Law and Society (Minor)

Department Website

Program Description

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. Students wishing to declare this minor should speak with the academic administrator for the Department of Sociology, 295 Lafayette Street, Room 4168; 212-998-8340.

Minor Declaration

To request declaration of a minor, CAS students should visit the host department. To request declaration of a cross-school minor, 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 CAS or cross-school minor.

Program Requirements

The minor requires the completion of 20 credits completed with a grade of C or better (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count), comprised of the following:

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Minor Requirements		Credits
Core Course
Select one of the following:		4
LWSOC-UA 1/POL-UA 335	Law and Society (section 001)
LWSOC-UA 1/SOC-UA 413	Law and Society (section 002)
Methods Course
SOC-UA 301	Research Methods 1	4
Minor Elective Courses
Select three approved electives 2
Elective 1		4
Elective 2		4
Elective 3		4
Total Credits		20

¹

Or another methods course (with approval of the law and society director)

²

Students may petition the director to have other courses count toward the elective requirement.

Students majoring in sociology must take SOC-UA 301 Research Methods for their major; they must therefore 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:

1. An independent study culminating in a research paper or project;
2. An apprenticeship with a faculty member doing relevant research (with permission of faculty), or;
3. A relevant graduate course (with permission of faculty).

Policies

Double-Counting of Courses

Courses applied to this minor cannot be double-counted toward a major or another minor. 

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

College of Arts and Science Policies

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.