Minor in Legal Studies
Are You Interested in a Legal Career?
Want an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of Law?
Want to Work with Awesome Faculty?
Then the Legal Studies Minor Is for You!
- Beyond expanding your knowledge of law, courses in this minor can develop student skills in legal reasoning and legal writing that can give them an advantage in further mastering these skills in law school.
- The number of legal skills that a student must gain in the first year of law school is daunting. Our Minor in Legal Studies can equip students with the basic skills in legal analysis and writing that they will need to survive and thrive in this first year.
- Open to ALL MAJORS seeking to pursue a minor, our Legal Studies Minor mainly centers on the jurisprudence of the judiciary and public law in various academic disciplines, such as: political science, anthropology, English, history, and philosophy.
Degree Plan
Click current degree plan to learn the requirements for earning a Minor in Legal Studies.
For the Spring 2024 Term, HIST 3329 American Legal History is available as an online asynchronous course and HIST 4331 Mexican-American Civil Rights is offered as a traditional face-to-face course in Edinburg on Tuesdays from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
Course Substitutes
HIST 4392 Native Americans and the U.S. Legal System will be approved as a course substitute that satisfies the minor. If no minor electives that students have not already completed are available, COMM 4313 Communication Law & Ethics or INTB 3331 International Law will be approved as a substitute for a minor elective.
Waiver of Prerequisites
A prerequisite for HIST 4331 Mexican-American Civil Rights and HIST 4392 Native Americans and the U.S. Legal System is HIST 3300 Historiography & Methods or HIST 3308 Foundation Soc St Educ. Legal Studies Minors can request a waiver or permission to register for these courses without taking the prerequisite. They can ask for this permission via email from the following administrative assistants in the Department of History.
Maria A. Cano
Administrative Assistant II
maria.cano1@utrgv.edu
Edinburg Campus
Julie Ann Silva
Administrative Assistant II
julie.silva01@utrgv.edu
Brownsville Campus
In this email, students should identify themselves as Legal Studies Minors and request to register for HIST 4331 or HIST 4392 without meeting the prerequisite.
For any questions on the Legal Studies Minor, contact:
Dr. William A. Gordon
Pre-Law Advisor for Brownsville
william.gordon@utrgv.edu
Office: Edinburg, ELABN 226
Phone: 956-665-3322
Dr. Andrew H. Smith
Pre-Law Advisor for Edinburg, Director of the Law School Preparation Institute (LSPI)
andrew.smith@utrgv.edu
Office: Edinburg, ELABN 204
Phone: 956-665-8854