Legal Studies Minor

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The Legal Studies minor provides you a broad understanding of the U.S. legal system, including the role law plays in U.S. culture: what legal philosophies have we adopted and rejected, what is the law’s history, what practical purposes does it serve, how well does it work?

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

Analyze the interdisciplinary literature on justice, law and American society, emphasizing political questions and social science methods and theories; assess the interdisciplinary literature on international law, human rights and global politics, emphasizing political questions and social science methods/theories; and understand the meaning/origins of international human rights norms/standards
Understand the structure of the American legal system, including the court system, and criminal and civil justice systems, and be able to describe the political economy and organizational structure of judicial decision-making, using tools of social science analysis
Understand the structure of the international human rights legal system, including governmental and non-governmental institutions on the global, national, and local levels, and be able to describe the political economy and organizational structure of human rights decision making, using tools of social science analysis
Use tools of legal analysis and argumentation to address political controversies and social conflicts in American society, and human rights controversies, such as terrorism, humanitarian intervention, cultural imperialism, & U.S. foreign policy

Minor Requirements (20 units)

Required (4 units)

Students complete one of the following courses:

Required Electives (8 units)

Choose one course from each of the following elective areas:

Global Justice

Field Placement (4 units)

Students complete one internship course and may choose between a law-related placement in a government agency (POLS 396 ) or in a non-governmental organization (POLS 397 or SOC 395 ).

Open Electives (4 units)

Students complete 4 units of elective coursework by choosing an additional course in either Domestic Justice or Global Justice (listed above), or by choosing an open elective course from the following: