Minor in Law and Public Policy
The Law and Public Policy minor prepares students for a career in government, admission to law school, or graduate study in public policy, public administration, or public affairs. The minor draws on challenging courses requiring students to analyze and evaluate conflicting ideas and to communicate effectively. The minor provides students with an opportunity to explore and critique contemporary legal and public policy issues. For those students interested in attending law school, the Association of American Law Schools stresses a broad liberal arts background as the most appropriate training for law school. There are no curricular prerequisites for admission to law school. However, the Law & Public Policy minor helps students determine if they have an aptitude and interest in law and government and provides a background for law school and graduate school coursework.
Featured Courses
Introduction to American Politics
Required Course
Examine the American political process and consider the nature and character of Americans and their democracy. Because governing institutions and practices are complex and most Americans have a difficult time navigating and participating in them; this course examines parties, elections, voting, the presidency, Congress and the courts through readings, films, lectures, and discussions, in an effort to empower students to engage in civic life.
Criminal Law & Procedures
Elective Course
Study the prohibitive conduct and necessary intent of the most commonly charged criminal statutes. Utilize case law to interpret the elements of these criminal statutes and demonstrating the analytical framework necessary to prove the criminal charges. From a procedural standpoint, the course examines the general rules of law pertaining to: prohibitive/permitted search and seizure, the exclusionary rule, probable cause, right to counsel, and the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine.
U.S. Public Policy
Required Course
Explore the inherently political public policies in the United States, which are defined through political processes: designed by elected and non-elected individuals, implemented in the context of American political institutions and they in turn shape the character of political and public life in the United States. This course involves the examination and evaluation of various approaches to policy analysis, the consideration of various actors in shaping and implementing public policy, and the investigation of specific case-study policies, such as environmental policy, public health policy, immigration policy, gun control policy, and policies that promote mass incarceration in the U.S.
