Criminal Law Concentration
Our Criminal Law concentration offers comprehensive study spanning theory and policy, historical development, and current doctrine, in both domestic and international contexts. You'll gain a nuanced understanding of key debates in this multifaceted field that intersects multiple academic disciplines while addressing critical issues in domestic and international public policy and social justice.
Study with leading criminal law scholars who bring diverse methodological approaches to complex legal questions. Explore how criminal law intersects with other disciplines while examining its role in shaping policy and advancing social justice both domestically and globally.
If you're wishing to specialize in, or pursue advanced academic work in Criminal Law, you'll find this concentration particularly helpful in expanding both your doctrinal and theoretical knowledge of the subject.
Admission requirements for the Criminal Law concentration are the same as for the general LLM program. Students who wish to be considered for admission to the Criminal Law concentration are encouraged to demonstrate their interest in and suitability for the concentration in their personal statement. Applicants to the thesis LLM program with a Criminal Law concentration, are expected to be pursuing a thesis in Criminal Law or a related area. Admission to the program is competitive and not everyone who applies to the concentration will be admitted. If you are not accepted into the Criminal Law concentration, you may still be accepted into the LLM program.
For more information about our program and admission process (including how to apply), please review our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
The Criminal Law concentration is available to students in both the thesis and coursework LLM streams.
Coursework-only option (24 course credits):
Students in the coursework-only stream, with a concentration in Criminal Law, must complete:
- LLM Seminar I (Fall, 1 credit).
- LLM Seminar II (Winter, 1 credit).
- An approved Research Methods Course (Fall or Winter, 2 or 3 credits) offered either at the Faculty of Law or another Faculty/Department at the University.
- An approved course in the foundations of legal thought (Fall or Winter, 2 or 3 credits).
- At least 8 credits of courses from an approved list of Criminal Law courses.
- Additional courses, either within or outside of the list of Criminal Law courses to bring them to 24 total credits.
- A writing requirement, by choosing one of the options below:
- Designating a three (3) or four (4) credit course from the approved list of Criminal Law courses, as a writing requirement course and producing one piece of writing that is at least 5,000 words (or approximately 20 pages). Only courses requiring a written assignment of at least 5,000 words will qualify as a designated writing requirement course.
- Completing a two (2) or three (3) credit directed research project on a topic related to Criminal Law, requiring a written assignment of 7,000 and 10,500 words, respectively.
- Completing a two (2) or three (3) credit capstone project on a topic related to Criminal Law, requiring a written assignment of 7,000 to 10,500 words, respectively. Capstone projects may take a variety of forms other than a paper or essay, subject to the approval of the faculty supervisor and Associate Dean, Graduate Programs.
Thesis option (24 course credits):
Students in the thesis stream, with a concentration in Criminal Law, must complete:
- LLM Seminar I (Fall, 1 credit).
- LLM Seminar II (Winter, 1 credit).
- An approved Research Methods Course (Fall or Winter, 2 or 3 credits) offered either at the Faculty of Law or another Faculty/Department at the University.
- An approved course in the foundations of legal thought (Fall or Winter, 2 or 3 credits).
- At least 8 credits of courses from an approved list of Criminal Law courses.
- Write a thesis worth 6 credit hours; that is, approximately 17,500 to 20,000 words, in the area of Criminal Law. Students can choose to write a slightly longer thesis for 1 additional credit, or a slightly shorter thesis for 1 less credit.
- Additional courses, either within or outside of the list of Criminal Law courses to bring them to 24 total credits.
Your course selection will be reviewed in order to ensure that an appropriate number of credits are devoted to criminal law.
You can take up to two graduate-level courses at the Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies to count towards your concentration credits.
- Comparative Criminal Law
- Crime & Punishment: Mandatory Minimums, The Death Penalty & other Current Debates
- Criminal Procedure
- Crimmigration
- Financial Crimes and Corporate Compliance
- Intensive Course: Criminal Law and Therapeutic Justice
- Sentencing and Penal Policy
The LLM does not qualify foreign-trained candidates to practice law in Ontario.
View our NCA-related offerings or contact the National Committee on Accreditation for information on practicing law in Ontario.