Legal Studies Major
Requirements
Download the Legal Studies Major Advising Sheet
The legal studies major consists of forty (40) credits as follows:
Four required courses:
24 elective course credits:
Each student selects one-, two- and four-credit courses totaling 24 credits from all LGST courses or the following interdisciplinary offerings:
Legal studies majors who intend to go on to law school are encouraged to strongly consider a second major or minor in the field of their choice. A legal studies major is not required for law school admissions. 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 of the Hamline Plan.
Majors who plan to work immediately after completing their four-year degree are encouraged to select electives leading to the paralegal certificate or to finish a major in another discipline that offers law-related employment opportunities requiring a bachelor’s degree such as criminal justice, English, or political science.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates and certificate recipients of the Hamline University Legal Studies Department will be able to:
- Produce reasoned legal analysis.
- Demonstrate writing and speaking skills necessary to communicate in professional and academic legal settings.
- Demonstrate mastery of legal citation.
- Demonstrate knowledge of technology relevant to the legal profession.
- Locate primary and secondary legal resources using print and electronic tools.
- Fulfill legal and general ethical obligations in academic and professional settings.
- Evaluate legal issues in diverse cultural contexts.