Legal Studies
Legal Studies provides a liberal arts education through the multidisciplinary study of law. Students read literature drawn from philosophy, history, sociology, economics, political science, and other humanities and social science disciplines, as well as law, to become familiar with legal ideas and the nature of legal reasoning, the character of legal institutions, and the functioning of the legal process. A wide variety of courses deals with jurisprudence, the philosophy of law, American legal history, non-western legal traditions, politics and law, the criminal justice process, property law, and economic regulation.
The Legal Studies program is not a pre-law program, nor does it provide paralegal training. It is not designed to prepare students for admission to law schools nor for work in the legal profession. It does, on the other hand, help students to develop their abilities to think clearly and to analyze arguments and claims critically.
Lower Division Prerequisites for the Legal Studies Major
- One semester of introductory course work in each of the following areas: statistics, economics, philosophy, European history. A list of acceptable UC courses is available at the department.
Note: The lower division course work indicated above must be completed on a letter-graded basis with an overall grade-point average of 2.0 or better prior to declaration of major. Two areas must be completed before declaration.
Departmental Contact
Lauri LaPointe
lauri@berkeley.edu
2240 Piedmont #2150
(510) 643-5823
General Catalog Description
http://sis.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_view_req?p_dept_cd=LEGALST
Departmental Website
http://legalstudies.berkeley.edu/?p=7
Other Majors to Consider
Peace & Conflict Studies
Philosophy
Rhetoric
Political Science
Sociology