Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo is a stimulating and expanding department, and consists of sociologists and socio-legal scholars engaging in innovative teaching styles and research programs.
Sociology is the study of social life and the social, economic, and political dynamics and dimensions of social relations and social change.
Legal studies is the study of law which is central to everything we do - how we carry on business, how we treat the environment, how we shape our governments and how we deal with other people.
This website gives an overview of the teaching and research in sociology and legal studies at the University of Waterloo.
Undergraduate
Major in Sociology or Legal Studies at UWaterloo for your Undergraduate degree and explore key topics like social justice, inequality and legal systems.
Graduate
Research topics in social, political, economic, and cultural relations by completing a Graduate degree at UWaterloo in Sociology or Legal Studies.
Meet our people
Discover the people that make up the Sociology and Legal Studies department and the research projects they are currently involved in.
News
Waterloo Catholic board used school resource officers to handle student mental health issues, tantrums: review
The Waterloo Catholic District School Board's use of police has been under scrutiny in recent weeks, after news broke that police were called to John Sweeney Catholic Elementary School last fall to deal with a four-year-old student's behaviour. Read the article here.
Assistant Professor Sarah Turnbull Featured in the Globe and Mail
Assistant Professor Sarah Turnbull is featured in the Globe and Mail article, ‘No Way Out’ by Tom Cardoso, about systemic racism in the Canadian federal parole system. The research Dr Turnbull discusses in the story is based on her book, Parole in Canada: Gender and Diversity in the Federal System (UBC Press, 2016).
Check out: Protecting infrastructure from the ‘freedom convoy’ could forever silence legitimate dissent - Philip Boyle Associate Professor | Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, Legal Studies
Protecting infrastructure from the ‘freedom convoy’ could forever silence legitimate dissent
By Philip Boyle Associate Professor | Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, Legal Studies