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Socio-Legal Studies

Overview

This page was first published on 13 November 2025 and was last amended on 26 November 2025. View details of the changes below.

Socio-Legal Studies is the study of legal ideas, practices and institutions in their social, cultural and historical contexts. In this program of study, you will examine the institutions that make and enforce laws –parliament, the courts and the police. You will also study how policy is developed and implemented in relation to law and social justice issues. Throughout the major you will learn about legal practices across a diverse range of topics. These include arrest and imprisonment, Indigenous peoples' experience of law and policing, how law has shaped the LGBTIQA+ communities, surveillance, protest, and the development of human rights. Throughout, you will consider the broader question of what constitutes 'justice'.

In your first-year units you will be introduced to the key ideas and concepts that socio-legal scholars have developed to help understand the world. You will gain an understanding of the foundations of the Australian legal system and examine how law and society interact by engaging with contemporary socio-legal issues and policy. You will also become familiar with the methods and techniques that will enable you to undertake your own research. Your senior units will consolidate your grasp of theory, research methods and enable you to analyse particular socio-legal studies topics and issues. These include, the philosophy of law and justice, gender and the law, race, law and human rights, animals and the environment and law, the changing international regime of human rights and enforcement, social movement activism and forms of law and policing.

You will engage with these aspects of socio-legal studies in lectures and tutorials, but also in the real world. You will learn to write and think in socio-legal terms using essays, reports, oral group work, posters, debates, and new media.

Requirements for completion

The Socio-legal Studies major and minor requirements are listed in the Socio-legal Studies unit of study table.

Advanced coursework

Requirements and units of study for advanced coursework can be found on the advanced coursework units of study page.

Honours

The one year Socio-Legal Studies Honours program is designed for students who are interested in studying and understanding legal ideas, institutions and practices from the perspectives of the humanities and social sciences. It provides an opportunity to engage with the ever-changing relationship between law and society. The program consists of two advanced level seminar courses and the preparation of an 18, 000 - 20, 000-word honours thesis based on original research on a topic of the student’s choice. The Socio-Legal Studies honours thesis is an independent research project that is planned and completed under supervision and guidance of a member of the Discipline. Socio-Legal Studies Honours offers high achieving students the opportunity to develop superior research, writing and communication skills, which prepares graduates for careers in research, policy and related areas. It also provides a pathway into postgraduate study.

Honours admission requirements

Admission to honours is via the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and requires the completion of a major in Socio-Legal Studies with an average of 70 percent or above.

Prior to commencing, you will need to ensure you have completed all other requirements of the Bachelor of Arts or other bachelor degree, including Open Learning Environment (OLE) units. For pre-July 2024 students, where undertaking Bachelor of Advanced Studies, a second major is also required.

Requirements and units of study for honours can be found on the Socio-legal Studies honours units of study page.

Contacts and further information

Discipline of Sociology and Criminology website
Undergraduate Coordinator: sociology.undergradcoordinator@sydney.edu.au

Post-publication amendments

Date	Original publication	Post-publication amendment
27/11/2025	Socio-Legal Studies section published as: The Requirements for completion section stated that the Socio-Legal Studies major and minor requirements were listed in the Socio-Legal Studies unit of study table. The Advanced coursework section consisted only of a link to the advanced coursework units of study page. Honours was described as a one-year program consisting of two advanced-level seminar courses and an 18,000–20,000 word honours thesis based on original research. The thesis was described as an independent project completed under the supervision of a member of the Discipline. Honours was presented as an opportunity to develop superior research, writing and communication skills and as a pathway to careers in research, policy and related areas and to postgraduate study. Honours admission requirements Admission was via the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and required completion of a major in Socio-Legal Studies with an average of 70 percent or above. Students needed to have completed all other requirements of their bachelor’s degree, including OLE units, and for pre-July 2024 Bachelor of Advanced Studies students, a second major was also required.	Socio-Legal Studies section amended to: The Requirements for completion section now states that the requirements of the major and minor in Socio-legal Studies are listed in the Socio-Legal Studies unit of study table. The Advanced coursework section now specifies that Bachelor of Advanced Studies combined-degree students must complete 24 credit points of advanced coursework, including a minimum of 12 credit points of project units. Honours is now described as an additional year of full-time undergraduate study following completion of a bachelor’s degree with a major in the discipline. The revised section emphasises development of research skills through advanced-level coursework and a supervised independent research project, completed throughout the year and culminating in a thesis of approximately 20,000 words. The research project must make an original contribution to knowledge. The new text highlights Honours as a pathway to higher degree by research and notes employer recognition of the analytical and communication skills developed. Students now complete: • two seminar units of study relevant to their research project (one core and one selective); and • a substantial independent research project culminating in a thesis of approximately 20,000 words, completed under academic supervision. Requirements and units of study for honours are listed in the Socio-Legal Studies honours unit of study table. Admission requirements Honours may be undertaken in appended honours degrees such as the Bachelor of Arts (Honours). Applicants must have completed the requirements of a bachelor’s degree including a major in Socio-Legal Studies with a minimum weighted average mark of 70 (or equivalent). Pre-July 2024 Bachelor of Advanced Studies students must also have a second major. Admission is subject to the availability of appropriate supervision. Students are advised to contact the Discipline Honours Coordinator during the final semester of their bachelor’s degree for application guidance.