The Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton offers four undergraduate degree programs, four areas of concentration, over 75 courses in law and legal studies, service learning placements and co-ops, and access to research and study opportunities that you are not likely to find anywhere else in the country.
On this page, you will find information on how the programs work, how to read your audit, how to get academic support, details regarding special courses, extracurricular learning opportunities, student resources are more.
Thinking about becoming a student? Head over to our Future Students page to learn more about our programs and the student experience.
Program Requirements
Undergraduate Program Requirements
Honours Law Concentrations
BGINS – Global Law and Social Justice
Minor in Law
Program Features and Opportunities
First Year Seminar
Special Topics Courses
Tutorial in Law
Honours Research Essay
Service Learning Placements (Internships)
Experiential Learning Opportunities
Student Research Opportunities
Career Paths
Student Support
Course Enrolment and Registration
Understanding Your Academic Audit
Academic Advising Services
Academic Accommodation
Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries
Student Experience
Additional Resources
Carleton Law and Legal Studies Society
Library – Law Research Resources
Student Guides and Resources
Undergraduate Program Requirements
Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
A more rigorous and extensive study of law, the Bachelor of Art (Honours) program requires 20.0 credits for completion. This four-year program allows students to explore multiple areas of law and legal studies, ranging from criminal law and criminalization to human rights and constitutional rights protection, business law, and international law. Students receive a robust training in critical, interdisciplinary, theoretically-informed analysis and develop skills in both legal and interdisciplinary research. A wide range of specialized seminar courses are available in the final year of the program. Students also have the option of completing an Honours Research Essay in their final year. Full program requirements: BA (Honours) Law.
Combined Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
Combine your BA in Law major with another discipline, including our interdisciplinary program in Human Rights. The Bachelor of Arts Combined (Honours) program requires 20.0 credits, 6.5 credits of which are for the Law Major and provides students with the opportunity to complement their interdisciplinary study of law with another discipline. Full program requirements: BA Combined (Honours).
Bachelor of Arts
The Bachelor of Arts program requires 15.0 credits, normally completed after three years of study. This three-year program provides students with foundational knowledge about the functions and roles of law in society and legal research. It introduces students to the critical study of law, legal actors and institutions. Full program requirements: BA Law.
Honours Law Concentrations
A Concentration is a series of thematically linked courses that enable Honours students to focus their study on a significant area of legal studies, as seen below. Honours students who add a Concentration to their program will take a series of 2000-, 3000-, and 4000-level courses that focus their degree studies. The concentration does not add additional credit requirements to the total 20.0 credits required in Honours BA programs. Concentrations are optional additions for students in the Honours Law programs.
Eligibility and Enrolment
Concentrations are open to students in the Law Honours BA and Law Combined Honours BA programs. Students are encouraged to choose a concentration at the beginning of the second year of their program.
Thinking about adding a concentration? Review the below concentrations for more details. Ready to enrol? Review the Registrar’s Office’s Change of Program Elements guide.
Changing Concentrations
Students who are already enrolled in a concentration may modify their concentration enrolment. Students are encouraged to contact the Undergraduate Administrator (advisor) to review academic plans prior to making changes. Find out how to change your program elements via the Registrar’s Office’s Change of Program Elements guide.
| Concentration in Business Law | Learn about how law both facilitates and regulates power (especially economic power) as it shapes the environment in which individuals, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations operate. Learn more. |
| Concentration in Law, Policy and Government | Learn about the role of law in facilitating and regulating the powers of public institutions and actors, and the ways that legal frameworks (e.g. constitutions, citizenship, administrative regulations, etc.) fundamentally shape relationships between individuals or groups, and the state; examine critical intersections of legal and political power. Learn more. |
| Concentration in Transnational Law and Human Rights | Learn about the potential (and limits) of law in addressing human rights issues both in Canada and internationally, while also considering the development of transnational approaches to law and human rights. Learn more. |
| Concentration in Criminal Law and Social Order *NEW* | Learn about the role of criminal law and the criminal justice system’s actors and institutions (including the police, the courts, prisons, etc.) in shaping dominant forms and understandings of social order and state power. Learn More |
BGINS – Global Law and Social Justice
The Department of Law and Legal Studies is one of the participating departments in the Bachelor of Global and International Studies (BGINS), where it sponsors the 20.0 credit specialization and 15.0 credit stream in Global Law and Social Justice. The BGINS program helps students prepare for careers in immigration and refugee agencies, national and international justice institutions, post-conflict oriented international development organizations, international peace and security organizations, human rights organizations and more.
The BGINS specialization and stream is administered by the BGINS program. For full program requirements, please visit the BGInS program website.
Minor in Law
If you are studying a discipline outside of Law but would still like to include legal studies in your education, the four-credit Minor in Law is a great way to explore legal concepts.
Students enrolled in the Minor in Law can choose courses from the areas of social justice, criminal justice, international law, and more. Full program requirements: Minor in Law.
Mention – Français
Students in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts (Honours), or combined Bachelor of Arts (Honours) may earn the notation Mention – Français by completing part of their program in French.