Department Honors, Research & Awards
Legal Research
Our Legal Studies and Paralegal students actively engage in legal research, from their introductory Legal Research and Writing course through their legal specialty courses and, for our undergraduate students, culminating in their Senior Seminar in Legal Studies. Students have access to a first-class law library and an incredible array of electronic resources through Bush Library. We also provide Westlaw access to our students.
The students in our Senior Seminar produce legal scholarship in the form of a mini-law review article and present their research to their peers and Legal Studies faculty each semester. Some students’ work has been selected for publication in our department newsletter and at least one student has published in a national law journal:
Jenna Yauch, When Home is Where the Hurt Is: Minnesota’s Address Confidentiality Program Keeps Battered Women Safer, 6 Dartmouth L. J. 217 (2008).
Departmental Honors Student Research
Students wishing to be considered for honors should request detailed information from the program faculty early in their junior year. It is recommended that students have a GPA of 3.5 or better in the major. Honors projects should exhibit distinctive scholarship, originality of thought, and a high degree of relevance to a major issue in the discipline. Project proposals must be approved by a majority of department faculty.
For more detailed information on Legal Studies Honors Projects, review our Project Guidelines.
In addition to these legal studies department guidelines, there are also University guidelines that must be followed. University guidelines can be found on the University Honors webpage.
Recent Departmental Honors Projects include:
Allison Capaul, An Examination of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Laws within the United States (2013).
Natalie M. Lamphier, Battered Lives: Addressing the Collateral Effects of Domestic Violence on College Campuses (2010).
Jessica M. Eidsmoe, Arrested for Swearing: Why Minnesota Needs to Redefine Disorderly Conduct (2009).
Joao da Fonseca, Law and Policy in Brazil: Protecting the Forest and Enhancing Communities (2008)
Randi Williams, Evolving Issues in Tort Law (2007)
Collaborative Research
Legal studies students may also consider engaging in collaborative research and applying to participate in the Summer Collaborative Research Seminar.
2016 Legal Studies Departmental Awards
All awards are sponsored by SeibenCarey P.A.
Jessica Swanson, Eliza A. Drew Prize, Legal Studies Student of the Year Award
Megan Gjere, Legal Studies Departmental Service Award
Cameron Pylka, Legal Studies Classroom Contribution Award
Samantha Hoef, Outstanding Mock Trial Student Award
Rachel Stych, Legal Research and Writing Award
Katie Tholkes, Outstanding Post-Baccalaureate Student Award
Janel Sturm, Outstanding eDiscovery Student Award