Edmonton Area Black Undergraduate Students' Intentions and Views Regarding Applying to Law School

This research note reports an empirical study of Black undergraduate students from the Edmonton Area who are interested in applying to law school regarding timelines for applying to law school, factors motivating choice of law school to attend, and their impressions of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. The study aims to contribute missing information to efforts aimed at addressing the severe under-representation of Black students in the Faculty’s entry-level Juris Doctor program. The study findings suggest that the University of Alberta Faculty of Law is not the preferred choice of law school to apply to for Black undergraduate students in the Edmonton Area and highlight various factors that motivate their choice of law school to apply to. These findings ought to spur and guide further engagement with this category of students, as well as efforts to reverse the under-representation of Black students in the Juris Doctor program.