD LAW STUDENTS
Year One
- You attend Allard Law on a full time basis and must successfully complete the mandatory first year J.D. program.
Year Two
- You must take at least 30 credits at Allard Law in your second year of J.D. studies.
- You must complete all your J.D. course requirements for graduation from Allard Law by the end of your second year (with the exception of your 3-credit seminar requirement which can be completed at Allard Law or HKU). For information about academic requirements at Allard Law, view the online Curriculum Diagram.
- You apply to HKU for admission to the program by the end of January of your second year.
Year Three
- You attend HKU Law and take the courses required for entry to the PCLL course (see Appendix A). Please read Appendix A carefully before you start your second year at Allard Law as you will note that you can take some courses at Allard Law for which you will be given credit for PCLL entry, thereby allowing you to take more electives at HKU. You will complete a total of 60 credits at HKU (calculated by reference to their credit system).
- On successful completion of year 3 in the program (HKU standards apply), you will be granted your J.D. by Allard Law. The official graduation ceremony will be held in late November / early December of this year (not May).
- You apply for admission to the PCLL course by April 30th of this year. Please note that admission to the PCLL is a competitive process and you will, according to information provided to UBC by HKU, be required to obtain at least a “high” Second (Lower) Honours to be considered for admission to the PCLL.
- FYI, the academic year in Hong Kong runs from the beginning of September to late May, with the assessment period from mid- to late-December followed by a two-week vacation before the second semester begins.
Year Four
1. Subject to successful application for admission, you attend the PCLL course on a full time basis, see https://www.ple.hku.hk/the-pcll for more information about this course. The course runs from September to the following June each year. On completion of this one-year program you are eligible to pursue qualification in Hong Kong as a barrister or solicitor. See Appendix B for more information about pursing the professional qualification.
COST
The Joint Legal Education program is not an exchange program. Rather you are registered for two years at Allard Law where you pay UBC fees and then for your third year at HKU where you pay HKU Law fees as a non-local student. For 2023-24, the non-local student fees per annum are HK$182,000 Composition fees and HK$350 Caution money. The composition fees and caution money are payable in a single payment in advance at the time an offer of admission is accepted.
For the PCLL course, the composition fee is HK$220,000 for self-financed places for the 2023-2024 academic year. There are also, however, some government funded places in the PCLL program that would reduce the fees if you are a local student. These places are awarded on academic merit and students will be eligible for them if they meet the required competitive academic standards.
Tuition fees for 2024-25 is yet to be confirmed.
Please note that all monetary amounts mentioned in this document are subject to change and may also vary depending on the shifts in currency values.
ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION PROCESS
- Successful completion of first year and first term second year J.D. studies at Allard Law with a cumulative average of at least 74% is required in order to apply for admission to the program.
- You must take at least 30 total credits in second year at Allard Law.
- Up to 5 Allard Law J.D. students a year will be accepted by HKU into the program.
- Your application should be returned to the Faculty of Law, 10/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong by February 1st. Applications consist of:
a. Application for Admission form
b. Letter of Permission from Allard Law, obtained from Kaila Mikkelsen, Assistant Dean, Students;
c. A personal statement of no more than 750 words about yourself, outlining why you consider yourself suitable for selection to the program, and why you wish to apply for the program;
d. Official academic transcripts from each post-secondary institution you have attended and are currently attending; and
e. Two Academic references. - Admission to the program is made by HKU Law.
CONTACTS
Any questions about the HKU part of the program, including admission requirements, academic program at HKU Law or the PCLL program should be directed to Mr. Alex Mak, Director of Outgoing Student Exchange Programme, Department of Law (). For information about the residential halls and non-academic matters, please visit the website of the Center for Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) http://wp.cedars.hku.hk/web/studentlife/.
If you have questions about your two years at Allard Law or the joint legal education program, please contact Kaila Mikkelsen, Assistant Dean, Students at or Barbara Wang, Manager, Student Experience at .