The Legal Studies minor provides students with the broad conceptual framework of legal studies and encourages them to explore the law from an interdisciplinary perspective. Founded in 1989, the Legal Studies Program was approved as a minor in 1991. The program provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law. An interdisciplinary approach to the study of law makes sense. The law is central to theories and research in philosophy, social science, business, and public policy. The University of Delaware offers law-related courses in a wide variety of programs and disciplines. You can learn about law and the legal system in courses in accounting, communication, criminal justice, economics, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and women's studies. Faculty in the program are drawn from six of the seven colleges of the University.

The Legal Studies minor is designed for any undergraduate student who is interested in examining the law and legal institutions from a wide variety of perspectives. Although Legal Studies is not a "Pre-Law" program and does not provide legal or paralegal training of the sort that a student would obtain at a law school or paralegal training institute, the Legal Studies minor should be of interest to students who plan to obtain professional training in law-related fields after graduation.

The Legal Studies Minor:

1. Provides a substantive introduction to law (LEST/POSC 380), as well as an interdisciplinary introduction to legal studies (LEST/CRJU 301);
   
2. Offers electives from a range of disciplinary perspectives. The student pursuing a Legal Studies minor will be aided by an advisor who will assist in constructing a coherent program of study;
   
3. Provides a senior seminar in Legal Studies (LEST 401) in which a major research paper is undertaken. Alternatively, with the approval of the Director of the Legal Studies Program, students may do independent research or take an upper-level course with a Legal Studies faculty member and write a major research paper to fulfill this requirement.

For a list of alternative courses that are often used to satisfy the LEST 401 requirement, as well as other requirements of the LEST minor, see Requirements for the Legal Studies Minor

For a list of Legal Studies courses, see Courses

For a list of all courses that qualify as LEST electives, see Electives

For a description of courses, times, and availability, see UD Course Descriptions