Major in Legal Studies Curriculum
The major in legal studies requires 51 credits, including 40 credits of upper division coursework. Students take seven required courses (21 credits) on the fundamentals of modern U.S. legal systems and how they operate in society. These classes are taught by professors at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.
Students in the legal studies major also take at least eight electives (30 credits) from among the five emphasis areas, as listed below. These interdisciplinary electives provide additional perspective on the law, help develop skills used in the legal profession, and explore specific topics relating to the law.
Required Courses
Required courses will be offered at least once a year and, depending on student demand, may be offered both in fall and spring semesters.
CORE COURSES
Students are required to take all the core courses listed below, a total of 12 credits.
Law 1010 provides students with a fundamental understanding of law, legal institutions, and the legal systems that shape our society. Students will explore the development and structure of the U.S. legal system. Topics may include, among others, the development of law and legal systems, sources of law, fundamental legal rights, doctrines and principles, the structure and function of civil and criminal adjudicative systems, and legal reasoning.
This course examines the origins of law, how law operates in and organizes society, and how it shapes and is shaped by competing social, economic, and political forces. The class examines how community forces shape the law and how the law shapes our communities. The class focuses on ways that law evolves and how legal interpretations, legal arguments, and the law's threat and use of force resonate throughout society. Students will also come to understand the ways that different institutions and practices can limit or facilitate community and legal change.
This course aims to develop students' legal analysis and problem-solving skills through a series of real-world case studies and simulations. Students will learn to identify legal issues, conduct legal research, analyze facts and evidence, and apply relevant laws and precedents to develop persuasive arguments and practical solutions. The course emphasizes hands-on learning, collaborative work, and effective communication skills essential for success in the legal field.
The Capstone course is intended to provide a signature and unifying experience for all recipients of either the minor or the major in Legal Studies. Students will synthesize what they have learned from the wide range of interdisciplinary electives included in the major and minor, apply that learning to real world legal situations and problems of legal practice, and reflect on how the major or minor will help them transition into further academic study or professional careers.
ADDITIONAL REQUIRED COURSES
In addition to the core course, students must choose three courses from the list below. The three courses will be equivalent to 9 credits.
• LAW 3430: The Civil Litigation Process
• LAW 3420: The Criminal Justice System
• LAW 3410: The Administrative and Regulatory Process
• LAW 3330: Alternative Dispute Resolution
• LAW 3510: Tribal Sovereignty- Indian Law
• LAW 3960: Special Topics
Elective courses
DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON LAW
Students must select one of the two emphases identified below. Each emphasis helps students explore the law and its underlying values from a specific angle. Students must complete three courses (equivalent to 9 credits) in the emphasis they have chosen
Humanities Emphasis
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- LING 3480: Language and Social Justice
- WRTG 3430: The Language of the Law
- COMM 3150: Dialoguing through Conflict: Tackling Taboo Topics
- PHIL 1001: Philosophy and Ethical Dilemmas in the Contemporary World
- HIST 3710: The American Revolution
- CLCS 4610: What Matters
Social Sciences Emphasis
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- ECON 5380: Law and Economics
- ECON 3100: Labor Economics
- POLS 3025: Democracy and Social Justice
- POLS 3200: Introduction to Law and Politics
- CRIM 3561: Criminology
- CRIM 3568: Sociology of Law
OTHER ELECTIVE COURSES
In addition to the Disciplinary Perspective on Law Elective courses, students are required to take an additional 21 elective credits from any of the Focus Areas listed below.
Students are required to take at least one elective from each of the focus areas. Then, any course from any focus area to reach the 21-credit requirement.
This focus area is designed to help students develop the skillsets that are hallmarks of the legal profession.
CMP 4420: Negotiation & Dispute Resolution
COMM 3330: Argumentation and Negotiation
COMM 3200: Persuasion Theory and Practice
COMM 1020: Principles of Public Speaking
COMM 3150: Dialoguing through Conflict: Tackling Taboo Topics
ECON 3640: Probability and Statistical Inference
CLCS 4610: What Matters
FCS 5282: Conflict and Mediation
HONOR 2980: Creative Problem Solving
HONOR 3354: Professional Negotiation
HONOR 3300: Deductive Logic
LING 2475: Language Myths
QAMO 5010: Economics of Strategy
PHIL 1001: Philosophy and Ethical Dilemmas in the Contemporary World
PHIL 3200: Deductive Logic
PHIL 3210: Inductive Logic
PHIL1250: Reasoning & Rational Decision-Making
POLS 2300: Introduction to Political Theory
POLS 3001: Political Analysis
SW 2500: Social Work in Criminal Justice
WRTG3010: Critical Thinking and Writing
WRTG3015: Professional Writing
WRTG4890: Writing, Persuasion and Power
WRTG3875: Histories and Theories of Rhetoric
WRTG 4905: Legal Discourse Analysis
NURS 3300: Professional Roles I: Foundations of Professionalism
NURS 3400: Professional Roles LL: Policy, Advocacy and Collaboration in Healthcare
This focus area is designed to help students understand how the law functions, the forms it takes, and the institutions that create it.
ECON 3190: Introduction to Health Economics
ECON 3200: Money and Banking
ECON 3250: Introduction to Environment and Natural Resource Economics
ECON 3060: Introduction to the History of Economic Thought
ECON 3500: International Economics
ECON 5080: Evolution of Economic Ideas on the Economy and Society
ECON 5540: Comparative Economic Systems
ETHNC 3150: Indian Policy
ETHNC 3790: Politics of Borders and Migrations
GNDR 3140: Gender and Politics
GNDR 3640: Race, Gender and Incarceration
GNDR 5665: Gender on the Hill
HIST 3710: The American Revolution
HIST 3720: The New Nation, 1789-1848
HIST 3730: The Civil War and Reconstruction
LING 3480: Language and Social Justice
POLS 1100: Introduction to American Politics
POLS 3025: Democracy and Social Justice
POLS 3030: State and Local Government
POLS 3100: US Congress
POLS 3140: Gender and Politics
POLS 3220: Jurisprudence of Criminal Law
POLS 5025: American Political Thought
POLS 5120: Judicial Process
POLS 5400: Parliaments and Presidents: Comparative Political Institutions
POLS 5610: International Law
POLS 5630: Global Governance
PHIL 3730: Justice and International Affairs
PHIL 3710: Philosophy of Law
PHIL 3700: Political Philosophy
SOC 3563: Police and Society
SOC 3575: Critical Perspectives on Criminal Courts
HONOR 3214: Forms of Social Justice Advocacy
HONOR 3700: Praxis Lab
WRTG 3430: The Language of the Law
This focus area is designed to help students explore a particular field, topic, or challenge of the law.
COMM 5300: Mass Communication Law
COMM 5320: Freedom of Expression
COMM 5340: Communication and Law
CRIM 3811: Special Topics in Criminal Justice
ECON 5120: Labor Law and Collective Bargaining
ECON 5340: Economics, Consulting and the Law
ECON 5360: Economics of Market Power
ETHNC 5663: Social Inequality, Crime, Criminal Justice & the Law
ETHNC 4560: Chicano Civil Rights Movement
ETHNC 4840: Environmental Racism & Resistance
GNDR 3630: Reproductive Justice
GNDR 5420: Race, Disability, and Illness
HIST 4600: Women in American History to 1870
HIST 4610: Women in American History since 1870
HIST 4630: History of Sexuality in America
HIST 4671: American Indian History to 1850
HIST 4672: American Indian History since 1850
HIST 4680: American Slavery
HIST4690: African American History, 1619-1890
HIST 4700: African American History, since 1890
HONOR 3161: Women and the Law
HONOR 3214: Civil Rights Law
HONOR 4815: The Bystander
HONOR 3374: Privacy in a Digital Age
NURS 4605: Applications of Evidence in Nursing Practice
PHIL 3520: Bioethics
PHIL 3530: Environmental Ethics
PHIL 3310: Science and Society
POLS 3000: Liberalism and Its Critics
POLS 5211: Constitutional Law
POLS 5212: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
POLS 5510: Water Policy and Politics
PSY 3405: Psychology and Law
SOC 1111 or CRIM 1010: Introduction to Criminal Justice
SOC 3510: Special Topics in Deviance, Crime & the Law
SOC 3562: Juvenile Delinquency
SOC 3565: Women and Crime
SOC 3566: Society and the Criminal Mind
SOC 3574: The Criminal Legal System and Social Inequality
SOC 3576: Critical Topics in Corrections
SOC 4566: Sexual Assault
STRAT 4100: Employment Law/Discrimination Compliance
STRAT 5600: Innovating Legal Services
STRAT 5620: Legal Innovation for Policy Advocates
SW 2500: Social Work in Criminal Justice
PHYS: Intellectual Property Law for Scientists and Engineers
Students may satisfy this requirement by completing one of three options:
- An experiential learning course,
- An internship/externship/field placement, or
- A capstone research seminar.
Students planning to use the legal studies major as an immediate entry into a career in the legal profession (for which a JD is not required) are likely to be interested in internships offered by the Hinckley Institute of Politics or in a wide variety of legal externships and field placements currently offered to JD students at the College of Law, many of which may be available to undergraduates.
Students considering law school, or grad school in a complementary discipline, might want a capstone seminar with a research component. The capstone option may be satisfied by College of Law directed research courses, or by similar courses in other departments, as long as the seminar is related to law (e.g., Criminology or Sociology: Special Topics in Criminal Justice; Special Topics in Deviance Crime & the Law).
The experiential learning requirement may also be satisfied through existing clinical offerings at the College of Law (e.g. LAW 4860 or LAW 4890) or elsewhere on campus (e.g. STRAT 5610: UX4 Justice) and other similar offerings. It is intended that this requirement will be designed to satisfy the university’s baccalaureate degree requirement of an experiential learning course.
Academic Advising
Please contact Cindy Diaz Rey (Cindy.DiazRey@utah.edu) for academic questions about the major in legal studies.