Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Law: Concentration in Criminal Law and Social Order – 20.0 Credits
Study Plan and Course Sequencing
The below guide is based on an academic plan where 5.0 credits are completed in an academic year (2.5 credits in the fall and 2.5 credits in the winter). If you decide to take summer courses or a reduced course load, your study plan may differ. Students are encouraged to reach out to the Undergraduate Administrator for an audit review at least once a year, preferably before registering in courses.
Please note:
- Always refer to your current audit to understand your program’s course requirements. If you see differences between your audit’s stated requirements and the below information, please follow your audit’s guidelines and/or consult with the Undergraduate Administrator.
- The information provided in the planning guide is intended as a guide only. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet the requirements as outlined in the Undergraduate Calendar. Please consult with the Undergraduate Administrator if you have any questions.
- Items marked with an asterisk (*) denote a course that is required for the concentration.
Requirements Chart
You can also review this program’s requirements in an alternative chart format: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Major in Law with Concentration in Criminal Law and Social Order Requirements Chart. (link to come soon)
First Year
First year schedules will generally look the same for all students. Students need to take LAWS 1001 and LAWS 1002. These required courses provide an introduction to legal studies and serve as prerequisites for LAWS 2000-level courses. Students should add LAWS 1001 to their fall schedule and LAWS 1002 to their winter schedule. The rest of the schedule can be filled with Electives/Breadth requirements. If selected, a First Year Seminar (FYSM) course will count as part of your electives.
- LAWS 1001 (0.5 credit)
- LAWS 1002 (0.5 credit)
- Electives/Breadth requirement courses (4.0 credits)
NOTE: if you have transfer credits from another institution, contact the Undergraduate Administrator for Law prior to registering in courses at Carleton.
Second Year
Now that you’ve passed LAWS 1001 and LAWS 1002, you are ready to start taking higher level LAWS courses. You can consider taking the following courses:
- *LAWS 2301 (0.5 credit)
- *LAWS 2302 (0.5 credit)
- Pick one course (0.5 credit): LAWS 2201 or LAWS 2202
- Pick one course (0.5 credit): LAWS 2501 or LAWS 2502
- Pick one course you have not yet taken (0.5 credit): LAWS 2105, LAWS 2201, LAWS 2202, LAWS 2501, LAWS 2502, or LAWS 2601
- LAWS 2908 (0.5 credit)
- Electives/Breadth requirement courses (2.0 credits)
Third Year
In your third year, you should be adding more of your concentration courses to your schedule. Do not forget to check in with the Undergraduate Administrator for an audit review to make sure that you are on track to graduate next year.
- *LAWS 3306 (0.5 credit)
- Pick one course (0.5 credit): LAWS 3305 or LAWS 3308
- *Pick three courses (1.5 credits): LAWS 3209, LAWS 3305, LAWS 3307, LAWS 3308, LAWS 3309, LAWS 3310
- One course in the LAWS 3000 level or above (0.5 credits)
- LAWS 3908 (0.5 credit)
- Electives/Breadth requirement courses (1.5 credits)
Fourth Year
Fourth year will consist of seminar courses that will have approximately 25-30 other students where you will engage with the course material and have discussions. After you registered for your courses, double check your audit to ensure that you are meeting the requirements for graduation, including your Breadth requirements.
- *Pick one course (0.5 credits): LAWS 4305, LAWS 4308 or LAWS 4504
- *Pick two courses (1.0 credits): LAWS 4106, LAWS 4302, LAWS 4303, LAWS 4304, LAWS 4305, LAWS 4306, LAWS 4307, LAWS 4308, LAWS 4309, LAWS 4311, LAWS 4504, LAWS 4702, LAWS 4802, LAWS 4901, LAWS 4902 OR take LAWS 4908 (1.0 credit)
- One course at the LAWS 4000 level or above (0.5 credits)
- Electives/Breadth requirement courses (2.0 credits)
Registration Tips
To help build your schedule and draft up a study plan, visit the Undergraduate Calendar where you can review the course descriptions for all LAWS courses. The calendar contains additional helpful information including prerequisites, preclusions, etc. Please note that we don’t offer all courses every year or every term, so course options will vary year-to-year.
Starting in second year, plan your courses in reverse order. Start reviewing the courses offered in Law by reviewing the Undergraduate Calendar. Select six to ten courses at the 4000-level that you think you might want to take when you get to fourth year. Then, review the prerequisites for these 4000-level LAWS courses. This will help guide your selection of second and third year courses. If thinking of fourth year classes to too far away or you are not sure what you might want to take, review the 3000-level LAWS courses and select your 2000-level course requirements based on these prerequisites. Although it is hard to know exactly what your interests might be in a few years time, or what courses might be offered when you get there, completing this exercise can help.
Make sure you have completed 14.0 credits by the end of your third year so that you have fourth-year standing to be able to register in 4000-level courses for your fourth year. If you have not successfully completed 14.0 credits by the time you are going into your fourth year at Carleton, you will likely receive registration warnings and will not be permitted to registered in 4000-level courses without course overrides.