Welcome to the Department of Law and Legal Studies
Why choose a BA in Law?
Hear what our students and graduates have to say.
Carly, BA/15 Law (Honours)
Hear Carly speak about opportunities in and beyond the classroom, including student led initiatives, research positions, work placements, and more.
Mustafa, BA/09 in Law (Honours)
Hear Mustafa speak about the support he received from professors and how the interdisciplinary courses offered in the BA Law program allow students to pursue a wide variety of career options.
Sangmi, Year 4 BA Law Student
Hear Sangmi speak about how her co-op placements complemented both her legal studies education and future career goals.
The Department of Law and Legal Studies offers Canada’s premier programs for the interdisciplinary study of the law and beyond. These innovative programs explore the dynamic interaction between law and society nationally, transnationally and internationally.
Located in the national capital, on unceded Algonquin territory, we are Canada’s oldest and largest undergraduate program in Legal Studies, and the first University in Canada to offer a MA in Legal Studies and the second to offer a PhD. Learn more about our history.
Why Legal Studies?
Law is not just for lawyers. Laws and legal actors shape and impact our lives everyday! Laws can protect our freedoms, but may also impose limits on our actions and opportunities. Laws can protect us, or confine and oppress us. Laws can help us address fundamental challenges we face as a society, or impose obstacles in our attempts to deal with these challenges. How will you address today’s legal and social challenges?
Legal Studies strives to understand the nature and impact of law, legal actors and institutions integrating questions and methods drawn from a number of different disciplinary fields including communications, criminology, cultural studies, history, law, legal anthropology, political economy, political theory, and sociology. Legal Studies focuses on the complex nature of the interaction between law and other social fields to foster inquiry into and understanding of the dynamics of law, including its rules, agents, institutions and power structures.
Why Legal Studies at Carleton University?
Come be a part of the biggest and most vibrant centre for interdisciplinary Legal Studies research and teaching in North America! No other university in North America has as many full-time professors engaged in researching and teaching in the field of Legal Studies. Our department has more than 35 full-time professors, including award-winning researchers and teachers, who engage in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in a number of fields. Many courses in our department are taught by practitioners, including lawyers working in private practice, government departments and non-governmental organizations. We also have an Activist in Residence program that provides our students access to an expert in human rights activism.
We offer a variety of activities outside the classroom. Our department hosts a wide range of academic and networking events that include speakers from around the world. Our student association also organizes a number of activities, including social events and the annual Capital Cup Mooting competition. And don’t forget the benefits of our capital advantage!
Learn more about our award-winning students.
Welcome New and Returning Students
See the video message from the Department Chair, Zeina Bou-Zeid.
Our Undergraduate Programs Advantage
The Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton offers the most programs and the most courses of any legal studies program in North America.
We offer a choice of four undergraduate degree programs, over 75 courses in law, co-op options, internship courses and access to research and study opportunities unique to Carleton University and Canada’s capital city.
Find our more about what makes our undergraduate programs unique from our Quick Facts.
Where can a BA degree in Law take you?
Our Groundbreaking Graduate Programs
MA Program in Legal Studies
The MA program is organized around the theme of law and social transformation, fostering a rigorous and critical understanding of law and relations of governance. Students can choose from a thesis, a research essay, and a coursework-only option. MA students may also participate in an internship with the UNHCR.
PhD Program in Legal Studies
The PhD program in Legal Studies is designed for students with advanced research interests in the interdisciplinary study of law and is suitable for those seeking both academic jobs or careers requiring advanced research and analysis skills, including policy work. See what our current PhD students are working on.
