In our unique program, you’ll study law within the context of the humanities and social science. You’ll get an introduction to legal concepts and theoretical debates that will serve you well in further studies or support your chosen career path.
You’ll find courses that emphasize the moral and philosophical dimensions of law, while others focus on legal institutions: how they yield regulation and socially sanctioned force, and how they interact with society. Expect to gain a rich set of tools that will enable you to reflect on these issues, and debate and consider them within a broader theoretical and social context.
While the Certificate in Law & Social Thought is not a pre-law preparatory program, graduates generally go on to apply to law or graduate school.
Explore what each year of your degree could look like, as well as how you can boost your major and career options.
Certificate Requirements
Students must complete 24 credits as follows:
- GL/PHIL 2923 3.00 Introduction to Law and Social Thought;
- GL/PHIL 2925 3.00 Law, Justice and Equality;
- One of the following*:
- GL/PHIL 3633 3.00 Responsibility, Crime and Punishment;
- GL/PHIL 3638 3.00 Sex, Love and the Family;
- GL/PHIL 3654 3.00 The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law;
- GL/PHIL 3675 3.00 Contemporary Issues in Economic and Social Justice;
- 15 credits from the below list of approved courses.
*A student who chooses to take more than one of these upper-level courses will need proportionally fewer additional credits from the list of approved courses.
All credits must be completed at York University, and the course listed above at Glendon. A minimum overall grade point average of 4.00 (C) is required for all the above courses. Please consult the latest version of the Undergraduate Academic Calendar for further details: https://calendars.students.yorku.ca/2022-2023/programs/GL/general-certificate-in-law-and-social-thought
List of Approved Courses
Canadian Studies
GL/CDNS 2600 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 2600 6.00)
GL/CDNS 3663 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 3663 3.00, GL/SOCI 3663 3.00)
Economics
GL/ECON 3370 3.00
GL/ECON 3375 3.00
GL/ECON 3642 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/PHIL 3642 3.00, GL/SOSC 3642 3.00)
GL/ECON 4275 3.00
GL/ECON 4570 3.00
Gender and Women's Studies
GL/GWST 3513 6.00 (cross-listed to: AP/GWST 3513 6.00, GL/SOSC 3975 6.00)
GL/GWST 4502 6.00
GL/GWST 4509 3.00 (cross-listed to: AP/GWST 4509 3.00, AP/MIST 4509 3.00)
History
GL/HIST 2650 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HUMA 1650 6.00)
GL/HIST 3639 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ILST 3639 3.00)
Humanities
GL/HUMA 1610 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 1610 6.00)
GL/HUMA 1650 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HIST 2650 6.00)
GL/HUMA 2615 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/PHIL 2615 3.00)
International Studies
GL/ILST 2622 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 2622 3.00)
GL/ILST 3650 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 3650 3.00)
GL/ILST 3652 3.00 (cross-listed to GL/POLS 3652 3.00)
GL/ILST 4601 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 4601 3.00)
GL/ILST 4651 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 4651 3.00)
GL/ILST 4682 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 4682 3.00)
Modes of Reasoning
GL/MODR 1711 6.00
GL/MODR 1716 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/LIN 1716 6.00)
Philosophy
GL/PHIL 2615 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HUMA 2615 3.00)
GL/PHIL 2645 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 2645 6.00, GL/SOSC 2645 6.00)
GL/PHIL 3237 3.00
GL/PHIL 3611 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 3611 3.00)
GL/PHIL 3634 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 3634 3.00, GL/SOSC 3634 3.00)
GL/PHIL 3642 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ECON 3642 3.00, GL/SOSC 3642 3.00)
GL/PHIL 3653 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 3653 3.00)
GL/PHIL 3660 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 3660 6.00)
GL/PHIL 3667 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HIST 3667 3.00, GL/HUMA 3667 3.00, GL/POLS 3667 3.00)
GL/PHIL 3668 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HIST 3668 3.00, GL/HUMA 3668 3.00, GL/POLS 3668 3.00)
GL/PHIL 4235 3.00
GL/PHIL 4237 3.00
GL/PHIL 4626 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 4626 3.00)
GL/PHIL 4810 3.00
Political Science
GL/POLS 2600 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/CDNS 2600 6.00)
GL/POLS 3135 3.00 (cross-listed to: AP/POLS 3135 3.00, AP/PPAS 3135 3.00)
GL/POLS 3136 3.00 (cross-listed to: AP/POLS 3136 3.00, AP/PPAS 3136 3.00)
GL/POLS 3550 3.00
GL/POLS 3634 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/PHIL 3634 3.00, GL/SOSC 3634 3.00)
GL/POLS 3650 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ILST 3650 3.00)
GL/POLS 3652 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ILST 3652 3.00)
GL/POLS 3663 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/CDNS 3663 3.00, GL/SOCI 3663 3.00)
GL/POLS 3667 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HIST 3667 3.00, GL/HUMA 3667 3.00, GL/PHIL 3667 3.00)
GL/POLS 3668 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HIST 3668 3.00, GL/HUMA 3668 3.00, GL/PHIL 3668 3.00)
GL/POLS 3720 3.00
GL/POLS 3721 3.00
GL/POLS 4601 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ILST 4601 3.00)
GL/POLS 4636 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 4636 3.00)
GL/POLS 4637 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 4637 3.00)
GL/POLS 4651 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ILST 4651 3.00)
GL/POLS 4682 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ILST 4682 3.00)
Psychology
GL/PSYC 3230 3.00
GL/PSYC 3600 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 3600 3.00)
Social Science
GL/SOSC 1610 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/HUMA 1610 6.00)
GL/SOSC 3634 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/PHIL 3634 3.00, GL/POLS 3634 3.00)
GL/SOSC 3642 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ECON 3642 3.00, GL/PHIL 3642 3.00)
GL/SOSC 3653 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/PHIL 3653 3.00)
GL/SOSC 3685 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOCI 3685 6.00)
GL/SOSC 3920 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOCI 3920 6.00)
GL/SOSC 3975 6.00 (cross-listed to: AP/GWST 3513 6.00, GL/GWST 3513 6.00)
GL/SOSC 4602 3.00 (cross-listed to: AP/GWST 4502 3.00, GL/GWST 4502 3.00)
GL/SOSC 4602 6.00 (cross-listed to: AP/GWST 4502 6.00, GL/GWST 4502 6.00)
GL/SOSC 4635 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 4635 6.00)
GL/SOSC 4636 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 4636 3.00)
GL/SOSC 4637 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/POLS 4637 3.00)
GL/SOSC 4645 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOCI 4645 3.00)
GL/SOSC 4645 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOCI 4645 6.00)
Sociology
GL/SOCI 2520 6.00
GL/SOCI 3217 3.00
GL/SOCI 3636 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/ILST 3636 3.00)
GL/SOCI 3663 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/CDNS 3663 3.00, GL/POLS 3663 3.00)
GL/SOCI 3685 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 3685 6.00)
GL/SOCI 3920 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 3920 6.00)
GL/SOCI 4645 3.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 4645 3.00)
GL/SOCI 4645 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 4645 6.00)
How to apply
Submit a completed Certificate Program form to Academic Services via acadservices@glendon.yorku.ca. For students who are graduating, please note that certificate requirements will be assessed upon degree audit.
For any specific questions pertaining to course content or program requirements, please reach out to program coordinator, Andrée-Anne Cormier.
Courses
Throughout your degree, you’ll find a curriculum that offers an in-depth and balanced approach to Law & Social Thought, from introductory survey courses to specialized topics. Sample classes include Law, Justice & Equality and The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law.
View course timetables on York University's site
Other Program Details
Meet Our Alumni
Discover the careers some of our alumni have excelled in and find out how their experience at Glendon gave them an advantage in the job market. Alumni of the Certificate in Law & Social Thought have been admitted to top law schools in North America, and many now hold leadership roles as thought leaders and change-makers in government, business and communities.
Arjan Heir
Arjan graduated from Glendon’s psychology program in 2020, where he was in the cognitive neuropsychology stream. His experience in the Certificate in Law and Social Thought Program has prepared him to examine legal and social structures through a critical lens as he now begins law school at Columbia University, New York. His highlights of the program include the in-depth philosophical analysis of real-world case studies, vibrant debates on contemporary issues spanning from the ethics of intimate relationships to legal paternalism, and finding a community of fellow students who are also passionate about social and legal topics.
Amanda Sears
Amanda completed a BA double major in Political Science and Philosophy at Glendon in 2020. The Certificate in Law and Social Thought equipped her with a strong grasp of the sociopolitical context and theoretical underpinnings of the existing legal framework in North America. During her time in the program, Amanda was able to hone her critical thinking skills, develop her abilities in argumentation, and refine her analytical techniques. These skills have prepared her to study a Masters in Philosophy with a specialization in Biomedical Ethics at McGill University as a member of the inaugural McCall MacBain scholarship cohort. Only 20 Canadian graduates are awarded this prestigious and comprehensive leadership-based scholarship.
