The Common Law Section is pleased to offer some of the most exciting programs of study available anywhere, helping students acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to uphold the rule of law and the values of the Charter. The University of Ottawa’s objective is to provide a full service legal education, complemented by areas of specialization that reflect their faculty strengths and location in the National Capital.
As a professional program, the Common Law Section prepares students for entrance to the practice of law or other careers in the public and private sectors where a legal education is required or beneficial. As an academic program, the Section is committed to providing students with intellectual development consistent with their strong academic background. These professional and intellectual objectives are achieved in a manner which is mindful of the privilege and power often accorded to lawyers in our society.
The combined Political Science and French Juris Doctor program provides an opportunity for students who have been admitted to the Faculty of Social Sciences to complete all the requirements of both programs in a period of six (6) years, obtaining two separate degrees at the end of their studies: a Bachelor of Social Sciences (with or without mention of the immersion program for anglophones) and a Juris Doctor (JD). Admission is run at the undergraduate level, not by the Faculty of Law. This program is only offered in French.
In a multidisciplinary approach, legal studies and the practice of law can be structured with a view to developing and strengthening complementary ties with other related disciplines such as political science, economic and social sciences, international relations or new information technologies, just to name a few. Moreover, the combined JD-BSocSc Program provides lawyers and political scientists with a chance to analyze and understand issues from these two complementary disciplinary backgrounds. In a world profoundly affected by globalization, the practice of law can benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. Indeed, globalization affects not only the economic and communication sectors, but creates new social, political, strategic and cultural challenges that the law cannot afford to ignore.
The Common Law Section of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa takes this challenge seriously and offers a wide range of combined programs. For example, the combined Juris Doctor (JD) and Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences with Specialization in Political Science provides an opportunity for students who have been admitted to the Faculty of Social Sciences to complete all the requirements of both programs in a period of six (6) years, obtaining two separate degrees at the end of their studies.
The University of Ottawa French Immersion Stream is designed for Anglophone and Allophone students who wish to pursue part of their university studies in French. Students who have attended high school in a language other than French and have followed a French-as-a-second-language program are eligible. The French Immersion program allows students to study bilingually by taking 35% of their courses in French and discover le monde francophone at world’s largest French-English university. Immersion courses will help students transition to French courses, by combining a three hour content course with a one and a half hour accompanying language course that is based on material in the content course but focused on comprehension skills. Students also have the choice to take up to eight French courses as Pass/Fail grades, which won't count in their academic average (not available in the Faculty of Science or Faculty of Engineering).
