M.S. in Legal Studies
Key Program Features
The Masters of Science (M.S.) in Legal Studies is designed for graduate students and professionals whose area of research or employment would benefit from further study of the legal system. Ideal candidates include, but are not limited to, graduate students in other disciplines (such as political science, economics, international relations, engineering, philosophy, business or medicine) or professionals from different fields (such as journalism, business, science or technology), who will benefit from studying law, but who do not wish to become attorneys.
- Candidates work closely with the graduate programs coordinator to design an individual, flexible program that is to their greatest interest and benefit.
- Candidates may select available courses from a variety of subject areas within the law school curriculum and are taught by our distinguished full-time and adjunct faculty.
Program Timeline
- Students may begin the program in the Fall or Spring term
- Candidates may complete the degree requirements in as little as 1 year, or up to 4 years (pending visa restrictions)
- Full-time (9 or more credits) and part-time (8 or fewer credits) options are available (pending visa restrictions)
- Day and evening courses are available
Degree Requirements
- Degree candidates must successfully complete 26 credit hours of appropriate coursework.
- Required courses: At least two electives from the first-year J.D. curriculum, which includes Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property and Torts. Civil Procedure is a year-long course that may also be elected as a way to satisfy this requirement, but the course may not be elected for only the Spring semester.
- The remaining courses may be chosen from a range of courses that span the law school curriculum, including courses in areas such as business and corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family and education law, international and comparative law, intellectual property and technology law, jurisprudence and legal theory, and public law and policy.
- M.S. candidates participate in regular law school classes and take the same exams as J.D. candidates. However, M.S. students will be graded on an honors/pass/fail basis unless they are granted permission when admitted to be graded on the same scale as J.D. students.
- Students who wish to apply credits earned in this program toward other degree programs they are pursuing (e.g., another Masters or Ph.D.) should determine whether those other programs require that law school credits be graded for transfer.
- Full details of the degree requirements may be found in the School of Law Academic Rules in the Student Handbook.
- Please note: the American Bar Association prohibits M.S. in Legal Studies degree candidates or graduates from transferring their units into an accredited J.D. degree program.
Tuition, Fees and Scholarships
Please visit our Financial Aid page for tuition, fee and scholarship information.
