Redeemer's Pre-Law certificate gives you a clear pathway to explore a future studying law and to prepare to apply for law school. Building on Redeemer's existing Law and Public Policy minor, this in-program certificate—offered for those already enrolled in a Redeemer undergraduate degree program—provides a strong connection to the Christian legal community, along with foundational courses and networking opportunities.
Through the Pre-Law certificate, a successful learner will:
Prospective law school applicants may choose to complete the Pre-Law Certificate as part of their undergraduate degree program. The requirements for this certificate include completing all courses in the Law and Public Policy Minor as part of an undergraduate degree program, along with participating in one conference developed by an Redeemer University partner.
In addition to the six courses listed below, students must complete one of APS-342, BUS-235 or POL-346.
An introduction to the study of politics, including forms of government, the building blocks of politics and the various visions that people bring to political life.
(Formerly POL-307). An introduction to the historical development and current shape of law in Canada, with emphasis on Canada’s context within the larger legal world, pathways to legal careers, and the challenges and opportunities posed by international law.
An introduction to Canadian government and politics, with special emphasis on Canada’s foreign affairs, and its role in the world. Topics covered include the constitution, the role of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, parties, elections, and policy making, both at home and abroad.
Over 40 years ago, Thomas Dye defined ‘public policy’ as “anything a government chooses to do or not to do.” Though perhaps oversimplified, good public policy is essential public justice. It is the art of developing government responses to public problems. This course will study the public policy process that governments establish within which citizens function, and within which laws are made, challenged, and changed. Issues studied will include approaches to public policy, actors, institutions and instruments of policy, agenda setting, public policy formation and decision making, implementation, and evaluation. Students will develop research based on a major problem in public policy at any level of municipal, provincial, or federal jurisdiction.
This course provides a broad introduction to great political theory in the Western tradition, with special emphasis on the history of Christian political thought. It will address perennial questions addressed by both Christian and non-Christian political thinkers, such as: What is justice? What is the foundation of political authority? What is the proper relationship of church and state? These questions will be approached more normatively (asking how societies ought to answer them) than descriptively (observing how they have answered them).
This course introduces students to logic–both deduction and induction–and develops critical thinking skills in relation to arguments and their evaluation. Students will examine the role of worldview in relation to logic and arguments and learn to compose cogent written arguments. The course will cover such topics as the importance of language, logical fallacies, sources of authority, and elementary philosophical concepts and categories.