Courses & Program Requirements

Depending how you count, the Ethics, Society & Law (ES&L) Program includes about 10 core TRN courses, 1 core PHL course, and some 80 optional courses drawn from across the Faculty of Arts & Science at U of T. This small, intimate undergraduate program engages students in interdisciplinary approaches to socio-political, legal and ethical questions that societies must navigate today.

Ethics, Society & Law Major Program

Required courses by year of study: Ethics, Society, & Law Major Program Completion Requirements

Core TRN Courses:

• TRN203H1F: Society, its Limits and Possibilities (required)
• TRN204H1S: Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning (required)
• TRN303H1: Ethics and Society (one section required) (multiple sections with different topics are being offered)
  • TRN303H1F: Ethics and Society – Concepts of and Issues in Justice
  • TRN303H1F: Ethics and Society – Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
  • TRN303H1S: Ethics and Society – Rising Economic Inequality in Canada
• TRN304Y1: Law and Social Issues (option) (May count toward EITHER the Group A: Ethics requirement, OR “Requirement: 1.0 credit from ETH201H1, ETH210H1, ETH220H1, ETH230H1, ETH350H1, ETH401H1, PHL265H1, PHL275H1, POL200Y1, to be taken in any year of registration in the program” which is being phased out.)
• TRN305Y1: Basic Principles of Law (option)
• TRN312H1S: Sustainability Issues in Ethics, Society, and Law (required)
• TRN320H1S: Selected Topics in Ethics, Society, & Law – Classical Political Thought (option)
• EUR301H1: Modernity and Its Discontents (option) (This is a noteworthy new course opportunity for ES&Lers, offered by Professor Marci Shore. In 2025, Professor Shore and two other leading academics from Yale University made headlines by moving to U of T because of the political situation in the US. ES&L students who complete TRN203H1F: Society, its Limits and Possibilities will be provided with enrolment priority in Professor Shore’s course: EUR301H1 Modernity and Its Discontents. This is a course in “European intellectual history.” According to the description, Marx, Freud, Weber, de Beauvoir, and others will be discussed from the perspective of “the temporal rupture called modernity” – “ultimately the resignation from attempts to find a viable replacement for God.” Upon request, EUR301H1 Modernity and Its Discontents may count toward Group D in ES&L.)
• TRN407Y1: Community Research Partnerships in Ethics (option)
• TRN412H1: Seminar in Ethics, Society, and Law (one section required) (multiple sections with different topics are being offered)
  • TRN412H1F: Seminar in Ethics, Society and Law – Our Failed War in Afghanistan
  • TRN412H1S: Seminar in Ethics, Society and Law – Social Justice Policy in Ontario
  • TRN412H1S: Seminar in Ethics, Society and Law – On the Practice of Public Interest Environmental Law and Climate Change Advocacy
  • TRN412H1S: Seminar in Ethics, Society and Law – Double Standards in Law, Society, and the International Environment
  • TRN412H1F: Seminar in Ethics, Society and Law – Love, Friendship, and the State
• TRN425Y1: Law Workshops Course (option)

Please note: In the event of discrepancies in program requirements and course offerings between this website and the Faculty of Arts & Science Calendar, the Calendar shall take precedence. In order to improve and update the program, the requirements for ES&L change from time to time. The requirements that apply to you are the ones listed in the Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar at the time you request the program (view Archived Faculty of Arts & Science Calendars here).

COURSE PREREQUISITES

Many upper-year courses in ES&L have prerequisites determined by their home units, and many of those prerequisites are not ES&L courses. Thus, students need to plan ahead and make sure their programs of study fulfill the prerequisite requirements for the courses they wish to take in upper years. Furthermore, because course prerequisites can change, students are advised to check the prerequisites for relevant years of study. Please consult Faculty of Arts & Science Calendar regarding ES&L courses, prerequisites and availability.

LIST OF COURSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ES&L PROGRAM

Below, you can also find a full list of courses for the 2025-2026 academic year associated with the Ethics, Society, & Law Program and a link to their academic calendar descriptions.

 

Please Note: In the event of discrepancies in program requirements and course offerings between this website and the Faculty of Arts & Science Calendar, the Calendar shall take precedence. In order to improve and update the program, the requirements for ES&L change from time to time. The requirements that apply to you are the ones listed in the Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar at the time you enter the program (view Archived Faculty of Arts & Science Calendars here).

COURSE CALENDAR & TIMETABLE

Students enroll in and take courses offered by the Faculty of Arts & Science. The two main tools used for course selection and enrollment are the Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar, which includes information on courses, programs and the rules and regulations of the university, and the Faculty of Arts & Science Registration Instructions and Timetable, which contain scheduling information and enrollment procedures. If you have any questions about the Calendar or Timetable, please contact your College Registrar’s Office.

ACCOMMODATIONS

If you have a consideration that may require accommodations, please contact U of T Accessibility Services: 416-978-8060 or accessibility.services@utoronto.ca.

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