Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law is pleased to announce the results of its 2017 undergraduate admissions process.
The deadline for applications was 15 January 2017, and 499 students applied for admissions. Of those, 132 qualified to sit for the first-ever Bhutanese Law School Admission Test (Bhutan-LSAT), as a result of scoring 60% or more on English and Dzongkha in their BHSEC-XII examination.
126 students sat for the examination at three locations across the country (Thimphu, Gelephu, and Trashigang). This group was narrowed down to 50 finalists, as a result of a process that allocated 30 points to the BHSEC-XII examination results and 45 points to the Bhutan-LSAT.
The fifty short-listed finalists were invited to Thimphu to sit for a 45-minute interview with the law school’s admissions committee. 25 points were allocated to the interview result.
As a result of all three elements, the finalists were ranked and students were offered admission to the law school. The top twenty-five students were offered seats in the law school’s first entering class.
There are 13 women and 12 men in the entering class. The students are graduates of 19 of Bhutan’s 58 Higher Secondary Schools (HSS) and Central Schools (CS), representing 12 different Dzongkhags.
High Schools Attended by Incoming Class of 2022
| School | Dzongkhag |
| Jigme Sherubling HSS (3 students) | Trashigang |
| Phuentsholing HSS (2) | Chhukha |
| Punakha HSS (2) | Punakha |
| Sherubling CS (2) | Trongsa |
| Ugyen Academy (2) | Punakha |
| Bajo HSS | Wangduephodrang |
| Chhukha HSS | Chhukha |
| Dashiding HSS | Punakha |
| Gongzim Ugyen Dorji CS | Haa |
| Kuenga HSS | Paro |
| Lhuentse HSS | Lhuentse |
| Mongar HSS | Mongar |
| Motithang HSS | Thimphu |
| Orong CS | Samdrupjongkhar |
| Pelkhil HSS | Thimphu |
| Wangbama HSS | Thimphu |
| Yadi HSS | Mongar |
| Yangchenphug HSS | Thimphu |
| Zhemgang CS | Zhemgang |
The incoming class hails from 15 of Bhutan’s 20 Dzongkhags. The most represented home Dzongkhags are: Mongar (4), Samdrup Jongkhar (4), Thimphu (3), and Trashigang (3). Only Bumthang, Gasa, Samtse, Sarpang, and Wangduephodrang are not represented.
Seven students (28%) come from families principally engaged in farming. Four (16%) report that one or both parents employed in the government civil service. Two students (8%) come from a household where one or both students are primary or secondary‐school teachers. Two others (8%) report that their father is a monk.
Bhutan has four principal “streams” in high school: Arts, Commerce, Science, and Language & Culture (Rigzhung). Scholarships for study at law school abroad have typically been reserved for Arts students. We were surprised, therefore, to find that 18 of our 25 admitted students (72%) studied in the Science stream in high school.
The Admissions Committee offers its congratulations to our incoming Class of 2022. The Committee also thanks all of the other candidates who applied and participated in this historic first-ever admissions cycle.