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.

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.

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.

Advising Hours

Legal Studies Advising

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.

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Students are permitted to take up to three LGST courses on a P/NP basis that will count toward the major. If a student wishes to qualify for honors, the number of P/NP courses should be no more than two.

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.

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 General Catalog policy, generally no more than 15 percent of the graduating class earns honors or highest honors in the major.