Foundation Year Program students spend a year honing argumentation and critical thinking skills that serve them well in careers like law. Now that career pathway has been made more direct.
President and Vice-Chancellor William Lahey.
In a new partnership formed between the University of King’s College and the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary, students admitted to the King’s renowned Foundation Year Program will be provisionally pre-admitted to Calgary’s Faculty of Law.
“It speaks to the strengths of our Foundation Year Program that our students are considered to have the intellectual breadth, ability to discern, understand and articulate, and qualities of character and motivation to provisionally qualify them for law school at the University of Calgary even before they have completed their undergraduate degrees,” said King’s President William Lahey, who’s also a lawyer and legal scholar.
Students at King’s complete the Foundation Year Program in their first year, studying fundamental texts from the ancient to contemporary world. All students read the same books at the same time. Lectures, tutorials and regular essay assignments equip students with crucial abilities to analyze, debate and express themselves.
“We’re thrilled to be launching an expedited admissions program for King’s students. Notwithstanding differences in geography and age, we share a commitment to excellence.”
University of Calgary Faculty of Law Dean Ian Holloway.
Provisional admittance to UCalgary Law means students will have an advantage in the applicant pool but will still have to maintain scholarship standing throughout the remainder of their degree at King’s and Dalhousie, plus meet all other admissions criteria including LSAT scores, work experience and community involvement.
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Read more: FYP Director Neil Robertson talks to Canadian Lawyer magazine about the partnership.
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Watch: President William Lahey talks to global news about the value of the liberal arts.
“We’re thrilled to be launching an expedited admissions program for King’s students. Notwithstanding differences in geography and age, we share a commitment to excellence,” says Dr. Ian Holloway, dean and professor at UCalgary Law.
Sander Duncanson took the Foundation Year Program at King’s in 2002/03, later enrolling at UCalgary Law.
“The Foundation Year Program at King’s equipped me with many of the skills that I now rely on as a lawyer: reading large volumes of material and distilling the key concepts and hidden meanings, analyzing and debating complex ideas with peers, and considering and thinking critically about diverse theories and types of writing,” Sander says. Today, he’s a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Calgary. He says the unique approach to learning at King’s provides an excellent foundation for any student aspiring to a career in law.
Calling it a great east-west partnership in the making, Lahey says, “We look forward to strengthening the connection between our two great academic programs.”
