About

The Legal Studies program allows students to explore “law,” in all its meanings, through a variety of liberal arts perspectives. Instead of teaching law as a set of rules to learn, we look at the possibilities and limits of law in concept, in practice, in history, and around the world. The program features many challenging courses that draw students who simply find law a fascinating subject to explore, as well providing advising for those considering careers related to law.

Some Legal Studies students go on to careers in the law, but many do not. Regardless of one’s path, we believe that law provides an excellent focal point for learning and thinking about the world. Through coursework in Legal Studies, students will:

• Make significant gains in critical thinking skills, such as reasoning deductively, inductively, and analogically
• Be able to research, read, and write about legal concepts and phenomena at a level appropriate to a highly informed, ethical citizen
• Be able to examine and critique legal problems from a position external to law, informed by the interactions between law and social, cultural, historical, economic, and political forces
• Assess the possibilities and limitations of law and legal discourse as a means of acting in the world.