B.S. in Legal Studies
Posted by Jen Zeman on February 4th, 2009
As someone who is interested in researching facts and finding answers, I felt becoming a paralegal would be the perfect career path to follow. The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) offers a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies completely online, so this is the program I chose to complete. I had no previous experience in a law firm nor did I possess an associate’s degree in legal studies (I have an Associate of Arts in General Studies). Neither is required for this program. Your studies will begin with an Introduction to Law course and it builds from there. I completed courses such as Legal Writing, Techniques of Legal Research, Intellectual Property, Torts, and Advanced Legal Writing. You can select upper-level legal courses based on the area of law you would like to end up working in such as family law or contract law. A complete listing of the legal courses can be found here: http://www.umuc.edu/programs/undergrad/courses/lgstcat.shtml#lgst101
Program requirements for UMUC’s Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies can be found here: http://www.umuc.edu/programs/undergrad/lgst/
I found the courses to be challenging, but interesting. The curriculum overall involves a lot of research (naturally), and a lot of writing. The law is complex in any area, so a keen eye for detail and the ability to be thorough when conducting research is essential. Equally as important is the ability to write well since major functions of a paralegal’s job duties are writing legal memorandums and court documents. These documents need to be concise, clearly detailing the legal issue at hand and clearly explaining the client’s position. If you don’t like to write, legal studies may not be for you!
I also completed a minor in humanities which complemented my legal studies courses. The humanities minor delved mainly into philosophy courses. These courses assist in expanding critical thinking skills and enabled me to look at legal case studies from a different perspective and allowed me to see “the big picture”.
If your desire is to eventually enroll in law school, the B.S. in Legal Studies is a perfect foundation.
