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The Law & Society concentration provides an opportunity for focused
study of the interaction between law and society from an interdisciplinary
perspective predominantly rooted in the social sciences and humanities:
anthropology, comparative literature, economics, government, history,
philosophy, psychology, science and technology studies, and sociology.
The concentration is open to all undergraduates, but interested students
with majors outside the College of Arts & Sciences are advised to
check their college's policy and procedures regarding external concentrations,
including whether the concentration will be included on their college
transcript. All students completing the concentration will receive a certificate,
and can include their participation in the Law & Society concentration
on a resume or law school application.
In order to allow sufficient time for a coherent program of study to
be developed and completed, students who have an interest in this concentration
are required to register prior to the start of the second semester of
their junior year. Under extenuating circumstances, late registrations
may be accepted at the discretion of the directors, but only if the registrant
has a plan already formulated for completing the concentration's requirements.
Special late registration forms that include the student's plan outline
are available in the EPL office.
The standard Law & Society registration form is available online
(click on the link below) and in the Ethics & Public Life (EPL) office,
240 Goldwin Smith Hall. As part of the registration process, each student
is assigned a Law & Society advisor who is available to provide guidance
with the course selection process and help with other questions and concerns
related to the student's participation in the concentration. The name
and contact information of the assigned advisor are included in a "welcome
e-mail" that is sent shortly after a student's registration form
is received.
FOUR-EVENT REQUIREMENT
Many students find access to and participation in
Law & Society events a particularly beneficial component
of the concentration. Officially registered Law & Society students
are notified of "qualifying" events (usually at least 10 per
semester) and other information related to the concentration through an
e-mail listserve and postings outside the Ethics and Public Life office.
Attendance at a minimum of four events (tracked with sign-in sheets) is
required during the time period between registration and graduation, but
students seeking a broader perspective are encouraged to attend as many
events as they are able.
FOUR-COURSE REQUIREMENT
Law & Society is an interdisciplinary concentration requiring students
to successfully complete four courses (at least 12 credits) from the approved
course list, earning a letter grade no lower than C- in each. Of the four
qualifying courses, at least 2 must be outside the student's major, and
no more than 2 can be in the same subject area. (NOTE: students who have
a double major are permitted to select one major as the dominant and use
applicable courses from the second major toward the four-course requirement.)
Appropriate courses taken prior to registering for the Law & Society
concentration can be counted toward the four-course requirement. There
are no required courses, but past students have found GOVT 313 and PSYCH
265 particularly relevant.
At the discretion of the Law & Society directors, permission may
be granted to substitute an appropriate course that has been:
1. accepted from another educational institution toward the student's
degree program (1 course maximum)
2. taken as part of a semester abroad program
3. recently added to the Cornell curriculum
The best evidence of a course's appropriateness is the syllabus, which
is often available online and can be submitted electronically to one of
the directors for their determination. Petitions for course substitutions
should be submitted prior to the student's final semester.
To facilitate tracking of courses taken/events attended, a printable
Student Progress
Record can be accessed electronically or obtained as a preprinted
form from the EPL office.
The Law & Society concentration is administered by the Ethics and
Public Life (EPL) office. For more information, contact the EPL Administrative
Assistant at 240 Goldwin Smith Hall, epl@cornell.edu,
or 607-255-8515.
Law & Society Co-Directors
Risa Lieberwitz (ILR), 287A Ives Hall,
255-3289, rll5@cornell.edu
Michael Lynch (Science & Technology), 302 Rockefeller Hall
255-7294, mel27@cornell.edu
Law & Society Faculty Advisors
The Law and Society Program is an activity
of
the Program on Ethics and Public Life.
Cornell undergraduates interested in applying to law school
should refer to the Cornell
Career Services web page
Last updated
September 1, 2005
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