法学（英语：Jurisprudence）是社会科学中一门特殊的学科，研究法律此一特定社会现象及其规律。法学肯定法律对于社会的规范和调整。

法学思想最早渊源于东周时期的法家哲学思想。法学一词，在中国先秦时被称为刑名之学，自汉代开始有律学的名称。

在西方，古罗马法学家乌尔比安对法学（古代拉丁语中的Jurisprudentia）一词的定义是：人和神的事务的概念，正义和非正义之学。文艺复兴时期，法学于大学中备受重视，为当时学术界最具地位的科系之一，与医学及神学三足鼎立。

现代的法学，是指研究法律的科学。但是关于法学与科学的关系有不同的看法，这主要涉及价值论的研究是不是科学的问题。

Jurisprudence is the science, study and theory of law. It includes principles behind law that make the law. Scholars of jurisprudence, also known as jurists or legal theorists (including legal philosophers and social theorists of law), hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of the natural law, civil law, and the law of nations. General jurisprudence can be divided into categories both by the type of question scholars seek to answer and by the theories of jurisprudence, or schools of thought, regarding how those questions are best answered. Contemporary philosophy of law, which deals with general jurisprudence, addresses problems in two rough groups: