University of Calgary

Law and Society

Degrees Offered

What is Law and Society?

Laws are among the key mechanisms through which human societies regulate themselves. Throughout history, socio-legal institutions have been key to efforts to produce social order, develop economies and improve people’s lives. Law and Society is the study of how legal and social systems are interconnected, how people live and how law is woven into communities. Students gain an understanding of what happens when legal innovations and institutions succeed and when they fail.

The Law and Society program investigates how law and legal systems affect various aspects of life. The program offers students an opportunity to consider and compare legal systems in North America and other parts of the world. Although not a “pre-law” program, Law and Society introduces students to legal, as well as political, philosophical and sociological, concepts. Students become familiar with a variety of sources for law and socio-legal policy, including statutes, the decisions of courts and administrative tribunals, public policy and advocacy documents, public and governmental debates, and statistical and analytical research. As well, students study the fundamental tensions and principles in Canadian jurisprudential traditions and examine Canadian political and legal history.

As an interdisciplinary program, Law and Society draws on many other fields of study, including law, anthropology, economics, history, business management, philosophy, economics, political science and sociology. The program gives students strong critical and theoretical skills as well as a broad appreciation of socio-legal movements. It emphasizes research and reasoning, inviting students to investigate and reconsider their own beliefs and experiences. They learn to search out, analyze and write about complex legal and social concepts and issues. Law and Society prepares students to become engaged and active citizens in local, national and international spheres.

 Why Take This Program  

Experiential learning
Many areas of human endeavour, including the practice of law itself, require the ability to search out, analyze and commit to writing complicated legal and social concepts. Law and Society at the University of Calgary provides training in legal research and reasoning and offers an opportunity for exposure to political, legal and social systems. Students develop strong analytical skills through classroom discussion and critical written work. Senior courses provide an opportunity to perform directed legal research.  

Understanding your world
If you are interested in understanding the socio-legal structures that operate in our society, the Law and Society program will engage you. Law is one lens through which societies may be compared and understood and, we would argue, it is a particularly important one. Law and Society students graduate prepared to ask and answer questions about how well law can be expected to address different kinds of social questions. They come to a better understanding of their world and the place of law in it.  

 

Career Paths

A degree in Law and Society prepares students for careers or further education in a wide range of areas, including law, diplomacy, civil service, policy development and analysis, journalism, publishing and business. Graduates have gone on to the following careers:  

 

  • Community Development Officer
  • Community Program Developer
  • Contract Administrator
  • Criminal Law Instructor
  • Enforcement Council
  • Human Resources Consultant
  • Lawyer
  • Legal Assistant
  • Paralegal
  • Police Officer
  • Project Coordinator
  • Regulatory Superintendent
  • Research Consultant
  • Resource Analyst
  • Risk Manager
  • Security Coordinator

 

To Apply Click Here.

Have More Questions?

For comprehensive advising on your program of studies, contact:
Student Success Centre
4th Floor, MacEwan Student Centre
403-220-5881
http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc

 For more details on the Law and Society program, contact:

Dr. Lyndsay Campbell
Program Co-ordinator
Email: lwsoprog@ucalgary.ca  

For more course information visit the University Calendar.