Law and Society (PhD)
In our PhD program, you’ll study applied legal methodology and conduct original research. You’ll work closely with your supervisor as well as experts in other disciplines, such as political science, Indigenous governance or sociology.
You’ll study for a candidacy exam and work on a doctoral dissertation. You’ll defend the culminating work in an oral defense.
| Expected length | Project or thesis | Course-based |
|---|---|---|
| 4-5 years (12-15 academic terms) | Yes | No |
Quick facts
- Program options:
- Doctorate
- Study options:
- Full-time study
- Program delivery:
- On-campus
Outcomes
Students in this program will:
- develop a deep and advanced interdisciplinary specialization within the scope of their dissertation project
- apply appropriate discipline and project specific methods
- acquire broader disciplinary knowledge
- gain the ability to understand and evaluate past and emerging research within their research field
- acquire foundational knowledge and experience for an academic or research-intensive career
- gain skills to effectively communicate disciplinary knowledge to legal community and broader public
Find a supervisor
All graduate students must have a faculty member who serves as their academic supervisor. When you apply:
- you must specify the faculty member(s) you would like to work with, and explain why
- this faculty member does not need to agree to be your supervisor before you apply, but you can reach out to faculty member(s) to seek their interest in principle
Please review faculty profiles and their areas of graduate supervision to find someone whose supervision interests align with your research aspirations.
Alan Hanna
Associate Professor Indigenous legal orders, contract law, Aboriginal law, Indigenous governance and jurisdiction, Indigenous rights and title.
Accepting graduate students
Andrew Newcombe
Associate Dean, Academic and Student Relations and Professor International arbitration, international investment law, international economic law
Andrew Luesley
Assistant Professor Contracts, remedies, blockchain and crypto commerce, business and company law, consumer protection, and access to justice.聽
Asad Kiyani
Associate Professor Race and criminal law, police powers, international criminal law, Third World approaches to international law, legal pluralism, postcolonial theory, critical race theory, citizenship
Accepting graduate students
Bradley Bryan
Associate Professor Taxation law, Indigenous taxation, Indigenous corporate structures, legal theories engaging postcolonial and critical race theory
Accepting graduate students
Chris Tollefson
Professor Environmental and climate law, criminal law and procedure, joint governance and decision-making (Indigenous-Crown), forestry law, contaminated sites
Accepting graduate students
Christopher Heslinga
Director of the Law Centre and Assistant Teaching Professor Clinical legal education, poverty law, human rights law, residential tenancy law, employment law, administrative law
Colin Macleod
Professor Jurisprudence, children's rights, moral and political philosophy, theories of justice
Accepting graduate students
Darcy Lindberg
Assistant Professor Indigenous legal orders, Cree law and governance, constitutional law, ecological governance and Indigenous law, treaties and Indigenous law.
Accepting graduate students
David Milward
Professor Criminal law, evidence, Indigenous law, Indigenous justice
Accepting graduate students
Deborah Curran
Professor Environmental law, water law, water governance, municipal and land use law, natural resources, regulatory design
Accepting graduate students
Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey
Professor Torts, remedies, insurance, critical race and feminist theories
Estair Van Wagner
Associate Professor Property, natural resources, housing and homelessness, Aboriginal law, Indigenous rights
Accepting graduate students
Freya Kodar
Dean of Law Income security, disability and the law, debtor & creditor relations, torts, pensions, consumer law
Accepting graduate students
Funmilola Ayotunde
Assistant Professor Natural resources development, business and human rights, international environmental law and international human rights law
Accepting graduate students
Geoffrey Loomer
Associate Professor Tax law, tax policy, individual income tax, corporate income tax, international tax
Accepting graduate students
Gillian Calder
Professor Constitutional law and theories, family law, feminist legal theories, critical legal and arts-based pedagogies, legal education, performance theories, law and theatre, queering law, law and emotions.
Accepting graduate students
John Borrows
Professor Constitutional law, Indigenous law, natural resources law, comparative constitutionalism, Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, and law and religion
Kathryn Chan
Professor Not-for-profit law, law and religion, constitutional law
Accepting graduate students
Maneesha Deckha
Professor and Lansdowne Chair Animal law and ethics, feminist jurisprudence, administrative law, rule of law, socio-legal analysis
Accepting graduate students
Mark Gillen
Professor Securities regulation, business associations, trusts, tax, competition law, and historical foundations of the common law
Accepting graduate students
Mary Anne Vallianatos
Assistant Professor Canadian legal history, Asian Canadian history, critical race studies
Accepting graduate students
Michelle Lawrence
Professor & Director, Access to Justice Centre for Excellence Criminal law, evidence law, access to justice
Accepting graduate students
Patricia Cochran
Associate Dean, Administration and Research, and Associate Professor Constitutional law, theories of judgement, democracy and legality, multijuralism, law and humanities
Pooja Parmar
Associate Professor, President鈥檚 Chair in Law and Indigeneity in a Global Context Legal pluralism, legal history, legal ethics, Indigeneity, international human rights law, research methodology
Accepting graduate students
Rebecca Johnson
Professor Business associations, legal theory, law and film, criminal law, law and popular culture, Indigenous legal research, legal pedagogy, legal method, gender.
Accepting graduate students
Robert Lapper
Professor, David and Dorothy Lam Chair in Law and Public Policy Public law, access to justice, aboriginal law, alternate dispute resolution, professional regulation.
Robert Howell
Professor Intellectual property, cultural property, technology, telecommunications, private international law (conflict of laws), and Asia-Pacific issues.
Accepting graduate students
Sara Ramshaw
Professor Arts-based approaches to law; law and the humanities; family law; feminist/intersectional legal theory; improvisation and the law; music and the law; critical legal studies; critical contract law; and poststructural legal theory.
Accepting graduate students
Sarah Morales
Associate Dean Indigenous & Director, JD/JID Program, and Associate Professor Torts, transsystemic torts, Coast Salish law and languages, legal research and writing and field schools
Accepting graduate students
Tim Richards
Associate Teaching Professor Legal skills, administrative law, social welfare law, children and the law
Val Napoleon
Professor Indigenous legal traditions and methodologies (e.g., land, water, governance and democracy, gender and human rights, and families), Indigenous legal theories, Indigenous feminisms, legal pluralism, Indigenous democracies, and Indigenous intellectual property. In the JD/JID, she teaches common law property combined with Gitxsan land and property.
Accepting graduate students
Victor V. Ramraj
Professor of Law, Chair in Asia-Pacific Legal Relations Comparative constitutional law, comparative administrative law, transnational law, law and society in Southeast Asia, emergency powers, law and complexity
Accepting graduate students
Program details
Providing you accurate admission requirements, application deadlines, tuition fee estimates and scholarships depends on your situation. Tell us about yourself:
Program details
Application deadlines
Admission requirements
Program specific requirements
Please note that the minimum language requirements for the Faculty of Law admissions are higher than the minimums set by the 樱花影视.
As part of your application, you must submit:
- A curriculum vitae
- A full dissertation proposal (five-page maximum). You can revise this proposal during your time in the program
- A sample of your research writing, e.g. a completed segment of a master’s thesis or published article
- The names and email addresses of two references. Your references should be professors or another authority familiar with your academic work
Program specific requirements
Please note that the minimum language requirements for the Faculty of Law admissions are higher than the minimums set by the 樱花影视.
As part of your application, you must submit:
- A curriculum vitae
- A full dissertation proposal (five-page maximum). You can revise this proposal during your time in the program
- A sample of your research writing, e.g. a completed segment of a master’s thesis or published article
- The names and email addresses of two references. Your references should be professors or another authority familiar with your academic work
Completion requirements
Funding & aid
Tuition & fees
Estimated minimum program cost*
* Based on an average program length. For a per term fee breakdown view the tuition fee estimator.
Estimated values determined by the tuition fee estimator shall not be binding to the 樱花影视.
Ready to apply?
You can start your online application to UVic by creating a new profile or using an existing one.
Faculties & departments
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Need help?
Contact Tiffany Gordon at gradlawadm@uvic.ca or 250-721-8913.