Program Summary
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Student Stories
An Online Degree in Law and Society
Many occupations today require at least some legal knowledge and notion of the law. With a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society, you will not only learn about the law, legal principles, and legal systems and processes in the United States, but you can also become skillful in logic, rhetoric, research and legal writing. These versatile skills can help you develop your legal or law enforcement career in a variety of organizations including nonprofit organizations, regulatory agencies, small businesses, public offices, or even the military. Law and Society majors analyze legal practices and envision social justice.
Why Law and Society at Penn State?
Applicable course work — As a law and society student, your 15 credits of core course work will include legal brief writing and the philosophy of law and legal ethics. Throughout your studies, you can develop skills to critically analyze arguments and detect careless language use and fallacies.
Immediate results — While earning your bachelor's degree online, you can enhance your resume by acquiring a professional certificate or an associate degree. For example, both the Certificate in Organizational Communication and the Associate in Arts in Letters, Arts, and Sciences include many of the courses required for the Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society. You may be able to apply some credits toward a bachelor’s degree while also reaching these notable milestones along the way.
The Penn State Difference — In this program, you will have the opportunity to study with highly regarded faculty from Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts, one of the premier institutions in the world to study and work in the liberal arts disciplines.
Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society Video
Learn more about the World Campus law and society program in this video:
Who Should Apply?
The bachelor's degree in law and society might be a good choice if you:
- are not a lawyer but work with legal issues in human resources, affirmative action, law enforcement, child and family services, government, education, communication, technology, or health care
- have an associate degree in areas such as law enforcement, legal studies, or law and society
- want a baccalaureate degree focused on law, as opposed to related fields such as criminal justice and political science
- are a law enforcement and corrections officer, community service professional, or member of the armed services and want to enroll in a degree-completion program
- own your own business and often must handle legal matters such as contracts or permits
- plan to attend law school after earning a baccalaureate degree
Career Opportunities for Graduates
With a bachelor's degree in law and society you can work as a:
- legal assistant
- arbitrator
- mediator
- conciliator
- contract negotiator
Phi Delta Phi – The Pennsylvania State University Hall
Undergraduate World Campus students are now eligible for membership in Phi Delta Phi, the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. The affiliation opens opportunities for World Campus students to be members of the international organization as well as engage with the chapter Hall through video conferencing, webinars and social media. The Pennsylvania State University Hall looks forward to supporting Hall members in their pursuit of law school and/or pre-law studies through information regarding networking opportunities, LSAT preparation, applying to law school, research and internship opportunities. Membership is open to all World Campus students interested in pre-law. For additional information, contact Donna Lynne Butler at [email protected].