Law, Policy, and Philosophy Catalog
New program beginning Fall 2027
Chair: Philip Reed, PhD
Introduction
This interdisciplinary major brings together law, political science, philosophy, and history, with opportunities to explore related areas such as criminal justice, economics, psychology, environmental policy, and communications. It addresses questions of rights, liberty, equality, and the responsibilities of government. Students learn to weigh evidence, challenge assumptions, and build reasoned arguments. This program emphasizes the importance of oral communication for law and policy and encourages students to exemplify Jesuit values of social justice and service to others. The major is designed for students interested in careers where laws, public institutions, policy and decision-making intersect. It can also provide a strong undergraduate foundation for law school or graduate study in public policy and related fields.
Qualifications
Students must maintain an overall 2.0 GPA in their undergraduate studies and a 2.0 average in their major courses to graduate with a degree in Law, Policy, and Philosophy.
Advisement
All students should have an advisor in the major and should contact the department directly to have an advisor assigned if they do not already have one. Meetings with academic advisors are required prior to students receiving their PIN for course registration each semester. All majors should work closely with their advisor in discussing career expectations, choosing their major electives, developing their entire academic program and planning their co-curricular or supplemental academic experiences.
Double Majors
Students who wish to expand their educational opportunities may decide to declare a double major. This decision may be based on career goals, planned graduate studies, and/or other student interests. Before a student declares a double major, it is important to meet with the appropriate academic departments for advisement. In order to declare a double major, the student must complete the Major/Minor Declaration form. This form will be submitted electronically and reviewed and approved by each department chairperson as well as the appropriate associate dean.
Per university policy, each additional major requires a minimum of 15 credits that do not apply to the student's first or subsequent major. Some double major combinations can be completed within the minimum 120 credit hour degree requirement, but in other cases, additional coursework may be required. Please note that students will only receive one degree unless completing the dual degree requirement, including at least 150 undergraduate credit hours, regardless of the number of majors they complete. Both (all) majors appear on a student’s transcript.
Minors in Other Disciplines
Minors provide students the opportunity to pursue additional interests but generally do not require as many courses as a major. Minors generally range from five to eight required courses. To receive a minor, the student must complete at least 9 credit hours of coursework distinct from their other credentials (i.e., majors, other minors). The complete list of minors is available on the Canisius website and in the catalog and provides links to each minor. Some majors and minors can be completed within the minimum 120 credit hour degree requirement, but in some cases additional coursework may be required. Students must complete the appropriate minor request form.
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSC 104 | American Political Process | 3 |
| PSC 215 | National Issues and Public Policy | 3 |
| HIS 299 | Historian's Craft | 3 |
| PHI 225 | Logic | 3 |
| PHI 261 | Philosophy of Law | 3 |
| Theories of Justice | ||
| PSC 111 | Western Political Tradition | 3 |
| or PHI 240 | Justice | |
| or PHI 274 | Social and Political Philosophy | |
| Ethics | ||
| PHI 241 | Ethics: Traditions in Moral Reasoning | 3 |
| or PHI 242 | Ethical Issues in Business | |
| or PHI 243 | Bio-Medical Ethics | |
| or PHI 244 | Environmental Ethics | |
| or PHI 245 | Animal Ethics | |
| or PHI 246 | Ethics of Technology | |
| or PHI 247 | Food and Agricultural Ethics | |
| LPP 401 | LPP Senior Seminar | 3 |
| Elective Courses - 12 Credits | ||
| Any 300 or 400 level HIS course | 3 | |
| Any PSC Course | 3 | |
| Choose 2 Electives: any 200+ course in HIS, PHI, PSC or among the following: | 6 | |
LPP 499 | LPP Internship | |
CRJ 250 | Criminal Law and Procedure | |
CRJ 275 | Criminal Courts | |
CRJ 280 | Legal Writing and Advocacy I | |
DMA 216 | Digital Media Law | |
ECO 101 | Principles of Macroeconomics | |
ECO 102 | Principles of Microeconomics | |
ENG 217 | Law and Literature | |
EVST 235 | Environmental Policy | |
LEG 201 | Legal Reasoning, Writing and Advocacy | |
PSY 360 | Psychology and Law | |
SPMT 230 | Sport and Recreation Law | |
| Total Credits | 36 | |
Roadmap
Recommended Semester Schedule for Major Course Requirement
| Freshman | |
|---|---|
| Fall | Spring |
| PSC 104 | PHI 241 or 242 |
| PSC 111, PHI 240, or PHI 274 | |
| Sophomore | |
| Fall | Spring |
| PSC 215 | PHI 225 |
| Major Elective | Major Elective |
| Junior | |
| Fall | Spring |
| PHI 261 | HIS 299 |
| Major Elective (HIS 300-level Course) | |
| Senior | |
| Fall | Spring |
| Major Elective (PSC Course) | LPP 401 |
Learning Goals and Objectives
Student Learning Goal 1
Majors will be able to apply theoretical frameworks to problems of law and policy.
- Objective A: Critically examine the historical development and theoretical underpinnings of legal systems.
- Objective B: Identify how philosophical traditions (e.g., natural law, legal positivism, critical theory) shape the structure and interpretation of law.
- Objective C: Apply major ethical and political theories (e.g. including utilitarianism, deontology, and social contract theory) to evaluate the moral dimensions of contemporary public policy debates.
- Objective D: Critically engage foundational ethical questions (e.g. justice, rights, liberty, and equality) and apply them to real-world issues (e.g. civil liberties, distributive justice, and the limits of state authority).
Student Learning Goal 2
Majors will evaluate interactions between law and policy.
- Objective A: Assess how legislation, regulatory frameworks, and judicial decisions interact with political institutions and social outcomes.
- Objective B: Demonstrate an understanding of the feedback loop between law and policy.
Student Learning Goal 3
Majors will develop a capacity for thinking critically and for effectively constructing and assessing arguments..
- Objective A: Analyze and construct arguments in discourse relevant to law and policy.
- Objective B: Identify underlying presuppositions of a philosopher's argumentative discourse.
- Objective C: Present and defend well-reasoned arguments, both written and oral, that integrate legal precedent, empirical evidence, and philosophical reasoning.
Courses
CRJ 250 Criminal Law and Procedure 3 Credits
The substantive criminal law, including offenses against persons, property and public morality with emphasis on New York State Penal Law. Criminal responsibility and defenses. In addition key Supreme Court decisions on the criminal justice related constitutional amendments (4th, 5th, 6th and 8th amendments). Finally, Appeals and post-conviction relief will be discussed.
Prerequisite: A minimum of C- in CRJ 121.
Offered: every fall.
CRJ 275 Criminal Courts 3 Credits
This course will explore the legal, social and political institutions that affect the dynamics of the criminal process. Topics will include the adversarial process and the decision-making of different participants in the system. The course will also look at the interrelationships that affect and influence court decisions and justice. A thorough examination of this subject will lead to a better understanding of criminal courts and its function within the criminal justice system.
Prerequisite: A minimum of C- in CRJ 121.
Offered: occasionally.
CRJ 280 Legal Writing and Advocacy I 3 Credits
Explores the use of language in the administration of law, including ways to read and brief cases and to read statutes.
Fulfills College Core: Justice, Oral Communication
Offered: spring.
DMA 216 Digital Media Law 3 Credits
Introduces a wide range of legal and ethical issues in cyberspace, including: the First Amendment, copyright, fair use, libel, hate speech, pornography, obscenity, privacy, commercial speech and national security.
Offered: every spring.
ECO 101 Principles of Macroeconomics 3 Credits
Explanation of market system through supply and demand analysis. Measurement of macroeconomic variables and development of economic models to analyze problems of unemployment, inflation and economic growth. Various fiscal and monetary policies will be discussed.
Fulfills College Core: Field 5 (Social Sciences)
ECO 102 Principles of Microeconomics 3 Credits
Explanation of how the market system operates in the context of limited resources. Emphasis on the manner in which consumers and firms determine what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce.
Offered: every fall & spring.
ENG 217 Law and Literature 3 Credits
Explores a range of literary representations of legal institutions, the impact of significant legislation, and relationships between individuals and the law. Considers the multiple interpretations of law and legal authority. Focuses on the analysis of literature—fiction and non-fiction—and film chosen from different historical periods and traditions. Open for majors and non-majors.
Prerequisite: ENG 111 & ENG 112, or permission of department chair.
Fulfills College Core: Field 3 (Literature and the Arts), Justice
Offered: occasionally.
EVST 235 Environmental Policy 3 Credits
This course key issues within environmental policy. As well as exploring the history and origins of policy, we will explore some of the key debates such as eco-centrism versus anthropocentrism, animal rights, global justice and our obligations to future generations. Key concepts will include local, state, national, and internation policy perspectives; views of democrac and social justice. Reference will be made to other strands of environmental policy and contemporary political theory such as liberalism, socialism, feminism, nationalism and anarchism.
Offered: Fall
HIS 299 Historian's Craft 3 Credits
These courses are designed to introduce students systematically to the analysis of historical texts, the standards of historical writing, and the methods of historical research while exploring specific topics of historical interest. Topics vary each semester; a course in this category will be offered each year. Recent topics have included the Civil Rights Movement Revisited, The History of Everyday Life, and Stalinism and Nazism.
Fulfills College Core: Advanced Writing-Intensive
Offered: occasionally.
LEG 201 Legal Reasoning, Writing and Advocacy 3 Credits
Examine process and techniques which lawyers use to advocate effectively in the American legal system. Analyze the art of legal argument, decision-making and reasoning. Draft legal briefs and memoranda, including use of precedent.
Fulfills College Core: Advanced Writing-Intensive
Offered: occasionally; typically fall semester.
LPP 401 LPP Senior Seminar 3 Credits
Students integrate knowledge from the LPP disciplines and reflect on the core themes of justice, ethics, and social/civic responsibility in a culminating research project. Working within a seminar format centered on discussion and peer critique, students will identify a pressing issue and develop an extended research project that addresses the issue from legal, policy, and philosophical perspectives simultaneously. Students will be required to present and defend their project orally. The seminar may also take up a policy issue that is a matter of expertise of the instructor. The seminar also asks students to reflect on the nature of interdisciplinary inquiry itself, considering where law, policy, and philosophy reinforce one another, where they are in tension, and what is gained or lost by working across disciplinary boundaries.
Prerequisite: PHI 261, PSC 215, HIS 299.
Offered: every spring.
LPP 499 LPP Internship 1-3 Credits
Law, Policy & Philosophy Internship
Prerequisite: Program Director's Signature required.
Offered: occasionally.
PHI 225 Logic 3 Credits
An introductory study of logic treating such topics as: deduction, techniques for evaluating reasoning, language and meaning, various formal and informal fallacies, and the notion of implication.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102/110.
Fulfills College Core: Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: once a year.
PHI 241 Ethics: Traditions in Moral Reasoning 3 Credits
A survey of principal traditions in moral reasoning with attention to moral principles inclusive of utility, deontology and virtue, and their applications to contemporary social realities.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102/110.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics, Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: every fall & spring.
PHI 242 Ethical Issues in Business 3 Credits
A study of important concerns in business and market realities with special concern to applying moral principles in decision making.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102/110.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics, Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: every fall & spring.
PHI 243 Bio-Medical Ethics 3 Credits
A study of important moral issues in relation to current concerns in medicine, medical technology, and the life sciences.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102/110.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics, Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: once a year.
PHI 244 Environmental Ethics 3 Credits
A study of classical and contemporary moral theories concerning the relationship of human beings to the manifold of their natural surroundings.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102/110.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics, Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: occasionally.
PHI 245 Animal Ethics 3 Credits
What do we mean by classifying together all non-human animals as 'animals'? This course critically examines the traditional notion that animals are commodities or resources for human use. It questions whether all sentient beings have intrinsic value and should be respected and what form that 'respect' should take.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics, Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: every fall & spring.
PHI 246 Ethics of Technology 3 Credits
A study of how prominent technologies such as television, cellular phones, and medical breakthroughs affect individual persons and our society, and in what ways technological innovations make us better or worse. Utilizes movies and/or episodes of Black Mirror.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics, Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: occasionally.
PHI 247 Food and Agricultural Ethics 3 Credits
A study of the moral implications of the current food system in connection with the production, distribution, and consumption of food and aims to examine what might constitute a reasonable position regarding the ethics of what we eat and what each of us can do to help bring about a more just food system.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102/110.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics, Field 2 (Philosophy)
Offered: occasionally.
PHI 261 Philosophy of Law 3 Credits
A study of the nature, sources and sanctions of law and legal theory, treating concerns of legal positivism, natural law theory, rights and justice, and the relationship between law and morality.
Prerequisite: PHI 101 or HON 102/110.
Fulfills College Core: Field 2 (Philosophy), Justice
Offered: every fall & spring.
PSC 104 American Political Process 3 Credits
An introduction to American politics including political socialization, public opinion and ideologies, political participation in electoral systems and mass movements, political parties and interest groups.
Fulfills College Core: Field 5 (Social Sciences)
Offered: every fall.
PSC 215 National Issues and Public Policy 3 Credits
Selected policy issues and their relationship to the political process including health care, homeland security, welfare and housing.
Offered: occasionally.
PSY 360 Psychology and Law 3 Credits
Examines issues of considerable importance to the criminal justice system using empirical techniques from psychology. Topics include the conviction of the innocent, lie detection, the death penalty, the insanity defense, civil commitment, eyewitness memory, false and repressed memories, children in the courtroom, jury decision-making, and expert testimony.
Offered: spring of even-numbered years.
SPMT 230 Sport and Recreation Law 3 Credits
The class will focus on the general principles of law as they apply to the today's world of sport. Class discussions will be geared toward practical application and real life examples.
Offered: spring.