Since the foundation of the LSE just over a century ago, the study of law has been an integral part of the School's mission. The Law Department is one of the largest in the School. Its special place in a school of social sciences has given legal studies in the Department a distinctive, interdisciplinary character. The Law Department has played a major role in policy debates and policy-making and in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world. It enjoys a uniquely cosmopolitan student body, and has deeply influenced legal education in most common law countries.