Law

General Information

Contact Information

Faculty of Law

Location: Murray and Anne Fraser Building, Room 119

Mailing Address:

Courier Address:

Telephone Number: 250-721-8913

Fax Number: 250-721-6390

Email: gradlaw@uvic.ca

Website: <www.law.uvic.ca/grad>

Dean: Professor Donna Greschner

Graduate Adviser: Hester Lessard, Director of Graduate Programs

Graduate Assistant: Lorinda Fraser

Degrees and Specializations Offered

The Faculty of Law offers programs of study leading to the degrees of Master of Laws in Law and Society and Doctor of Philosophy in Law and Society. The programs provide an opportunity for advanced research at the intersection of “Law and Society” and are rigorously interdisciplinary both in their coursework and research components. In many cases, students will be expected to have two supervisors, one from the Faculty of Law and one from another faculty.

Both programs require full-time registration. The program is especially appropriate for students interested in any of the following areas of concentration:

• Aboriginal Law and Indigenous Rights
• Constitutional Law
• Environmental Law and Policy
• Legal Theory, especially Feminist and Critical Legal Theory
• Legal History
• Market Regulation (for example, Employment and Labour Law, International Private and Public Law, and Commercial Law)

Students in other areas may also be admitted if supervisory resources exist. In each area of research, students are required to relate understanding of the law to another body or other bodies of knowledge and practice.

The course requirements for the program consist of:

• a) two core graduate seminars designed to introduce students to fundamental research questions and methodologies;
• b) a set of graduate courses that permit advanced studies in Law organized around students' individual interests or special opportunities provided by visitors to the Faculty;
• c) graduate courses offered by our strong partner faculties; and
• d) upper-level Law undergraduate seminars across a wide range of subjects.

Full information on Law courses can be found on the Faculty's website: <www.law.uvic.ca/>.

In addition, seminars, colloquia, lectures, and conferences provide many special opportunities for collegiality among graduate students and between graduate students and faculty. These include the Victoria Colloquium on Political, Social, and Legal Theory which involves the interaction of theorists with international reputations and students from a variety of disciplines.

Facilities

Students in the Graduate Program in Law and Society have access to a well developed and serviced Priestley Law Library and the University's McPherson Library, which has holdings in excess of 1.9 million volumes. The Faculty of Law also has close links with the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, the Institute for Dispute Resolution, and the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society.

Financial Support

The following financial support is available:

• University of Victoria Fellowships: Doctoral Fellowships (maximum three years) and Master's Fellowships for one year. Students may not hold another major award (e.g., SSHRC) in conjunction with a Fellowship. A grade point average of at least 7.0 (A-) is necessary.
• Law Foundation of British Columbia Graduate Fellowships: Doctoral Fellowships (maximum three years) and Master's Fellowships for one year.

These awards are highly competitive, and eligibility is based on academic performance.