How to Apply
We're glad you are interested in the Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative
Application for the IB&M Initiative is the same as for all students applying to Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law. You should indicate your desire to be considered for admission through the IB&M Initiative in your application, and in your personal statement.
Our admission criteria
The IB&M Initiative prioritizes the admission of students who are either:
African Nova Scotians (Indigenous Blacks): a distinct people who descend from free and enslaved Black Planters, Black Loyalists, Black Refugees, Maroons, and other Black people who inhabited the original 52 land-based Black communities in that part of Mi'kma'ki known as Nova Scotia.
Mi’kmaw: individuals who are Mi'kmaw and were born and raised in Mi'kma’ki or have a substantial connection with a Mi'kmaw community in Mi'kma'ki.
Other Black individuals who were born and raised in Nova Scotia are also eligible for admission and support through the IB&M Initiative.
If, in any given year all qualified African Nova Scotian, Mi'kmaq and other Black applicants born and raised in Nova Scotia have been admitted, and there are still spaces available, Black students who were not born and raised in Nova Scotia and Indigenous students who are not Mi'kmaq, may be admitted through the IB&M category.
The Pre-Law Course for admitted applicants
The Pre-Law Course takes place over four-weeks and is for admitted IB&M applicants, usually offered during the month of May. Attendance is mandatory.
The focus of Pre-Law is to provide an intensive introduction to the legal research, reasoning and writing skills critical to success at law school. Pre-law also evaluates students for admissions purposes, and students in Pre-Law must successfully complete the course in order to start at the beginning of the school year in September.
There is no tuition cost for Pre-Law. Materials will be provided for you. We recommend that you don't take on outside employment during Pre-Law. Limited funding may be available for students who demonstrate financial need.
If you are an applicant with particularly high academic qualifications, you may be given the choice as to whether or not you wish to take the Pre-Law course.
