Recommended Courses
Many courses on campus are useful for pre-law students. Some of them are specifically law-related. These are useful to give you an introduction both to the subject matter of the law and to the style of teaching at the law school. It is unwise to take too many law-related course, though: law schools expect you to get your legal education in law school and not as an undergraduate. Some of the courses with specifically law-related content are as follows:
- ANTH 345 Politics, Social Organization, and Law : Political and legal systems of primitive societies, social control, and structure.
- CLAS 305 Roman Law : History and elements of Roman law, including persons, property, obligations, and inheritance, in context of social structure (family, gender, class, clavery, empire).
- COMM 421 Legal Communication : Analytical and communicative aspects of judicial argument; philosophy and techniques of jury trials, cross examination, and appellate advocacy; research preparation, and presentation of case briefs.
- ECON 434 Economic Analysis of Law : Common law and property; rationing of justice, resource allocation between prevention and enforcement; division of decision making between public and private sectors.
- EDPA 308 Politics and American Education : Historical study of political, legislative, judicial decisions that have shaped American education; interaction of educators, courts, legislative bodies; emphasis on in-depth analysis of current issues.
- JOUR 371 Censorship & the Law : From the Press to Cyberspace: The study of current and historical battles over the limits of free expression from press and public parks to television, movies, music and cyberspace.
- JOUR 462 Law of Mass Communication : Press law; government controls on the news media; legal responsibilities of the journalist.
- LAW 200 Law & Society : Sources and structure of law; history of Bill of Rights emphasizing effect on criminal justice system; limits of law in solving problems in American society.
- LAW 201 Law & Politics : Electing a President: Examination of the rules and realities of American politics, and the role politics plays in American life and culture.
- LAW 343 Courts and Society : A focus on the judiciary as an institution and its role in American society.
- LAW 402/PSYCH 402 Psychology & Law : Explores issues of responsibility and credibility. Intentional and unintentional behavior. Clinical biases. Topics include witness credibility, confessions, cults, hostages, battered persons, and repressed memories.
- LAW 203/PSYCH 403 Mental Health Law : Issues at the intersection of law and psychology, both civil - e.g., civil commitment - and criminal - e.g., the insanity defense. Emphasis on ethical issues.
- LAW 444 Civil and Political Rights & Liberties : An examination of debates and controversies surrounding the nature and scope of civil rights and civil liberties. The same as POSC 444.
- PHIL 140 Contemporary Moral and Social Issues : Application of philosophical theories in ethics to problems such as racial and sexual discrimination, I.Q., social justice, rights of animals, law and morality, and privacy.
- PHIL 330 Theories of Law : Examination of some of the major classical and contemporary theories of the nature and functions of law and of its relation to morality.
- PHIL 430 Philosophy of Law : The nature of law, legal realism, legal positivism, concepts used in law, such as punishment, responsibility, insanity, negligence, strict liability; law and morality.
- POSC 130 Law, Politics, and Public Policy : Interaction between law and politics; overview of the American legal system; value conflicts and public policy questions which arise within it.
- POSC 340 Constitutional Law : Development of constitutional law by the courts; leading cases bearing on major constitutional issues; the federal system; powers of government; civil liberties.
- POSC 345 International Law : Nature, origin, and development of international law; basic principles analyzed and illustrated with cases.
- POSC 347 Environmental Law : Introduces students to central concepts and theories in environmental law adn regulation; analyzes present environmental laws and regulations.
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