Law and Society Leiden University

Overview

Law and legal institutions play an important role in the organisation of society. They can be used to address and regulate social problems ranging from migration and terrorism to corruption, and from pollution and climate change to social and gender equality. But laws and institutions, and the way in which they operate in practice, can also preserve and deepen societal problems and lead to injustice.

In this Law and Society programme from  Leiden University , you will focus on the different ways in which laws and legal institutions affect society and, vice versa, how society influences the formation and functioning of law. Combining various fields of law and diverse methods, it will give you the necessary knowledge and tools to critically understand law’s role in addressing current social, political, and economic challenges.

Career perspectives

The Master’s degree Law and Society was initiated in response to demands in the labour market: experts from the professional field expressed a need for students trained in an interdisciplinary, socio-legal approach to law, who possess an in-depth understanding of the formation and functioning of law. The Master’s degree Law and Society will offer you skills that are applicable to a wide range of different careers across government, civil society, and the private sector. These include experience with empirical research, policy analysis, proposal writing, regulatory analysis, and report writing.

Students that have left the programme have pursued careers in:

• Intergovernmental organisations;

• Governmental positions such as Rijkstrainee;  

• Non-governmental organisations in the Netherlands and abroad;

• National and European Union civil services;

• Lobby and consultancy firms; 

• Small, medium and large-size firms.

Some students have also gone on to pursue PhDs in the Netherlands and abroad. See our student profiles to learn more about various careers our graduates have pursued.