In Stephens’ Legal Studies program, you will learn skills in writing and oral communication, careful analysis of texts and arguments, and critical and careful thinking about social issues.

QUICK FACTS

• Learn from a dedicated faculty with a low student-to-faculty ratio
  
• Join the Stephens’ chapter of the law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, which hosts social events and guest lecturers
  
• Participate in law-related internships, dinners and other events
  
• Consider a double major or minor in areas such as English, Entrepreneurship and Business Management, and Psychology
  
• Work with legal materials and legal professionals, and learn about the U.S. court system, legal research methods, case analysis and legal writing, as well as issues of justice in law and society
  
• Observe the judicial system at work at the Boone County Courthouse, located just blocks from campus

B.A. in LEGAL STUDIES
The Stephens’ Legal Studies program is among one of the few pre-law programs at undergraduate institutions in the nation. Through a skills-based approach, you will learn to think critically and analytically, necessary skills to do well on the law school admission exam (LSAT). Benefit from courses that are taught by a professor who holds a juris doctor, and that are based in legal theory, rather than political science. To get a step ahead, you will study legal topics that are covered in the first year of law school. Upon graduation, you will hold a competitive advantage when applying to law schools.

Legal Studies majors also are equipped with the theoretical and substantive knowledge necessary to succeed in law-related professions.

Also available is a minor in Legal Studies.

ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP
3:3 LAW PROGRAM
A joint program with the neighboring University of Missouri–Columbia, (MU) allows you to complete undergraduate coursework in three years and, with a successful GPA and required LSAT score, earn early admission to MU ’s Law School. Students earn a bachelor’s degree from Stephens after the successful completion of the first year of law school. Thus, you earn a law degree in six years, instead of the normal seven years.

The program is a “succeed-sooner” opportunity for high-caliber, highly motivated students. Stephens’ pre-law adviser ensures that you take the courses and obtain the skills you need for law school, in addition to offering up-to-date advice on the law school admission process.

Visit www.law.missouri.edu/ to learn more.

REQUIRED COURSES

Legal Studies Major Required Courses

• LGS/WST 110: Women, Law & Justice 
• LGS 220: Legal Analysis and Problem Solving
• PHL 201: Logic and Critical Thinking
• LGS 260: Supreme Court and Constitutional Law 
• LGS 250: Conflict Resolution
• LGS 302: Professional Communication
• LGS 330 Philosophy and Law Seminar
• BUS/LGS 352: Business Law
• MCO 362: Media Law
• ENG 340: Language: Use and Abuse
• LGS 492: Senior Essay and Oral Defense

At least one of the following courses:

• LBA 142: Peacemaking in the Modern World 
• LGS 301: Internship
• LGS 340 Terrorism: Perspectives on Acts of Violence

FACILITIES
The Legal Studies Center in Dudley Hall is a meeting place for Legal Studies students and faculty. It contains a career resource area, a basic law micro-library and a space for seminar classes. Students also make use of the neighboring University of Missouri Law School. Its law library is used for research in several classes. The Stephens College Library provides access to the Lexis-Nexis legal database for students doing legal research for undergraduate courses. Some classes also attend trials at the Boone County Courthouse, just five blocks from Stephens.

SAMPLE INTERNSHIPS

• Janee Jones ’06, General Counsel’s Office, Missouri State Treasurer, Jefferson City, Mo.
  
• Audrey Swartz ’06, Lansing, Michigan Teen Court
  
• Minet Santos ’04 and Amanda Jones Drew ’03, State of Missouri Public Defender’s Office
  
• Lindsay Hughes ’00, Offices of U.S. Senator Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) and Richard Gephardt, U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Majority Leader