Many of the liberal arts disciplines in the College of Arts and Science provide important perspectives on law and the legal profession. The Law and Society minor, administered by the Department of Sociology, offers undergraduates a meaningful concentration of these courses. The minor is designed to give students an interdisciplinary perspective on law as a social institution and on how law shapes, and is shaped by, a variety of political, religious, cultural, economic, and social forces.
The minor in Law and Society consists of five courses, which allows it to be substantial and broad. The requirement of a core course enhances its coherence. In addition, the minor gives capable and ambitious students opportunities to pursue advanced or specialized study. While prelaw students may well wish to take it, this minor is not aimed specifically at them. For more information and/or to declare the minor, see the department website above.
Minor Declaration
To request declaration of a CAS minor, CAS students should visit the host department. To request declaration of a minor in another NYU school, CAS students should complete the online Minor Application available in their Albert Student Center. Students may also use the Minor Application in Albert to request cancellation of a minor in CAS or in another NYU unit.
Program Requirements
The minor requires the completion of 20 credits with a grade of C or better (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count).
Courses applied to this minor cannot be double-counted toward a major, minor, or Core requirement. Sociology students may double-count SOC-UA 301 Research Methods toward their major, but must take a fourth elective for the Law and Society minor.
With special permission, exceptional students may be allowed, in their senior year and in consultation with the director, to substitute one of the following for one of the elective courses:
an independent study culminating in a research paper or project;
an apprenticeship with a faculty member doing relevant research (with permission of faculty); or
a relevant graduate course (with permission of faculty).
For the "Methods" course requirement, students may use an equivalent methods course with approval of the Law and Society director.
The courses listed in the Curriculum Tab under the "Electives" requirement are preapproved to count as Law and Society electives. In addition to those listed there, other courses may count as electives toward the minor should their topics be deemed appropriate. The Department of Sociology’s website is updated each semester with a list of ad hoc electives that may be counted without first acquiring departmental approval. Students may petition the director to have other courses (not appearing in this Bulletin or on the minor’s website) counted toward the elective requirement.