Law and Society

What is Honours? In the Honours program, Law and Society students produce an original piece of scholarly research in the form of an Honours thesis. Writing an Honours thesis is a unique opportunity to explore a topic in-depth and is generally between 50-60 pages. Students interested in Honours should contact the Law and Society Coordinator before the end of their third year of study.

What are the requirements? Students undertaking Honours in Law and Society must complete a minimum of 51 credit hours in Law and Society and cross-listed courses. There are 10 required courses (30 credit hours), as well as four courses (12 credit hours) that must be completed from Core Law and Society courses. The remaining three courses (9 credit hours) can be chosen from the Law and Society cross-listed courses. Of the courses completed for Honours, seven courses (21 credit hours) must be at the 3000/4000 level.

Each course offered towards Honours must be completed with a minimum grade of B-. A program GPA of 3.0 is required in order to declare and graduate with Honours.

Required Law and Society Courses for Honours

• LAWS 1003 Introduction to Law and Society
• LAWS 2003 Theories of Law and Justice
• LAWS 3003 Approaches to Law and Society
• LAWS 4003 Issues in Law and Society
• LAWS 407T Honours Thesis 1
• LAWS 408T Honours Thesis 2
• PHIL 2813 Logic and Critical Thinking
• POLS 1303 Introduction to Law, Politics, and Government or SOCI 1013 Introduction to Canadian Society
• ENGL 1413 or 1483 Writing and Reading Critically 1
• ENGL 1423 or 1493 Writing and Reading Critically 2

Note: Students honouring in Law and Society must also complete a Minor in another discipline as part of the BA requirements. Students can declare a Minor at any time, from the Academic Units that offer minors, but should do so before third year to ensure appropriate course selection and program plans. A BA Minor is a minimum of 24 credit hours. For a course to count towards your Minor, you must receive a grade of C- or higher.

Honours Students Resources

• The Law and Society Honours Handbook, which outlines the essential elements of an Honours thesis and the process for completing it, is available on the Law and Society Moodle site.  
• Full regulations for the honours thesis are provided by the Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies Office.
• Templates to help students write a thesis in MS Word and LaTeX are offered by the Learning Technologies Centre and are available HERE.
• Honours theses completed since 2013 are available online through Acadia Library's institutional database, Acadia Scholar.

Major in Law and Society

Students undertaking a Major in Law and Society must complete 42 credit hours in Law and Society and cross-listed courses. There are eight required courses (24 credit hours), as well as four courses (12 credit hours) that must be completed from Core Law and Society courses. The remaining two courses (6 credit hours) can be chosen from the Law and Society cross-listed courses. Of the courses completed for the Major, six courses (18 credit hours) must be at the 3000/4000 level. For a course to count towards your Major, you must receive a grade of C- or higher.

Required Law and Society Courses for Major

• LAWS 1003 Introduction to Law and Society
• LAWS 2003 Theories of Law and Justice
• LAWS 3003 Approaches to Law and Society
• LAWS 4003 Issues in Law and Society
• PHIL 2813 Logic and Critical Thinking
• POLS 1303 Introduction to Law, Politics, and Government or SOCI 1013 Introduction to Canadian Society
• ENGL 1413 or 1483 Writing and Reading Critically 1
• ENGL 1423 or 1493 Writing and Reading Critically 2

Note: Students majoring in Law and Society must also complete a Minor in another discipline. Students can declare a Minor at any time, from the Academic Units that offer minors, but should do so before third year to ensure appropriate course selection and program plans. A BA Minor is a minimum of 24 credit hours. For a course to count towards your Minor, you must receive a grade of C- or higher.

Second Major in Law and Society

Students undertaking a Second Major in Law and Society must complete 36 credit hours in Law and Society and cross-listed courses. There are six required courses (18 credit hours), as well as four courses (12 credit hours) that must be completed from the Core Law and Society courses. The remaining two courses (6 credit hours) can be chosen from the Law and Society cross-listed courses. Of the courses completed for the Second Major, 18 credit hours must be at the 3000/4000 level. The requirements for a Second Major vary by faculty and program of study. In addition to the requirements here, students pursuing a Second Major should consult with their Academic Advisor to ensure that they will meet the requirements for their specific program of study. For a course to count towards your Second Major, you must receive a grade of C- or higher.

Required Law and Society Courses for Second Major

• LAWS 1003 Introduction to Law and Society
• LAWS 2003 Theories of Law and Justice
• LAWS 3003 Approaches to Law and Society
• LAWS 4003 Issues in Law and Society
• PHIL 2813 Logic and Critical Thinking
• POLS 1303 Introduction to Law, Politics, and Government or SOCI 1013 Introduction to Canadian Society

Minor in Law and Society

A Minor in Law and Society has two required courses: LAWS 1003 and LAWS 2003. The remaining courses for the Minor are chosen from Law and Society courses and cross-listed courses. Other than LAWS courses, no more than 12 credit hours can be from a single discipline. For a course to count towards your Minor, you must receive a grade of C- or higher.

Required Law and Society Courses for Minor

• LAWS 1003 Introduction to Law and Society
• LAWS 2003 Theories of Law and Justice

The requirements for a Minor vary by faculty and program of study:

• BA students are required to complete a minimum of 24 credit hours for their Minor program.
• BBA students are required to complete a minimum of 24 credit hours for their Minor program.
• BSc students are generally required to complete a minimum of 18 credit hours for their Minor program, but this depends on program and specialization. If you are a Science student interested in completing a LAWS Minor, you should consult with your program's Academic Advisor in order to confirm your specific minor requirements.

Students can declare a minor at any time, from the Academic Units that offer minors, but should do so before third year to ensure appropriate course selection and program plans.

In addition to the requirements outlined here, students pursuing a Minor should consult with their Academic Advisor to ensure that they will meet the requirements for their specific program of study.