BA in Law in Society

Quinnipiac University’s Law in Society program approaches the study of law, legal processes and legal institutions in the tradition of the humanities. The classic values of a liberal arts education are combined with the critical thinking, analytical writing and oral presentation skills of the legal profession to prepare graduates to become active and thoughtful citizens in their local and global communities. The Law in Society major culminates with the integration of the classroom component with professional skills development where students complete both a scholarly thesis and an internship in a professional, law-related setting. Graduates of the program are well prepared for a variety of careers in law and law-related fields such as policy, compliance, politics, paralegal, government, social services, criminal justice and conflict resolution, as well as to continue on to law school or to other graduate work in the social sciences or humanities.

Students in the Law in Society major take a wide variety of courses to learn and understand the complexities of the law. The core requirements provide students with the foundation to further explore various areas of law. Students learn to research, reason and write about the law, learn how the civil and constitutional systems work, and work at an internship in a law office setting. Students integrate their education in a senior capstone thesis course, which provides the opportunity to do independent research on a topic of their choosing, pulling together all the courses they have already taken.

A humanities-based approach to law necessitates an exposure to different methodologies and distinct approaches to the understanding of law. While the core component exposes students to the legal methodology and the policy context required to understanding the field of law, the elective requirements provide students with an understanding of how the law shapes and is shaped by particular perspectives, historical contexts and actual practice. The requirement of two Legal Practice courses and one Alternate Perspectives course helps the students to learn different ways of approaching legal problems and exposes them to various ways of problem solving. As part of the major requirements, students complete a legal studies certificate, approved by the American Bar Association.