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 among 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 sttudies 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 a “pre-law” 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); 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 the Education Abroad Program (EAP) at UCSC, and some may want to consider developing independent research projects on topics of special interest to them. Students with strong academic preparation who know they want to attend law school may consider the UCSC/UC Hastings 3+3 program, in which students take the LSAT and fulfill requirements needed to apply to Hastings Law School during their junior year, and, if admitted, can earn their B.A. and J.D. degrees in six years.
Undergraduate Adviser
The undergraduate adviser offers specific information about navigating through the program and the curriculum and assists students with prerequisites, requirements, policies, procedures, learning support, guidance on internships, scholarships, and opportunities for undergraduate research. Please contact the LGST undergraduate adviser at legalstudies@ucsc.edu.
Peer Advisers
Peer advising can assist in academic planning in regards to major and minor requirements, help prepare declaration of major and minor paperwork and provide guidance on 3+3 and UCDC program requirements. Please contact the LGST peer advising team at lgstpoli@ucsc.edu.
Transfer Students should also consult the Transfer Information and Policy section.
Major Qualifications
Students may declare the major after completing the following course: LGST 10, Introduction to the Legal Process.
Students will ideally have completed some or all of the remaining lower-division requirements before declaring the major.
Transfer students should also consult the Transfer Information and Policy section.
How to Declare a Major
Students who are eligible to declare the major must bring a completed declaration of major worksheet and legal studies major worksheet to the Legal Studies advising office to officially declare.
Students develop a program of study during the major declaration process. The major requirements consist of 11 courses, mapped out in the Requirements and Planners tab. Please also see the bottom of the Requirements and Planners tab for a four-year sample course plan for legal studies majors.
Appeal Process for Declaring the Major
Students who are informed that they are not eligible to declare the major may appeal this decision by submitting a letter to the program director within 15 days from the date the notification was made. Within 15 days of receipt of the appeal, the program will notify the student, college, and the Office of the Registrar of the decision.