Minimum number of credits required to graduate: 124
Minimum cumulative GPA required to graduate: 2.0
Minimum number of credits to complete the major: 44
School: School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Political Science, Policy and History
Learn more about the program
The Law and Policy major is an interdisciplinary major for students who are interested in attending law school or graduate school for public policy or public administration, who plan on pursuing legal or policy related careers, or who want to learn more about different areas of the law that may be relevant to their professional careers or to legal areas they are likely to encounter in their personal lives. The major provides students with exposure to substantive law courses and topics, as well as policy development and analysis. For those students interested in attending law or graduate school, the courses in the major will help confirm their interest in pursuing a legal career, enhance the critical thinking, analytical, and other skills that students will need to be successful in law school or graduate school. The courses provide insight into how lawyers and policy makers think and analyze legal issues, expose students to the Socratic method and to the unique way of studying the law used in law school, and also provide students with sufficient knowledge and background in the law to be competitive in law school. The experiential component will provide students with practical exposure to and experience in the law or a related legal area. Students can meet this experiential requirement by participating in an internship, a service learning assignment in a legal area, Moot Court, shadowing an attorney, or by engaging in additional activities that expose students to practical experience in the law (must be approved by the program).
Students will also develop an understanding of public policy and administration as a field of academic study and an area of professional practice. Students can take electives that connect to their own interests and career pathway. For students not planning on graduate school, the major will provide them with practical information and exposure to the legal system and to the policy issues and topics that will be useful in their careers and personal lives. Students have the option of taking an internship in either law-related offices, government agencies at the federal, state, or local level, or in nonprofit agencies that advocate for substantive policy outcomes.