When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.

Learning Goals

• Knowledge about the American civil and criminal legal system, including both the institutions and the processes.
• Knowledge about the rights and responsibilities upheld within the American legal system.
• Familiarity with at least three different disciplinary approaches to the study of the legal system and the relationships between those approaches.
• An understanding of the implications of the law for social and political behavior.
• An ability to analyze and critique complex arguments, showing strong analytical reasoning abilities.

Major in Legal Studies

Legal Studies is an interdisciplinary major that focuses on legal ideas, legal institutions, and the legal process and the relationship between that process and larger social and political forces. The major is a pre-professional program focused on allowing students to better appreciate the implications of the law for individual rights and liberties, the relationships between different groups within society, and the functioning of our political system and to discover if they want to pursue a legal career. The program of study includes courses from Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, and other subjects. Courses are designed to help students develop their ability to think clearly and to analyze arguments critically.

Double-counting restriction

There are no restrictions on double-majoring with another program or minoring with another program, other than that a Legal Studies major cannot double-count more than 12 SH with another major or minor.

Requirements for the Major in Legal Studies

36    All majors Legal Studies Majors must complete the following courses:

4   ACCT-210 Legal Environment

4   ENGL-299 Professional and Civic Writing: Theory and Practice

4   PHIL-122 Resolving Moral Conflicts
or PHIL 125 Justice

4   PHIL-213 Symbolic Logic

4   POLI-111 American Government and Politics

4   POLI-215 Law and Politics

4   POLI-411 Constitutional Law

4   POLI-412 Civil Liberties

4   SOCI-255 Crime and Justice
or SOCI-350 Punishment and Society

8   Complete 8 SH of the following courses:

2   ACCT-220 Intro to Taxation (2 SH)

2   ACCT-310 Advanced Business Law

4   ANTH-311 Regulating Bodies: Food, Sex, Drugs, and the Economy

4   COMM-481 Media Law

4   ENST-335 Environmental Law and Regulations

4   MGMT-416 Intellectual Property and Business

4   PHIL-150 Race, Class, and Ethics

4   POLI-334 International Organizations and Law

4   SOCI-311 Sociological Theory

0-4  Internship

Students must complete an internship, which may or may not count for credit.

A capstone experience is required for the major. If a student has not completed a capstone for another program, the Director of Legal Studies will work with them to identify a possible capstone experience (such as POLI-501 Senior Seminar).

Double-counting restriction for interdisciplinary minors

Only 8 semester hours of this minor may be double-counted toward the student’s major.

When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.

Minor in Legal Studies

The legal studies minor is not to be regarded as a prelaw program but is designed to be compatible with and complement various major programs, including those that remain traditional foundations for careers in law. Students planning a legal studies minor should declare their intention during their sophomore year to ensure that the required courses will fit into their program.

To complete the 24-semester-hour minor in legal studies, students must take the following courses: ACCT-210 Legal Environment, POLI-215 Law and Politics, and one of the following: SOCI-255 Crime and Justice, SOCI-350 Punishment and Society, or SOCI-405 Law and Society. Twelve additional semester hours must be selected from the following (at least one of these electives must be at the 300 or 400 level and not already counted toward one of the above requirements): ACCT-220 Introduction to Taxation; ACCT-310 Advanced Business Law; ACCT-496 when taught as ‘Fraud and Forensic Accounting’; ANTH-311 Regulating Bodies; COMM-481 Media Law; ENST-335 Environmental Laws and Regulations; MGMT-416 Intellectual Property and Business; MGMT-362 Employment Law; PHIL-125 Justice; PHIL-122 Resolving Moral Conflicts; POLI-334 International Organizations and Law; POLI-411 Constitutional Law; POLI-412 Civil Liberties; SOCI-255 Crime and Justice; SOCI-350 Punishment and Society; SOCI-405 Law and Society; and LGST-505 Internship in Legal Studies. Other courses may count as electives with the approval of the legal studies coordinator. Students minoring in legal studies are urged to take additional courses in history, economics, sociology, political science and other related fields. Students should note that the required and elective Sociology courses have a prerequisite of SOCI-101 or ANTH-162.

Further information may be secured from Assistant Professor of Political Science Alison Merrill, coordinator of the legal studies program.

Other Legal Studies Courses

Information on the other legal studies classes may be found in the course catalog under the respective department headings.