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School of Criminology | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Simon Fraser University Calendar | Fall 2025

Legal Studies Minor

Program Declaration and Continuation

Students with a minimum 2.25 cumulative grade point average (CGPA)* apply for program declaration to the School of Criminology after completing 30 units including all of the criminology lower division requirements with minimum C- grades.

To continue in the minor, students must maintain a 2.25 CGPA. Students whose CGPA falls below 2.25 cannot enroll in any upper division CRIM courses.

*transfer students who meet the criminology program declaration requirements upon admission to SFU may use their admission CGPA for declaration purposes

Program Requirements

Lower Division Requirements

All of

CRIM 135 - Introduction to Canadian Law and Legal Institutions: A Criminal Justice Perspective (3)
CRIM 230 - Criminal Law (3)
POL 151 - Justice and Law (3)

Upper Division Course Access and Requirements

Students with a minimum 2.25 CGPA are eligible to enroll in upper division criminology courses upon successful completion of 60 units and criminology program declaration.

Note that same upper division course may not be used for formal credit in both the criminology major and the legal studies minor. Students cannot obtain credit for both the post baccalaureate diploma in legal studies and this minor program.

Students complete a minimum of 15 upper division units including

at least two of the following courses

CRIM 330 - Criminal Procedure and Evidence (3)
CRIM 331 - Advanced Criminal Law (3)
CRIM 335 - Human Rights and Civil Liberties (3)
CRIM 338 - Philosophy of Law (3)

and the remainder of the 15 units chosen from the upper division courses listed above or below. Students must ensure they have necessary lower division prerequisites.

Criminology majors who wish to complete this minor must complete six of the upper division units in a discipline outside of their major.

BUS 393 - Commercial Law (3)
CRIM 314 - Mental Disorder, Criminality and the Law (3)
CRIM 317 - Sex, Work, and the Law (3)
CRIM 332 - Sociology of Law (3)
CRIM 344 - Sentencing: Theory, Law and Practice (3)
CRIM 416 - Current Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice (3) *
CRIM 417 - Current Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice (3) *
CRIM 418 - Current Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice (3) *
CRIM 429 - Indigenous Peoples and International Law (3)
CRIM 438 - Wrongful Convictions and Other Miscarriages of Justice (3)
ECON 427W - Industrial Organization: Law and Economics (3)
EDUC 445 - Legal Context of Teaching (4)
EDUC 446 - Law for the Classroom Teacher (4)
EDUC 448 - Teaching about Justice, Law and Citizenship (4)
GEOG 440 - Property, Land, Society (4)
GSWS 411 - Special Topics in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (4) **
HIST 443W - Aboriginal Peoples, History and the Law (4) or INDG 443W - Aboriginal Peoples, History and the Law (4)
PHIL 320 - Social and Political Philosophy (3)
PHIL 321 - Topics in Moral Philosophy (3)
PHIL 326 - Topics in Law and Philosophy (3)
PHIL 329 - Law and Justice (3)
POL 324 - The Canadian Constitution (4)
POL 344 - International Law (4)
POL 346 - International Organization (4)
POL 351 - Immigration, Integration, and Public Policy in Canada (4)
POL 417 - Human Rights Theories (4)
POL 459 - Selected Topics in Governance (4) *
PSYC 379 - Selected Topics in Clinical Forensic Psychology (3)
REM 319 - Environmental and Planning Law (3)

Check with the school for additional relevant courses.

Declared criminology students may not take CRIM 301 for credit.

* when offered as a legal topic

** when offered as the topic Women and the Law

Graduation Requirements

Students must obtain a minimum grade of C- in all required courses. In addition to normal university grade point average requirements, the School of Criminology requires the following: for graduation, students must obtain a minimum 2.25 CGPA, 2.25 UDGPA, 2.25 criminology course CGPA (calculated on all CRIM courses completed at SFU), and 2.25 criminology course UDGPA (calculated on all upper division CRIM courses completed at SFU).

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Degree Requirements

For all bachelor of arts (BA) programs, students complete 120 units, which includes

  • at least 60 units that must be completed at Simon Fraser University
  • at least 45 upper division units, of which at least 30 upper division units must be completed at Simon Fraser University
  • at least 60 units (including 21 upper division units) in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses
  • satisfaction of the writing, quantitative, and breadth requirements
  • an overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and upper division overall CGPA of at least 2.0, and program CGPA and upper division program CGPA of at least 2.0 on the course work used to satisfy the minimum program requirements. FASS departments may define additional GPA requirements for their respective programs.

For students in other faculties, please check your faculty's overall degree requirements: https://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/faculties-research.html

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to Simon Fraser University beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit

Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at Simon Fraser University within the student's major subject; two courses (minimum three units each)

Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division; two courses (total six units or more)
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth

Must be outside the student's major subject, and may be lower or upper division:

Two courses (total six units or more) Social Sciences: B-Soc
Two courses (total six units or more) Humanities: B-Hum
Two courses (total six units or more) Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth

Two courses (total six units or more) outside the student's major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements).

Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.