Law Studies, BA
LAW STUDIES MAJOR
Delaware State University’s Bachelor of Arts degree in Law Studies is designed to prepare students to enter the legal field as a paralegal or legal assistant working under the supervision of an attorney. Additionally, the Law Studies degree is an excellent pre-law track for those students interested in going to law school. The Law Studies major is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA). To graduate with a degree in Law Studies, students must satisfy the general education requirements prescribed by the University as well as all major requirements as designated on the Law Studies curriculum sheet. Additionally, students must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours of legal specialty course work. Students must complete at least nine semester credits of their legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction which can be any combination of face-to-face courses and/or synchronous online courses.
Transfer credit for equivalent legal specialty courses is accepted for students transferring from paralegal programs, whether ABA-approved or not. If a student has earned credit from an institution that is not ABA-approved, the ABA program coordinator will review the description of the course content, the course syllabus, and information about the institution before credit is transferred for equivalent legal specialty courses. Transfer students must complete at least 9 credit hours of legal specialty course work at Delaware State University including LAWS 400 Senior Capstone.
Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.
Law Studies coursework includes the following required courses which students must pass with a grade of “C” or better:
- LAWS 100 Introduction to Law
- LAWS 200 Legal Research & Writing (legal specialty course)
- LAWS 215 Advanced Legal Research & Writing (legal specialty course)
- LAWS 201 Criminal Law
- LAWS 211 Contract Law (legal specialty course)
- LAWS 300 Tort & Personal Injury Law (legal specialty course)
- LAWS 301 Civil Litigation (legal specialty course)
- LAWS 350 Evidence & Trial Advocacy (legal specialty course)
- LAWS 400 Senior Capstone (legal specialty course)
- Six hours of LAWS electives
Law Studies majors must also take and pass the following required courses with a grade of ‘C’ or better:
- PHIL 101 Critical Thinking
- HIST 201/203 American History to 1865 or African American History to 1865
- HIST 202/204 American History from 1865 or African American History from 1865
- HIST 205 Themes in World History
- POLS 200 American National Government
- POLS 307 Constitutional Law
- POLS 309 LSAT Preparation Course
- POLS 405 The Supreme Court
- SCCJ 313 Courts & Criminal Justice
- Six credit hours of HIST/POLS courses at the 300-400 level
Additionally, majors must take six hours of foreign language coursework, four hours of natural science coursework (with a lab), three hours of math, and three hours of an arts and humanities elective as well as:
- ENGL 201/205 (World Literature I or African American Literature I)
- ENGL 202/206 (World Literature II or African American Literature II)
- SCCJ 101 (Introduction to Sociology) PSYC 201 (Introduction to Psychology) may be substituted for SCCJ 101.
Law Studies majors must earn a “C” or higher in all Law Studies courses, General Education core courses, and all other required courses as designated on the curriculum sheet.
LAWS STUDIES MINOR
To graduate with a minor in Law Studies, a student must complete eighteen (18) hours of coursework in Law Studies at a grade of ‘C’ or better. Acceptable Law Studies coursework includes courses with the prefix LAWS, such as LAWS 100 (Introduction to Law), LAWS 200 (Legal Research & Writing), LAWS 215 (Advanced Legal Research and Writing), LAWS 201 (Criminal Law), LAWS 211 (Contract Law), LAWS 300 (Tort & Personal Injury Law), LAWS 301 (Civil Litigation), LAWS 350 (Evidence & Trial Advocacy); PHIL 101 and the following specific POLS and SCCJ courses:
POLS 307 (Constitutional Law), POLS 309 (LSAT Preparation Course), POLS 405 (The Supreme Court), SCCJ 313 (Courts & Criminal Justice). Law Studies minors must earn a “C” or higher in all Law Studies minor courses.
The Law Studies minor is not an ABA-approved program.