Legal Studies
Department of Law
Loeb Building C473
Tel.: 613-520-3690
carleton.ca/law
- Certificate in Conflict Resolution (listed under Conflict Resolution)
- M.A. Legal Studies
- Ph.D. Legal Studies
M.A. Legal Studies
About the Program
The M.A. program provides an interdisciplinary, theoretical, and research-oriented approach to studying law as a social and political institution, with emphasis on the relationship between law and social transformation. The plan of studies includes a range of fields linked by a common theoretical and methodological concern with the way law shapes and is shaped by its social environment. The program is designed to develop the conceptual and analytical skills required for conducting independent research on law and society.
The research and teaching interests of faculty members in the Department include the following areas of specialization:
- Crime, Governance and Security
- Globalization, International Law and Transnational Justice
- Citizenship, Human Rights and Political Economy
- Gender, Sexuality and Identity
- Law, History, Culture and Humanities
- Conflict Resolution
Academic Regulations
See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
Admission Requirements
The requirement for admission into the M.A. program in Legal Studies is an Honours bachelor's degree or the equivalent, with at least high honours standing.
Applicants will be considered for admission on the basis of their academic background and standing. Where relevant, previous professional experience may be taken into account.
The Supervisor of Graduate Studies may, in some circumstances, recommend that applicants with exceptional promise who have less than BA (Honours) status be admitted into a qualifying-year program designed to raise their standing to honours status.
Applicants without a background in law may be required to complete one or more designated courses from the department's undergraduate program before taking courses towards the master's degree.
Application deadlines can be found at: https://gsapplications.carleton.ca/
Program Requirements
In consultation with the supervisor of graduate studies, each candidate is required to complete one of the following programs of studies:
- 3.0 credits and a 2.0-credit thesis (LAWS 5909), which includes an oral examination.
- 4.0 credits and a 1.0-credit research essay (LAWS 5908)
- All students are required to take LAWS 5000 and LAWS 5001. These courses provide students with a common theoretical and interdisciplinary framework for the program.
- In addition, students are encouraged to take 0.5 credit in a related discipline, in consultation with the supervisor of graduate studies.
- All students must obtain satisfactory grades in their course work; make satisfactory progress in their research; maintain a close working relationship with their thesis or research essay supervisors; and attend seminars on current research and related topics.
Thesis/Research Essay
The thesis or research essay must represent the result of the candidate's independent research undertaken after being admitted into graduate studies in the Department of Law. Previous work of the candidate may be used only as introductory or background material for the thesis or research essay.
A student may carry on research work related to the thesis or research essay off campus if the work is approved in advance and supervision arrangements have been made with the supervisor of graduate studies.
Guidelines for Completion of Master's Degree
Full-time students are expected to complete the required two courses, LAWS 5000 and LAWS 5001, and either an additional 2.0 credits (for those following the thesis program), or an additional 3.0 credits (for those following the research essay program) by the end of the second term of registration. The thesis or research essay should normally be submitted by the end of the fourth term of study.
Part-time students are expected to complete the required two courses, LAWS 5000 and LAWS 5001, and either an additional 2.0 credits (for those following the thesis program) or an additional 3.0 credits (for those following the research essay program) by the end of their third year of study. The thesis or rsearch essay should normally be submitted by the end of the fifth year of study.
Selection of Courses in Related Disciplines
In addition to the graduate courses offered by the Department of Law, students in the M.A. program are encouraged to take at least 0.5 credit in a related discipline, in consultation with the supervisor of graduate studies.
Students can propose taking a graduate level course from any department in the University but the following disciplines tend to provide courses of particular interest to Legal Studies students: Canadian Studies, Economics, Geography, History, International Affairs, Journalism and Communication, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology and Anthropology, Social Work.
Ph.D. Legal Studies
About the Program
The Department of Law is uniquely representative of, and committed to, the diverse and polyvocal traditions that link social, political and legal theory into the discipline of Legal Studies. Its commitment to theoretical, methodological and conceptual diversity and to productive engagement across traditions is a distinct strength of our faculty and we seek to encourage a broad theoretical competency and engagement in our graduate students. Within this commitment to a diverse and broad program of study, doctoral students also select one field of concentration from the following three:
Crime, Law and Security
This field explores historical and contemporary debates around the social, political, economic and cultural contingencies of crime and security as mediated through law. Both the state and civil society's responses are analyzed in the context of discourses and representations of crime and its control, governmental rationalities and crime control strategies, regulatory regimes, public and private surveillance, and both state and non-state acts of violence and coercion.
Human Rights, Citizenship and Global Justice
This field focuses on the ways law has been implicated in the social, political and economic transformations wrought by globalization, and the constitutive relation between these processes and human rights, citizenship, and global justice. It questions citizenship as traditionally conceptualized as the rights and obligations attached to membership in the nation-state in relation to the changing contours of law, sovereignty and democracy under globalizing conditions and the “War on Terror”.
Law, Regulation and Governance
This field focuses on the historical and contemporary place of law and regulation in the processes, discourses, knowledges and practices of governance. Emphasis is placed on investigating law and state as distinct sources of regulation, while examining wider forms of domestic and global governance. Particular focus is placed on the diversity of law-governance relationships both within and between regulatory regimes.
Academic Regulations
See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
Note: Doctoral students must normally obtain a grade of B- or better in each course counted toward the fulfillment of the requirements of the degree.
Admission Requirements
Applicants will normally hold a master's degree (or equivalent) with at least an A- average. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the department and the graduate program, applications are accepted from a wide variety of backgrounds, including, but not limited to, legal studies, political science, history, criminology, sociology, women's studies and philosophy. In cases of uncertainty, potential applicants are encouraged to contact the Graduate Supervisor as to the suitability of their background. Depending on their academic background, applicants may be asked to complete course work in addition to the Ph.D. program requirements.
Program Requirements
Students admitted to the Ph.D. program are bound by the General Regulations of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, and are required to complete a total of 10.0 credits as follows:
- 0.5 credit in LAWS 6000 Doctoral Seminar in Legal Studies
- 0.5 credit in LAWS 6001 Proseminar in Legal Studies
- 1.0 credit in LAWS 6095 Field Comprehensive LAWS 6096 Thesis Proposal
- 1.5 credits in approved courses, at least 0.5 of which must be chosen from LAWS 6002, LAWS 6003, or LAWS 6004. Students will normally be required to take the course which relates to their field of study. Optional courses will be selected from a list approved annually by the department. Students may complete up to 1.0 credit of approved courses offered in other departments. Students may also choose directed reading courses with the core faculty of the program.
- Language requirements as noted below.
- 5.5 credits in LAWS 6909 Ph.D. Thesis
Comprehensive Examination and Thesis Proposal
As indicated above, each doctoral candidate must successfully write and pass a field comprehensive examination (LAWS 6095). The examination will focus on the relevant theoretical and methodological issues related to the candidate's field of study:
- Crime, Law and Security
- Human Rights, Citizenship and Global Justice
- Law, Regulation and Governance
The examination can take a variety of forms including, for example, a major paper, a take-home examination, or a course design, each of which may be required to be defended at an oral examination. The exact format of the comprehensive examination is at the discretion of the student's supervisory committee in consultation with the student. This committee will also form the examining board of the comprehensive examination. Evaluation is on the basis of Pass with Distinction/Pass/Fail. LAWS 6095 will normally be completed no later than the end of the fall of the second year of registration in the program. Failure to complete the examination successfully will result in denial of permission to continue in the program.
Also as indicated above, each doctoral candidate must successfully complete and defend a thesis proposal (LAWS 6096). The proposal must be written after the completion of the other course requirements, and normally should be completed by the end of the second year of doctoral study. The proposal is defended at an oral examination conducted by the supervisory committee. Evaluation is on the basis: Pass/Fail. The proposal must be successfully defended before the candidate can register in the Ph.D. Thesis (LAWS 6909).
Thesis
The Ph.D. thesis must be successfully defended at an oral examination.
Language Requirements
Candidates must demonstrate reading ability in an approved language, other than English, normally by successfully completing a translation examination during the second year of full-time enrolment in the program.
Period of Study
This program is designed to be completed in four years of full-time study. Students admitted to part-time study will normally complete all requirements within eight years of registration.
Selection of Courses in Related Disciplines
In addition to the graduate courses offered by the Department of Law, students in the Ph.D. program are permitted to take up to 1.0 credit of courses in a related discipline, in consultation with the Graduate Supervisor.
Students should be aware that the number of spaces in graduate courses offered by other departments may be limited, and that registration may be conditional upon obtaining the prior approval of the department concerned. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that permission is obtained from the appropriate department prior to registering in any of the department's courses.
For an up-to-date listing of offerings and course descriptions in other departments, please consult the graduate calendar and the class schedule at https://central.carleton.ca.
