Earn Your Bachelor's Degree in Law and Society Online
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 Study 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.
Pre-law support — Law and society students gain access to specialized pre-law advising to help them navigate the path to law school. In addition, students may become eligible to join Phi Delta Phi, an international legal honors society.
100% online for busy adult learners — With asynchronous online learning, you can complete weekly assignments at times that are convenient for you. You can also set your own pace. Take one or two courses per semester while working. Or become a full-time student and complete your degree faster.
Renowned faculty experts — 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.
Who Should Apply?
The bachelor's degree in law and society might be a good choice if you:
- plan to attend law school after earning a baccalaureate degree
- 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
Career Opportunities for Graduates
While some graduates apply to law school, others might leverage their law and society degree to work as a(n):
- legal assistant
- arbitrator
- mediator
- conciliator
- contract negotiator
