Legal Studies B.A.

Information and Policies

Introduction

Legal Studies (LGST) is an interdisciplinary, liberal arts major focused on legal ideas, institutions, and issues in and beyond the U.S. Our courses introduce students to the integral roles of law in social life, including its complex relation to values and shifting views of justice, rights, liberty, equality, citizenship, and authority; to culture and social practices; and to historical, political, and economic forces and institutions.

Our program is housed under the auspices of the Politics Department, but operates independently and is designed to provide different disciplinary lenses on intersections between law and other realms. These include the relation of law to human rights, civil rights, voting rights, and property rights; to immigration, citizenship, borders, and sovereignty; to racial, gender, and economic inequalities; to environmental and health justice; to the scope and limits of governmental power; to the law of democracy and relation between citizens and the state; to relations between nation-states; and to concerns regarding access to justice, justice gaps, and historical and systemic injustices.

Students who join this major have the opportunity to take courses with faculty from a range of backgrounds in the social sciences, humanities, arts, and law. Our curriculum includes course offerings spanning from anthropology, art, economics, environmental studies, feminist studies, history, Latin American and Latino studies, literature, music, philosophy, politics, psychology, and sociology. This allows our students to engage their interests through different approaches and analytical frameworks, and to consider many dimensions of law and its operation. For example, legal studies students might learn how to use approaches from psychology or philosophy to think about crime and punishment; they might use approaches from political theory or economics to think about property rights or social welfare policies; they might consider civil rights or privacy issues through approaches from critical race theory or feminist studies; they might use approaches from history or sociology to consider law in different eras or in relation to different groups; they might use approaches from politics to consider human rights and legal systems outside the U.S.

The legal studies major provides a broad academic platform from which students can pursue many different career paths and/or advanced studies. Alumni from our program work in many areas: law and the legal profession, government, non-profits, education, health, and community services, technology and software engineering, business, consulting and accounting, the entertainment industry, media, journalism, and communications. Our alums are also successful in pursuing graduate degrees in many fields.  Although legal studies is often of interest to students considering law school or law-related careers, the major is not designed as “pre-law” or preparation for law school. (Students who are considering law school should visit the Career Center's website and pre-law coach.

Our program strongly encourages students to enrich their studies with additional learning and opportunities. Legal Studies sponsors a speakers series and co-sponsors other talks and events, including career and alumni panels. We also encourage students to pursue internships or field experiences, such as through our legal studies internship seminar (LGST 185); Legal Aid & Advocacy (LGST 188A and OAKS 188B/LGST 188B) through the UCDC program, a one-quarter study and internship program in Washington, D.C.; or through the UC Center Sacramento, which offers a one-quarter study and internship program at the state capitol. Students may also want to study abroad through Global Learning at UC Santa Cruz, and some may want to consider developing independent research projects on topics of special interest to them. 

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the major, undergraduates with a B.A. in Legal Studies will have met the following objectives:

1. describe, explain, and compare the sources and functions of law in the U.S. and other national or international contexts, including drawing on theoretical perspectives, institutional perspectives, and social/cultural perspectives;
2. analyze the role of laws, courts, and other legal institutions in broader society, including the historical, social, political, and economic contexts in which it operates;
3. evaluate the operation and function of legal norms, practices, and systems/institutions from a variety of disciplinary and social perspectives;
4. apply and critically evaluate arguments about legal principles and norms, practices, and institutions based on logic and evidence, and from a variety of disciplinary perspectives; and
5. develop and communicate well-organized, persuasive, and well-supported written and oral arguments and analyses regarding law and legal issues based on appropriate empirical and/or theoretical evidence and logic.

Academic Advising for the Program

Undergraduate Advisor 

The undergraduate advisor offers specific information about navigating through the program and the curriculum and and assists students with prerequisites, requirements, policies, procedures, learning support, guidance on internships, scholarships, and opportunities for undergraduate research. Please contact the LGST undergraduate advisor at legalstudies@ucsc.edu. 

Peer Advisors 

Peer advising can assist in academic planning in regards to major and minor requirements and help prepare declaration of major and minor paperwork. Please contact the LGST peer advising team at lgstpoli@ucsc.edu. 

Getting Started in the Major: Frosh

This major is not highly sequential or course intensive. Although it is advisable to begin taking courses toward the major in the first year, it is not required.

Transfer Information and Policy

Transfer Admission Screening Policy

No major preparation courses are required prior to transfer; however, one of the following courses or their equivalents are recommended to ensure timely graduation.

Prospective students are also encouraged to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or to complete all UC Santa Cruz general education requirements before matriculation.

Getting Started in the Major: Transfer Students

To ensure a smooth transition into UC Santa Cruz and timely completion of the major, transfer students should meet with the undergraduate advisor as early as possible to discuss a two-year major planner and course enrollment. Completion of LGST 10 in the first quarter will allow timely declaration of the major (required in the second quarter of enrollment).

Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process

Major Qualification

Students may declare the major after completing the following course: LGST 10, Introduction to the Legal Process.

Students will ideally have completed some or all of the remaining lower-division requirements before declaring the major.

Transfer students should also consult the Transfer Information and Policy section.

Appeal Process

Students who are approaching the campus declaration deadline and who have not completed LGST 10, with a grade of C or better may petition to declare the major. This petition will either be approved, denied, or provided with conditions (e.g., completion of other courses with certain grades) to be resolved within at most one more enrolled quarter. 

How to Declare a Major

Students who are eligible to declare the major must complete the legal studies academic planning form and share it via email with ymonterh@ucsc.edu. Declaration of major workshops provide additional information on this process and are offered each quarter.

Students develop a program of study during the major declaration process. The major requirements consist of 11 courses, mapped out in the Requirements and Planners tab. Please also see the bottom of the Requirements and Planners tab for a four-year sample course plan for legal studies majors.

Letter Grade Policy

This program does not have a letter grade policy.

Course Substitution Policy

Students may petition the department to substitute only one upper-division independent study or field study toward the elective requirement in the legal studies major. UCDC and UCSAC internships are exempt from this limit.

Honors

To be considered for honors or highest honors at graduation, a student must have taken a minimum of nine (9) graded courses in the major. P/NP grades are not included when calculating GPA in the major. “Honors” and “Highest Honors” classifications will be awarded to graduating students who achieve GPAs of 3.67 and 3.8 respectively, based on classes taken within the legal studies major. Per UC Santa Cruz policy, generally no more than 15 percent of the graduating class earns honors or highest honors in the major.

Requirements and Planners

Course Requirements

In addition to completing LGST 10, legal studies majors are required to take a course in philosophical logic or ethics, a course on constitutional law, and a course on international or comparative law. They must also take courses in each of three broadly defined thematic areas: theory, public law and institutions, and law and society. Within the theory theme, students may take courses such as legal theory, jurisprudence, ethics, logic, and social and political thought; within the law and society theme, courses topics range from gender to race to psychology to economics; within the public law and institutions theme, courses range from environmental law to human rights law to criminal justice to public policy. To fulfill the senior exit requirement, students can take a senior capstone seminar, or they may opt to write a senior thesis.

Lower-Division Courses

All students are required to complete and pass LGST 10 prior to declaring the major. This course is normally taken the first year. 

Choose one of the following courses:

All legal studies majors are required to take one of these philosophy courses (transfer students are strongly encouraged to take a similar course prior to enrolling at UC Santa Cruz). 

Upper-Division Courses

Complete one of the following courses:

Plus one of the following courses:

Thematic Core Course Requirement — 6 courses

Legal studies majors are required to take six thematic core courses, with a minimum of one in each of the three thematic areas:

A. Theory

B. Public Law and Institutions

C. Law and Society

A. Theory Theme Courses

The following courses are offered by the Legal Studies Program, are cross-listed with LGST by another department, or are offered by another department. Enrollment in LGST or the listed course code will count toward the legal studies "Theory" major requirements. 

B. Public Law and Institutions Theme Courses

The following courses are offered by the Legal Studies Program, are cross-listed with LGST by another department, or are offered by another department. Enrollment in LGST or the listed course code will count toward the legal studies "Public Law and Institutions" major requirements. 

C. Law and Society Theme Courses

The following courses are offered by the Legal Studies Program, are cross-listed with LGST by another department, or are offered by another department. Enrollment in LGST or the listed course code will count toward the legal studies "Law and Society" major requirements. 

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement

Students in every major must satisfy that major's upper-division disciplinary communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement in legal studies is satisfied by completing one of the following three alternatives:

1. Both

2. OR a Senior Seminar

3. OR a Senior Thesis (two or three quarters)

Comprehensive Requirement

Students can satisfy the senior comprehensive requirement in the legal studies major by successfully completing one of the following two options:

Senior Capstone

The capstone is designed to provide an interdisciplinary integration of themes related to the study of law and includes a substantial writing requirement.

Senior Thesis (2-3 quarters).

Completion of a senior thesis of a minimum of 50 pages with a substantial research content, supervised by a legal studies faculty member or affiliate.

Planners

The tables below are for informational purposes and do not reflect all university, general education, and credit requirements. See Undergraduate Graduation Requirements for more information.

Sample four-year and two-year course plans for students majoring in legal studies are provided below. 

Four-Year Sample Course Planner for Frosh Students

In addition to the specific courses shown in this four-year planner, a student must complete courses satisfying the general education requirements. See the UC Santa Cruz Legal Studies website to view courses and designations for which courses fulfill the majors' three-core thematic requirements: Theory, Public Law and Institutions, and Law & Society.

Two-Year Sample Course Planner for Transfer Students

This planner assumes that a student has completed all general education requirements, beyond major preparation requirements before coming to UC Santa Cruz. See the UCSC Legal Studies website to view courses and designations for which courses fulfill the majors' three-core thematic requirements: Theory, Public Law and Institutions, and Law & Society.

*Articulated equivalent courses may be taken prior to transfer.