CALGARY -- The University of Calgary's faculty of law has launched a new admission process designed to address "the under-representation of Black students in the law school and the legal community as a whole."

UCalgary Law unveiled its Black Students Admission Process (BSAP) on Wednesday.

Applicants who self-identify as Black will have their applications reviewed by members of the BSAP sub-committee — comprised of Black law faculty members, Black members of the legal community and members of the Black Law Students Association — and will be permitted to include a personal essay on Black culture or the impact racism has had on them or their family.   

"The primary goal of our Black Students Admission Process is to lessen the systemic barriers that exist that lead to the under-representation of Black law students and, consequently, Black lawyers," said Catherine Valestuk, the law school's assistant dean of recruiting and admissions, in a statement released Wednesday.

The BSAP was introduced in response to the Calgary chapter of the Black Law Students Association's call to action issued this summer.