Legal Studies Certificate

Program type:

Certification

Format:

On Campus

Est. time to complete:

2-3 semesters

Credit Hours:

Expand your understanding of law and get ready for your next steps.

The Legal Studies Certificate is designed to give students a foundation in the skills and concepts that law students and lawyers need. It is not a professional certification to work as a paralegal, but was created for students interested in attending law school.

Requirements How to apply

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Why Earn a Legal Studies Certificate?

A legal studies certificate may be earned by students who have completed a concentration of academic work designed to prepare them for admission to and success in law school, regardless of major or minor at UNT.

The Department of Political Science will award the certificate to students who have completed 15 hours of approved course work and maintained a 3.25 in the courses taken for the certificate as well as a 3.0 cumulative UNT GPA.

Classes that count toward the student’s major, minor or core requirements may also count toward this certificate. In keeping with university policy, all course work for the certificate must be completed at UNT.

You'll take courses in the following five areas:

Foundations
Analytical Reasoning
Ethics
Oral and Written Advocacy
Applied Legal Studies

Legal Studies Certificate Highlights

Available to all majors.

Flexible enough for students from any major or college on campus.

Allows students to flourish in their education.

Interdisciplinary certificate designed to provide the skills and experiences pre-law students need.

Provides substantial overlap with majors in political science, philosophy, communication studies, business, and criminal justice.

Legal Studies Certificate Courses You Could Take

Theory, research and practice in developing and presenting arguments on public policy issues; reasoning, strategy and oral advocacy.

Students hone communication skills by creating written and oral projects related to careers in government affairs. Examples of topics include writing grants, white papers, model legislation, and legal briefs.

An in-depth examination of the constitutional rights and liberties enjoyed by defendants in the criminal justice process. Explores the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of constitutional guarantees as that interpretation has developed through the evolution of case law in a political and historical context.

Law in the modern state, meaning and objects, sources and growth, and conceptions of rights and justice.

Institutions and processes; courts and judicial behavior.