Gwen Seaquist, Professor and Coordinator
Legal studies offers both a minor and a major. In either, students have the opportunity to become familiar with legal ideas, legal institutions, and the legal process from the perspectives of multiple disciplines. Within the context of a growing literature in this field, students learn a variety of research and methodological approaches that enable them to understand and evaluate how the law works, as well as its underlying policies. Legal studies is premised on the belief that the study of law and justice necessarily incorporates a broad range of academic disciplines, and that its pursuit will encourage sustained reflection on fundamental values, as well as critical analysis of human behavior and institutions.
The major in legal studies is not intended as a substitute or as a preparation for any part of a law school curriculum, nor does it provide a paralegal certificate. The curriculum incorporates an interdisciplinary approach and prepares students for the complex lives they will lead, which assuredly will include law as an underpinning, even if it is not a career choice.
Students graduating in legal studies are particularly well qualified to pursue graduate work on legal topics in humanities and social science disciplines or to attend professional school in fields such as teaching, public policy, business and health administration, social work, and law. Legal studies graduates find employment in both the public and private sectors.
| LGST-32300 | Legal Research Seminar (3) | |
| LGST-49800 | Internship: Legal Studies (3) | |
| LGST-40200 | Capstone Course (3) | |
| POLT-12300 | Political Justice (3) | |
| SPCM-12400 | Courtrooms and Communications (3) | |
| TVR-12300 | Law and the Media (3) | |
| SPCM-11500 | Business and Professional Communication (3) | |
| WRTG-10600 | Academic Writing I (3) or | |
| WRTG-11100 | Academic Writing II (3) | |
| WRTG-20100 | Persuasive Argument (3) or | |
| SPCM-21500 | Argument and Debate (3) | |
| PHIL-21200 | Introduction to Ethics (3) | |
| PHIL-26500 | Philosophical Problems in Law (3) | |
| GBUS-20300 | The Legal Environment of Business I (3) | |
| GBUS-20400 | The Legal Environment of Business II (3) or | |
| GBUS-30700 | Commercial Law (3) | |
| POLT-31000 | Supreme Court in U.S. Politics (3) | |
| POLT-30300 | Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties (3) | |
| GBUS-32400 | Alternative Dispute Resolution (3) | |
| Total required courses | 48 |
Select 6 credits from the following:
| LGST-30700 | Environmental Law and Policy (3) | |
| GBUS-31000 | International Business Law (3) | |
| LGST-32000 | Marketplace Regulation and Consumer Protection (3) | |
| GBUS-35300 | Real Estate Law (3) | |
| LGST-49900 | Independent Study: Legal Studies (3) | |
| LGST-30600 | Criminal Law (3) | |
| HPS-33500 | Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Policy (3) | |
| SPMM-31000 | Labor Relations in Sport (3) | |
| MKTG-39100 | Electronic Commerce: Legal and Ethical Issues (3) | |
| LGST-43000 | Selected Topics (3) | |
| HRM-44400 | Employment Law (3) | |
| Total applied law electives | 6 |
Lists are updated every year. Contact Gwen Seaquist at 607-274-3944 for the most recent list.
Select 6 credits from the following:
| SPMM-30300 | Seminar in Legal and Ethical Issues in Sport (3) | |
| TVR-31200 | Government and Media (3) | |
| POLT-11500 | Sustainable Politics (3) | |
| POLT-12500 | The Politics of Deviance (3) | |
| POLT-12800 | Introduction to International Relations (3) | |
| POLT-14100 | Power: Race, Sex, and Class (3) | |
| POLT-14200 | Ideas and Ideologies (3) | |
| POLT-30100 | Legislative Behavior (3) | |
| POLT-32800 | International Conflict (3) | |
| POLT-34100 | U.S. Political Thought (3) | |
| POLT-34200 | Liberalism and Marxism (3) | |
| POLT-34300 | Feminist Theory (3) | |
| POLT-36200 | Theory and Politics of Public Policy (3) | |
| POLT-36400 | Law and Public Policy (3) | |
| POLT-36600 | The Politics of Health (3) | |
| POLT-36500 | Environmental Politics (3) | |
| POLT-37000 | Selected Topics in Public Policy (3) | |
| PHIL-15100 | Reasoning (3) | |
| PHIL-20300 | Introduction to Logic (3) | |
| PHIL-20600 | Problem of Evil (3) | |
| PHIL-21000 | Freedom, Authority, and Responsibility (3) | |
| PHIL-22000 | Political Philosophy (3) | |
| PHIL-25000 | Environmental Ethics | |
| PHIL-32500 | Philosophy of Public Policy | |
| PHIL-35200 | Moral Philosophy (3) | |
| SOCI-20300 | Juvenile Delinquency (3) | |
| SOCI-20700 | Race and Ethnicity (3) | |
| SOCI-20800 | Social Change (3) | |
| SOCI-21300 | Sexual Oppression (3) | |
| SOCI-21400 | Definitions of Normality (3) | |
| SOCI-21500 | Introduction to Contemporary Mental Health (3) | |
| SOCI-21800 | Individual and Society (3) | |
| SOCI-29300 | Introduction to Social Institutions (3) | |
| SOCI-30200 | Sociology of Crime (3) | |
| SOCI-30300 | Global Race and Ethnic Relations (3) | |
| SOCI-30700 | Social Policy (3) | |
| SOCI-31000 | Civil Rights and Social Movements (3) | |
| SOCI-31300 | Social Inequality (3) | |
| SOCI-31800 | Political Sociology (3) | |
| SOCI-32200 | Forms of Punishment (3) | |
| SOCI-32300 | Family Violence (3) | |
| SOCI-30200 | Sociology of Crime (3) | |
| SOCI-32400 | Sociology of Violence (3) | |
| SOCI-32500 | Race, Class and Gender (3) | |
| SOCI-41500 | Seminar: The Police (3) | |
| SOCI-41600 | Seminar: Treatment and Prevention of Family | |
| SOCI-41800 | Seminar: Sociology of the Law (3) | |
| SOCI-42100 | Seminar: Race, Racism, and the Law (3) | |
| SOCI-43200 | Selected Topics in Criminal and Juvenile Justice Studies (3) | |
| SOCI-47200 | Independent Studies in Criminal and Juvenile Justice Studies (3) | |
| SOCI-49200 | Internship: Criminal and Juvenile Justice (3) | |
| SOCI-44200 | Tutorial in Criminal and Juvenile Justice Studies (3) | |
| Total | 6 |
Lists are updated every year. Contact Gwen Seaquist at 607-274-3944 for the most recent list.
See explanation of general education distribution requirements on page 114.
| Self and society - 3 credits in values, beliefs, behavior; 6 credits in cultures and institutions; 3 additional credits in category A or B | 12 | |
| Science, mathematics, and formal reasoning - 6 credits in science; 3 credits in mathematics and formal reasoning | 9 | |
| Human expression - 6 credits in language; 6 credits in visual and performing arts | 12 | |
| Global and historical perspectives | 3 | |
| Total | 36 |
| Other LA electives | 12 | |
| Open electives | 12 | |
| Total | 120 |
The purpose of the minor is to allow students to develop a greater understanding of the impact of law and legal institutions on society and public policy. Students study the sources and evolution of law, the legal process, and how law functions in a complex social, political, and economic system.
The minor consists of 18 credits. The two required foundation courses introduce legal methodology, including legal analysis, the Socratic method, and case law studies. In addition, students select two courses on specific applications of the law and two courses on the larger social and ethical dimensions of the law. The requirements of the minor should complement and supplement the majors of students with diverse career goals.
| GBUS-20300 | The Legal Environment of Business I (3) | |
| GBUS-20400 | The Legal Environment of Business II (3) or | |
| GBUS-30700 | Commercial Law (3) |
Select 6 credits from the list under the legal studies major. Lists are updated every year. Contact Gwen Seaquist at 607-274-3944 for the most recent list.
Select 6 credits from the list that appears above, under the legal studies major. Lists are updated every year. Contact Gwen Seaquist at 607-274-3944 for the most recent list.