Legal Studies

Have an impactful career in law and politics.

Legal Studies Degree

The body of law is large and contains multitudes, as Walt Whitman might say, comprising paralegals, legal assistants, court reporters, legal process servers, probation officers, law enforcement officers, law librarians and more. If a legal career appeals to you, majoring in legal studies may be an excellent option for you.

Legal studies is a fairly new major at Susquehanna University. In fact, most of our peer schools do not offer it at all. The Susquehanna program was designed with interdisciplinary studies as the focus so that you will be well prepared for a variety of careers. Another highlight of our program is that you will gain real-world experience at the Arlin M. Adams Center for Law & Society. You could write briefs in the district attorney’s office, discuss legal options with judges and clerks in county court or become a court-appointed child advocate.

You will graduate with a strong background in the law, American government, politics, ethics, regulations and civil liberties. You will be a concise writer, critical thinker, problem solver and calm mediator, transferable skills that also will take you place in the world of business. Whichever path you choose, know that your Susquehanna professors will do everything to make your journey a successful one.

WHERE LEGAL STUDIES AND SOCIAL STUDIES MEET

Make a winning case for your education at Susquehanna University. The Adams Center for Law & Society offers the possibility of exclusive opportunities to meet legal scholars and pursue valuable internships.

learn more

Four young people, three in suits and one in casual clothes, stand together indoors, smiling and laughing in conversation—perhaps discussing Legal Studies. One person holds a smartphone. The background is softly lit and out of focus.

99%

of students receive financial aid through academic merit scholarships and need-based grants

100%

of students gain professional experience through internships

95%

Susquehanna students study abroad

100%

of students learn applied writing skills that support a variety of legal careers

A smiling individual with short brown hair wearing a maroon shirt stands in front of a blurred background of books on shelves.

Portrait of a person with curly dark hair, wearing glasses. They are smiling and wearing a brown turtleneck with a light sweater, against a neutral background.

“One of my favorite things about life at Susquehanna is that there’s a fantastic community of people that really helps to keep me motivated. I have a great group of friends and professors, and they help me feel at home here at Susquehanna.”

— Jonathan Ulicny ’27

Legal Studies

Political Science

“The legal studies degree allows for personalization based on my interests, while providing me with professors who go above and beyond to foster improvement. What’s unique are the paid internships and scholarships you can utilize, offering invaluable experience in any field. I am prepared to tackle law school, a private law firm occupation or a public government position with ease.”

— Kaylee Kauffman ’23

Legal Studies

Internships

Explore Your Studies

Program Resources

A Glance Into Your Degree Pathway

With support from advisors and course planning tools, your time at Susquehanna is carefully designed to help you succeed. This example provides a glimpse into your degree experience, but you’ll have plenty of opportunities to customize your path with electives or study abroad programs that reflect your passions and career goals.

First Year – Fall Semester

POLI 111

American Government & Politics

An introductory course covering the major institutions and processes of American government and politics, with a focus on the Constitution, mass political behavior and the decision-making of elected officials. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Social Interactions.

SOCI 101

Principles of Sociology

Methods and approaches of scientific analysis applied to contemporary cultures and societies. Includes socialization, individual and group interaction, major social institutions, social organizations, social change, and collective behavior. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Social Interactions.

First Year – Spring Semester

PHIL 122

Resolving Moral Conflicts

Investigates problems involved in moral decision making, providing students with a better understanding of what it means to be a good individual, a good family member and a good citizen of the nation and world. 4 SH. CC: Ethics.

POLI 215

Law and Politics

Examines the law and the legal system in the United States, assessing the possibilities and limitations of the law. Studies the political basis of the law and critiques of the American legal system. Discusses the major players in the legal system, including lawyers, judges and juries. Course culminates with a mock trial. 4 SH.

Second Year – Fall Semester

ACCT 210

Legal Environment

The legal environment as it relates to business. Considers essential elements of consumer protection law, employment law, environmental regulation, court procedures, torts, introduction to contracts, agency law and selected laws regarding corporations. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. 4 SH. CC: Ethics Intensive, Interdisciplinary.

ENGL 299

Professional & Civic Writing

This course offers experience in the theory and practice of professional writing (writing that occurs in the workplace, especially in businesses, in government and for nonprofits). While the course is required for students in the Publishing and Editing emphasis of the Department of English and Creative Writing, students from other majors are welcome. Students will first choose a company or organization for which they would like to write. They will then gain experience writing a wide range of genres such as letters and memos; feature stories, interviews and biographical sketches; press kits; flyers and brochures; and proposals. We will also study the theory of professional writing, including how genres (generally seen as set formulas) evolve over time in response to changing situations; how genres engage power relations; and how genres can be made more open to divergent points of view. Prerequisite: FYSE-100 or an equivalent course. 4 SH. CC: Writing Intensive.

Second Year – Spring Semester

PHIL 213

Symbolic Logic

Examines basic procedures for determining the validity or invalidity of deductive arguments. Emphasizes standard notations, principles and methods used in modern symbolic logic. Also covers aspects of set theory. 4 SH. CC: Analytical Thought.

SOCI 255

Crime and Justice

This course explores the dimensions, causes, costs and correlates of the crime problem in the United States, and considers the uses and limitations of the criminal justice system in addressing it. Crime and Justice is organized around three interdisciplinary literatures: criminology, law and society, and criminal justice studies. Focusing on issues of lawmaking, law breaking and state response to crime, students will review and critique classical and contemporary approaches to the study of these phenomena; identify a range of theoretical approaches and empirical findings in the literatures identified above; and assess the strengths and limitations of contemporary crime control policies in light of accumulated empirical evidence. Prerequisite: SOCI-101, SOCI-102 or ANTH-162. 4 SH.

Third Year – Fall Semester

POLI 411

Constitutional Law

Examines the U.S. Supreme Court with an emphasis on its major decisions in questions of judicial review, federalism, separation of powers, interstate commerce, state police powers and substantive due process. Emphasizes the Court’s political role and judicial decision making. Prerequisite: Junior standing. POLI-111 is recommended. 4 SH. CC: Interdisciplinary, Writing Intensive.

N/A

Program Elective

Legal Studies

Choose from a variety of elective courses within this program to customize your goals.

Third Year – Spring Semester

N/A

Program Elective

Legal Studies

Choose from a variety of elective courses within this program to customize your goals.

Fourth Year – Fall Semester

POLI 412

Civil Liberties

Examines significant Supreme Court decisions concerning the protection of liberty and equality. Topics covered include freedom of speech and press, church-state relations, right to privacy, criminal procedure, and racial and gender discrimination. Prerequisite: junior or senior standing. POLI-111 is recommended. 4 SH. CC: Writing Intensive.

Fourth Year – Spring Semester

INTD 501

Senior Seminar

The Senior Seminar in international studies is the culmination and integration of the international studies major, although it is also open to students majoring in political science and public policy. This class may count as the capstone experience for students majoring in all three programs. It provides students with the opportunity to research, write and present a thesis on an approved topic. Students work closely with faculty members to formulate their theses and prepare both a research design and a final senior essay that implements that design. Students will also critically analyze others’ work. This course should be cross-listed with POLI-501. Prerequisites: POLI-205 Research Methods. 4SH. Capstone. CC: Writing Intensive.

LGST 505

Internship in Legal Studies

Practical experience in a supervised work program in a legal setting. This may include work in a law office, the office of a district attorney or public defender, in a court program, or work for a judge. The student must obtain approval from the Cooridinator of the legal studies program before beginning the internship. The faculty intern advisor will be chosen in consultation with the legal studies coordinator. To register for the internship, a student must be a declared legal studies minor, have junior or senior standing, and have completed at least two of the three required courses for the minor (ACCT-210, POLI-215, and either SOCI-255, SOCI-350, or SOCI-405). Only one internship may be counted toward the minor. 2 SH.

Other Legal Studies Courses

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

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).

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.

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).

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

One of the following:

SOCI-255 Crime and Justice
SOCI-350 Punishment and Society
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
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.

Double-counting restriction for interdisciplinary minors

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

Attorney
Legal advocate
Human resources manager
Court reporter
Paralegal

LEGAL STUDIES MAJOR GAINS REAL-WORLD LEGISLATIVE SKILLS IN SENATE INTERNSHIP

Susquehanna’s legal studies program offers students hands-on experience and career development opportunities through prestigious internships, preparing them for impactful careers in law and politics.