Law and Society

The Law and Society program was established in the early 1970s and is one of the oldest undergraduate programs of its kind in North America. York graduates about 100 students each year, making it one of the largest programs of its type in Canada.

Law is one of the most significant expressions of a modern society's social and political development. In recent years, social scientists from many disciplines have analyzed the interplay between law and society. We live in a period of widespread public interest in law that arises from a concern with problems of social justice, social control and deviance. The academic disciplines - anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology - have increasingly focused on such issues as the nature and origin of law; law-making and law breaking; rights and obligations; freedom and responsibility. These are matters of increasing concern to teachers, social workers, businesspersons, doctors and public servants whose professional responsibilities demand a knowledge of the relationship of law to their own fields.

The goals of the Law and Society program are:

• to affirm the intellectual importance of the study of law and society and law in society;
• to provide a framework within which you and the faculty may explore, within disciplines and between them, descriptive and analytic approaches to the subject;
• and to sharpen the appreciation of law as part of the active daily life of the student.

Please note: Law and Society is not a pre-law preparatory program.

What makes Law and Society unique?

Check out the law-related programs offered by Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Centennial College and Humber College. The colleges offer diplomas in law-related programs open to university graduates. For more information, contact the Law and Society Program, Ross S741, 416-736-5054.

York also offers a certificate offered in Law and Society.