Indigenous Law Programs in Canada and the JID at the University of Victoria

What the JD/JID Program Is

The University of Victoria's Faculty of Law offers a joint Juris Doctor and Juris Indigenarum Doctor, known as the JD/JID. It is the first law program in the world built to combine the study of Canadian common law with the study of Indigenous legal orders as two full, connected bodies of law, rather than treating Indigenous law as a single elective.

UVic admitted its first JD/JID cohort in fall 2018, following work led by law professors John Borrows and Val Napoleon to build the program. The Faculty of Law's Indigenous Law wing now houses much of the program's teaching and community-based work.

UVic's Longer History in Indigenous Law

The JD/JID builds on decades of Indigenous-focused legal work at UVic Law, including its Indigenous Law Research Unit, which has partnered with Indigenous communities on legal research well before the joint degree existed. That background is part of why UVic built the JD/JID rather than another school, since the relationships and infrastructure needed for a field-school model were already in place.

How the Degree Is Structured

The JD/JID runs four years, one longer than the standard three-year JD, combining classroom study with community-based field studies. Students engage with the legal orders of Coast Salish, Cree, Kwakwaka'wakw and Secwepemc nations, among others, alongside the doctrinal law taught in the standard JD.

Field schools place students directly with Indigenous communities as part of the program, giving practical grounding in how Indigenous legal orders operate outside the classroom. UVic notes that not every clinical or experiential option open to JD students is automatically available to JD/JID students, since the two tracks structure their upper-year terms differently.

Who Can Apply

The JD/JID is open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous applicants through UVic Law's standard admissions process, alongside the school's separate Indigenous admissions category for students who prefer the standard three-year JD. Check UVic Law's admissions pages directly for current LSAT, grade and application requirements before you apply, since these details change from year to year.

If you want the combined credential specifically, indicate the JD/JID track on your application rather than assuming the standard JD application defaults you into it.

What Happens After Graduation

JD/JID graduates complete the same bar admission process as any other Canadian law graduate through their provincial law society, since the JID sits alongside the JD rather than replacing the credential that licensing bodies recognize. The JID adds a formal credential in Indigenous legal orders on top of that standard qualification, useful if you plan to work in Indigenous governance, land management, child welfare or community-based legal practice.

Other Indigenous Law Options in Canada

UVic is not the only law school building dedicated pathways for Indigenous legal education. Several Canadian law schools run Indigenous-specific admission categories reviewed separately from general admission, and some pair admission with a summer transition program that introduces incoming Indigenous students to legal writing and case analysis before first year starts.

What sets the JD/JID apart is its structure: rather than adding Indigenous law content to a standard degree, UVic built a second, parallel degree taught alongside the first from year one. If you want deep training in Indigenous legal orders specifically, rather than a standard JD with some Indigenous law courses, compare the JD/JID directly against other schools' Indigenous admission streams and course offerings.

Why This Matters if You Are Weighing Law School

If you grew up in Canada and are deciding between a standard JD and a program with a stronger Indigenous law focus, the JD/JID is the clearest example of how far a Canadian law school has taken that integration. It adds a year and a heavier course load, so weigh that trade-off against your own career plans, especially if Indigenous governance, land claims or community-based practice is not the direction you want to take.

Before You Apply

Contact UVic Law's admissions office directly to confirm current application deadlines, required documents and whether a personal statement or interview forms part of the JD/JID selection process, since these details are not fixed year to year. If you are weighing the JD/JID against a standard JD with Indigenous law electives elsewhere, ask each school how many Indigenous law courses its regular JD includes and how field placements are structured, so you compare the actual course load rather than the program's name alone.

Weighing the Extra Year

A fourth year of law school means an additional year of tuition, housing and lost income compared to a standard JD, so budget for that difference before you commit to the JD/JID track. Ask UVic Law's financial aid office whether any funding specifically supports JD/JID students through that extra year.

Compare this cost against what the JID credential adds to your career plans. If you already know you want to work in Indigenous governance, land claims negotiation or community-based legal practice, the extra year and the training it provides are easier to justify than if your interests point toward a general commercial or litigation practice.