The law is woven into everything around us.

There are many reasons to study the law. Here are five we find particularly essential:

“There is hardly any political question in the United States that sooner or later does not turn into a judicial question."  

De Tocqueville wrote that two centuries ago, and it remains true, and not just for political questions: we litigate most everything that is contentious!

Studying justice, injustice, criminal law, policing, and the Constitution is complex, requiring research skills, communication skills, and analytical skills that you can use for the rest of your life, whatever path you decide to take in terms of a career.

The study of law and justice can position you well not just for law school, but for employment in policing or the FBI, as well as work as a paralegal, in social work, in politics, in nonprofits connected to incarceration or justice more generally, and more.

"The study of law should be introduced as part of a liberal education, to train and enrich the mind. I am convinced that, like history, economics, and metaphysics and perhaps even to a greater degree than these, the law could be advantageously studied with a view to the general development of the mind."  

These words from Justice Louis Brandeis embody what Ithaca College sees as a value in education overall and in interdisciplinary education in particular. At IC, we study the law and justice from the perspectives of commerce, politics, sociology, history, philosophy, and much more.

As citizens, we will be asked to participate in civic society throughout our lives: voting, as members of a jury, and as members of an informed public speaking up on issues of importance.  

Having a background in how the law works and what its values are can be essential to becoming meaningful, responsible, and informed citizens.