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Apr 19, 2024
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2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin [Archived Bulletin]
Legal Studies Major (BA)
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The Legal Studies Department offers the flexible Legal Studies Major for students interested in law. It is an optional major for pre-law students. Students also seeking a paralegal certificate may follow this major.
The Legal Studies Major does not qualify students to sit for the bar examination or to work as lawyers. Postgraduate study in an American Bar Association-approved law school after graduation from college is required to practice law.
Legal studies majors who intend to go on to law school are strongly encouraged to consider a second major or minor in a field of their choice. A Legal Studies Major is not required for law school admission. Students interested in law school should also strongly consider taking PHIL 1130 - Logic, as well as writing-intensive and formal reasoning courses beyond those required by the Hamline Plan.
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Legal Studies Major Requirements (40-44 credits)
One course chosen from the following:
Two courses chosen from the following:
Elective pathway:
Choose one of the elective pathways below.
Pathway 1 - Graduate Paralegal Certificate (20 credits)
This path is for students who want to work as paralegals or in some other field or industry where the knowledge of the law and skills of a paralegal will provide value added to their employers or prospective employers. Students must complete a brief application and may register for the graduate paralegal certificate courses to begin after they have completed 16 credits of undergraduate work in the major. After earning a bachelor’s degree with the graduate paralegal certificate, students are eligible to complete Hamline’s Master in the Study of Law degree with 14 additional graduate credits.
Note: Hamline’s graduate paralegal certificate is approved by the American Bar Association for the training of paralegals. Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to clients or to the public, except as permitted by law. A paralegal certificate does not qualify the recipient to sit for the bar examination or work as a lawyer.
Pathway 2 - Interdisciplinary (16 credits)
Choose 16 credits from the list below:
Forensic Psychology Concentration
Students majoring in criminology and criminal justice, legal studies, or psychology may choose to complete a concentration in forensic psychology.
The forensic psychology concentration provides a multidisciplinary approach to the study of crime, motivations for criminal behavior, and the response and use of psychology in the criminal justice and legal systems. Although a graduate degree is usually required for a career as a forensic psychologist, the concentration introduces students to foundational knowledge in criminology, psychology, and legal studies and includes an interdisciplinary senior seminar.
Please see: Forensic Psychology Concentration Requirements
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