At which campus can I study this program?
Program Description
Laws affect every person, everywhere, every day. Laws structure the rights and responsibilities of citizens, the conduct of business, and the powers and obligations of governments. The minor in legal studies introduces students to a variety of perspectives on the law, its operation, and its effects in different contexts. Students take a core set of courses that examine how laws are made, how they are put into practice, and how they affect the broader world. They build on this foundation with coursework focused on specific aspects of law or areas of its application.
This minor is an excellent complement to the major field of study for students who are interested in the broad ways that law touches citizens’ everyday lives as well as for students with more focused interests in the legal environment and consequences of their primary area of study. The program will be particularly valuable to students outside of the liberal arts who are interested in law. The array of courses from which students can choose to complete the minor makes the program compatible with a wide range of majors, including engineering, business, criminal justice, communication, environmental/resource management and sustainability, information technology, and intellectual property.
The Legal Studies minor requires 18 credits. 9 credits are required courses that provide a foundational understanding of various facets of the law, including the US legal system, the power and function of law as a social institution, and the sources and effects of change in legal orders. The remaining 9 credits are selected from a cross disciplinary list that enables students to focus their study of law in accordance with their interests and professional goals.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 18 |
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| PLSC 1 | American Politics: Principles, Processes and Powers  | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select 6 credits from the following: | 6 | |
| Rights in America | ||
| American Constitutional Law | ||
or PLSC 471H | American Constitutional Law | |
| The American Legal Process | ||
| American Judicial Behavior | ||
| Civil Liberties and Due Process | ||
| Empirical Legal Studies | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select 9 credits from the following list of courses. At least 6 credits must be at the 400-level or above. No more than 6 credits can be from the same discipline. | 9 | |
| Arts Entrepreneurship and the Law | ||
| Archaeological Ethics and Law | ||
| Science, Ethics, Policy, and Law | ||
| Legal Environment of Business | ||
| Business Law I: Introduction to Contracts, Liability Issues, and Intellectual Property | ||
| Real Estate Law | ||
| Business Law II: Agency, Employment and Business Structure | ||
| Advanced Intellectual Property and Competition Law | ||
| Employment Law | ||
| Entertainment Law | ||
| Rhetoric and Law | ||
| Conflict Resolution and Negotiation | ||
| Entertainment Law | ||
| Law of Mass Communications | ||
or COMM 403H | Law of Mass Communications | |
| Telecommunications Law | ||
| Strategic Communications Law | ||
| Media Law and Ethics | ||
| Internet Law and Policy | ||
| Introduction to Criminal Justice | ||
| Presumed Innocent? Social Science of Wrongful Conviction | ||
| Sentencing | ||
| Policing in America | ||
| The Juvenile Justice System | ||
| Race, Crime, and Justice | ||
| Seminar in the Law | ||
| Introduction to Law | ||
| Courts and the Prosecution Process | ||
| The Pennsylvania Court System | ||
| Crime, Social Control, and the Legal System | ||
| Criminal Law and Procedure | ||
| Offender and Prisoner Rights | ||
| Crime and the American Court System | ||
| American Guns: History, Law & Criminal Justice Challenges | ||
| Comparative Criminal Justice Systems | ||
| Law and Society | ||
| Legal Rights, Duties, Liabilities of Criminal Justice Personnel | ||
| Criminal Procedure and Evidence in the Business Community | ||
| Energy Law and Contracts | ||
| Economics of Law and Regulation | ||
| The Teacher and the Law | ||
| Education and Civil Rights | ||
| Environmental Law | ||
| Legal Aspects of Resource Management | ||
| International Business Law | ||
| Legal and Regulatory Environment of Information Science and Technology | ||
| Legal and Regulatory Environment of Privacy and Security | ||
| Legal, Regulatory, Policy Environment of Cyber Forensics | ||
| Employment Relationship: Law and Policy | ||
| The Law of Labor-Management Relations | ||
| Research Methods for Law and Government Information Resources | ||
| Philosophy of Law | ||
or PHIL 105H | Honors Philosophy of Law | |
| Seminar in Philosophy of Law | ||
| State, Society, and Public Policy | ||
| Pennsylvania Government and Politics | ||
| Politics and Government in Washington DC | ||
| Organized Crime, Law, and Politics | ||
| American Public Policy | ||
| Ethnic and Racial Politics | ||
| The Legislative Process | ||
| Analyzing Public Policy in the American States | ||
| The Bureaucratic State | ||
| Government and the Economy | ||
| Business and Government Relations | ||
| American Constitutional Law | ||
or PLSC 471H | American Constitutional Law | |
| The American Legal Process | ||
| American Judicial Behavior | ||
| Civil Liberties and Due Process | ||
| Empirical Legal Studies | ||
| Sex, Race, & Justice: The U.S. Supreme Court and Equality | ||
| American State and Urban Politics | ||
| Congress and the Presidency | ||
| International Law and Organizations | ||
| Political and Legal Aspects of Recreation Services | ||
| Crime, Social Control, and the Legal System | ||
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Liberal Arts Academic Advising
814-865-2545
Use the Liberal Arts Meet the Academic Advisers web page to see the contact information for the specific adviser(s) of this program
Erie
Robert Speel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Political Science
156 Kochel Center
Erie, PA 16563
814-898-6206
rws15@psu.edu
Contact
University Park
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
202 Pond Lab
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-4597
https://polisci.la.psu.edu/undergraduate/advising/
ERIE
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
170 Kochel Center
Erie, PA 16563
814-898-6108
HSSOffice@psu.edu
https://behrend.psu.edu/school-of-humanities-social-sciences