UIS
Graduate and Undergraduate Catalog
Academic
Year 2006 - 2007
LEGAL STUDIES
Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts
Faculty Anne Draznin, Kathryn Eisenhart, Nancy Ford,
Bill Jordan, Jason Pierceson, Dennis Rendleman
Associated Faculty Barbara Hayler, Pat Langley
Emeritus Faculty Dennis Fox, Larry Golden, Frank Kopecky
Adjunct Faculty Suzanne Borland, Saul Morse, Daniel Schuering,
Stuart Shiffman, John Squibb
Contact: (217) 206-6535
les@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/legalstudies
Freshmen and sophomores interested in learning more about legal
studies or preparing to designate legal studies as an academic major
should contact the LES lower-division adviser, Bill Jordan, at (217)
206-7880.
For advice on what kinds of classes provide good preparation for
law school or information about good classes for pre-law
preparation, whether or not a legal studies major, students should
contact the Pre-Law Center or phone PLC Director Dennis Rendleman at
(217) 206-6324 or the center's graduate assistant at (217)
206-7826.
The legal studies department offers both a graduate (MA) and
undergraduate (BA) in legal studies. The department emphasizes law
in a societal context within a broad‑based liberal arts curriculum.
The department seeks to develop the student's knowledge and
understanding of the legal system and to enhance skills in
analytical thinking, research, and writing. The department also
seeks to develop professional and scholarly skills that graduates
will need in law‑related careers or graduate‑level studies.
Knowledge of the law and legal system is important for
individuals in a wide array of careers including social workers,
lobbyists, union representatives, personnel administrators, law
enforcement officials, claims adjusters, librarians, probation
officers, corrections personnel, human resource managers, and
governmental agency and court administrators. Many professionals,
especially in the public sector, need a comprehensive understanding
of what the legal system is, how it works, how it interrelates with
social change, and how it assists people in asserting their rights.
The objectives of the legal studies department are 1) to develop
analytical skills necessary to appreciate law as a social
phenomenon, 2) to develop an understanding of how law is created,
applied, interpreted, and changed, 3) to impart knowledge of
substantive areas of the law, 4) to provide clinical or direct
working experience in legal environments, 5) to perfect student
skills in legal research, writing, and analysis, and 6) to provide
an interdisciplinary liberal arts education.
Advising
Faculty advisers help students plan their overall course of
undergraduate or graduate study. The adviser provides advice and
assists the student if any difficulties arise during his or her UIS
career. Advisers are required to sign off on a variety of
registration forms, including applications for clinical or thesis
studies. Most advisers require that students meet with them before
approval for a project is given.
A student may change his or her adviser by filing a form for this
purpose, available through the department office. Students should
talk to their faculty advisers at least once a semester.
A faculty adviser is assigned to each student after the student
has been fully admitted to the LES program. Students without an
official adviser, including less‑than‑fully admitted graduate
students, should refer to the department's chair for advising until
a permanent adviser is assigned.
THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE
Entrance Requirements
The student seeking admission to the legal studies B.A. program
must meet all campus requirements for undergraduate admission.
Information about these requirements is available from the UIS
admissions office at (217) 206‑6626. The department requires no
additional application for undergraduate admission. Transfer
students entering the department at the junior level are expected to
have successfully completed (with a grade of C or better) at least
six semester hours of English composition and six semester hours of
humanities. Students not meeting these requirements must take a
writing or humanities course during their first semester at UIS.
The department recommends that all undergraduate majors complete
an American government course as sophomores or freshmen before
taking LES 301 in their junior year. LES 201 Introduction to
American Government offered each semester, fulfills this
requirement. In addition, it is highly recommended that LES 202
Introduction to American Law be taken in the spring semester of the
sophomore year, so that all students beginning legal studies have a
good working idea of how courts work and what actual legal processes
entail. Further, all legal studies majors should have an interest
in some aspect of the law and legal profession, and be prepared to
engage in a rigorous educational experience.
UIS Requirements
UIS requires the student to complete at least 12 hours in at
least two of the following course areas: applied study (AST), public
affairs colloquia (PAC), and liberal studies colloquia (LSC). It is
campus policy that no student may waive this 12‑hour requirement.
The legal studies B.A. program requires each student to take a
minimum of four hours of AST and eight hours of PAC or LSC. Students
may take eight hours of AST, but they may apply only four hours of
this credit toward the UIS requirement. The other four hours will be
credited as an LES elective. Double majors may have different
requirements and should check with their LES advisers. All legal
studies AST placements must be approved before registration by the
department's liaison to the campus' applied study office, Bill
Jordan.
When necessary and advisable, students may waive the program's
four‑hour AST requirement and substitute four hours in one of the
other two areas. Waivers are given only in exceptional cases.
Student petition forms for requesting waivers are available in the
LES office.
Program Requirements
The legal studies department offers two undergraduate major
concentrations: the legal assistant concentration and the general
legal studies concentration.
The legal assistant concentration focuses on the knowledge and
skills that a student will need to work as a legal
assistant/paralegal with emphasis on public law settings. The
general legal studies concentration, which offers a broader
liberal-arts-focused approach to legal studies, is appropriate for
students interested in law or graduate school or in governmental or
corporate positions for which an understanding of legal institutions
and processes would be helpful.
Both concentrations offer required and elective courses. Required
courses give students the opportunity to acquire essential legal
background and to develop needed skills. Elective courses allow
students to focus their programs of study in a specific area. All
LES majors must take the general core courses listed below. In
addition, students taking the legal assistant concentration must
take the required legal assistant courses, and students in the
general legal studies concentration must take the required general
legal courses. Unless the student's adviser recommends otherwise,
LES 301 and LES 401 should be taken in the first semester, junior
year and LES 407 in the second semester, junior year. LES 407 is
designated as the UIS communications competency course. See below.
Students should be aware that required courses are not offered
every semester. Students are strongly advised to consult with their
academic advisers or the department chair before registering for the
first time. To ensure that all course work is properly integrated,
students are encouraged to work out plans for their academic careers
in conjunction with their LES advisers.
LES preparatory courses
LES 201 The American Political System 3 Hrs.
LES 202 The American Legal System 3 Hrs.
Core courses required of all undergraduate students
LES 301 Legal Institutions and Processes 4 Hrs.
LES 401 Legal Research and Citation 4 Hrs.
LES 407 Law and Society 4 Hrs.
LES 415 The American Constitution and Constitutional Law
or LES 416 The American Constitution and Civil Liberties 4
Hrs.
and the course designated as the closing seminar 4 Hrs.
Legal assistant concentration additions to core
LES 402 Legal Writing and Analysis 4 Hrs.
LES 403 Practice Skills: Illinois Civil Procedure for Legal
Assistants 4 Hrs.
Legal studies course approved by adviser 4 Hrs.
32 Hrs.
General legal studies concentration additions to core
LES 402 Legal Writing and Analysis
or LES 472 Legal Studies Research Methods 4 Hrs.
LES 404 Law and Inequality
or LES 452 History of American Law 4 Hrs.
Legal studies course approved by adviser 4 Hrs.
32 Hrs.
UIS Requirements 12 Hrs.
General Electives 16 Hrs.
Total 60 Hrs.
Communication Requirement
UIS requires that students demonstrate proficiency in writing
skills before attaining a degree. Each student's writing skills are
initially assessed by instructors in legal studies courses. Students
who are identified as having writing difficulties are required to
develop a plan of improvement with their advisers.
Certification of communication skills for LES majors occurs in
LES 407 Law and Society. Students are required to pass the writing
portion of the course with a grade of C or better to meet this
campus requirement. Students who do not demonstrate adequate
communication skills will receive an incomplete in LES 407 until
sufficient skills are developed. The LES department reserves the
option of requiring the student to enroll in a formal remedial
writing program.
Closure Requirement
Students must complete a minimum of 48 upper‑division hours and
fulfill all department and general education requirements to
graduate. Each student must fill out a campus graduation contract.
It must be approved by the required personnel no later than eight
weeks after the start of his or her final semester. Students are
allowed to submit their contracts for early consideration the
semester before their final term.
Graduation contract forms are available on the UIS website.
Legal Assistant Certificates
After graduation, all students completing the legal assistant
concentration as part of their bachelor's degree will receive
certificates reflecting that they have successfully completed a
comprehensive bachelor's degree legal assistant training program.
Legal assistants are skilled professionals able to perform tasks and
services under the supervision of a licensed attorney.
THE MASTER'S DEGREE
The master of arts program in legal studies is designed to
present the master's candidate with a course of study in public law
emphasizing law as a social phenomenon as well as a technical body
of rules. It is a rigorous course of study, designed to develop the
candidate's critical understanding of the legal system. It
emphasizes analytical and conceptual thinking, legal research and
writing, substantive areas of the law, ethical and public interest
concerns, public advocacy skills, and the role of law in society.
The objectives for the M.A. graduate are 1) to obtain paralegal
skills for entry and advancement in law‑related careers; 2) to
develop advanced research and writing skills; 3) to develop a focus
to their educational effort that is connected to their career goals
and professional development; and 4) to develop analytical and
advocacy skills. The LES M.A. program seeks to provide opportunities
for working in the legal field in a way that will advance student
careers grounded in a solid understanding of the law within the
context of an interdisciplinary liberal arts perspective.
Entrance Requirements
The department requires students to apply separately for
admission both to UIS and to the M.A. program. Application forms and
information on LES department admission requirements may be obtained
from the LES office. The university forms are available from the UIS
Office of Admissions or on the UIS website.
The department expects that students will come from a variety of
educational experiences and backgrounds. Though no particular
undergraduate major is required, students should have completed at
least one undergraduate course in American government, judicial
process, or the equivalent. This is a prerequisite for admission.
Students who do not have this background should take either LES 201
The American Political System, LES 202 American Legal System, or an
approved equivalent course. Neither LES 201 nor LES 202 qualify for
graduate credit.
The number of hours required by the LES master of arts degree
depends on the students' educational background and achievements
when they begin the LES program. If the student has this academic
background, the M.A. in legal studies is a 36-hour course of study.
If the student does not have this background, he or she must take
LES 401 and 402 during the first year of academic study, making the
degree a 44-hour course of study.
Required LES Preliminary Courses
All students who have not completed LES 401 and 402, or
equivalents, should take LES 401 along with LES 501 Introduction to
Graduate Legal Studies during their first semester and LES 402 in
the second semester. Students who wish to receive credit for an
equivalent course, for which they received a grade of B or better,
and/or other competency in this area must apply for a waiver. (See
section on waivers below.) The LES waiver committee will decide if a
course taken at another institution is equivalent to the legal
studies course(s). Requests for credit should be submitted to the
waiver committee on the student petition form available in the
department office.
Grading
A maximum of four hours of C are allowed in LES courses.
Students must maintain a B or higher average within the program and
must earn a B or better in all LES core courses. To encourage
students in choosing electives, an additional four hours of C are
permitted in courses taken outside the program if an overall B
average is maintained. Clinical education courses, tutorials, and
theses, are graded on a credit/no credit basis.
Degree Requirements
Pre‑registration advising is important because many legal
studies courses must be taken sequentially and not every course is
offered every semester. Course requirements and sequences are
available on the LES website:
www.uis.edu/legalstudies.
Prerequisite
LES 201 American Political System
or LES 202 American Legal System
or approved equivalent course 3 Hrs.
Required preliminary courses
(waived for students who have already completed these courses or
their approved equivalents)
LES 401 Legal Research and Citation (1st semester) 4 Hrs.
LES 402 Legal Writing and Analysis (2nd semester)
or LES 472 Legal Studies Research Methods 4 Hrs.
Total required preliminary courses 8 Hrs.
Core Courses
LES 501 Introduction to Graduate Legal Studies
(fall, 1st year) 4 Hrs.
LES 551 Administrative Law (2nd semester) 4 Hrs.
LES 554 Clinical Education and/or substantive
law electives 8 Hrs.
LES 587 Public Advocacy (3rd semester) 4 Hrs.
LES 504 Graduate Seminar
or LES 590 Thesis (last semester) 4 Hrs.
LES substantive law course (as approved by
faculty adviser) 4 Hrs.
Total core courses 28 Hrs.
Electives (with approval of adviser) 8 Hrs.
Total core and electives 36 Hrs.
Clinical Education
The clinical education experience provides students with skills
necessary to be successful in a legal environment. Participation in
clinical education is recommended. Master's candidates may earn up
to eight hours of clinical education credits.
Government agencies, the Illinois Supreme Court, and other
organizations sponsor interns, both paid and unpaid. Placement
options include courts, administrative agencies, state and federal
attorneys' offices, legal aid offices, private law firms, and other
public interest groups. Graduate Public Service Internships,
graduate assistantships, and legislative internships may count as
clinical education if these placements meet the established
guidelines. Students working full time or otherwise unable to work
at a clinical position may want to work with their advisers to
develop a research project or on-the-job alternative that emphasizes
the practical aspects of their education.
Waivers
Students must fulfill all 36 hours of required core courses and,
if necessary, the eight hours of preliminary courses. If it is
impossible for a student to take a required core course, or if a
student has already taken one of the core courses or its equivalent
as an undergraduate at another institution and wants to waive the
requirement, the student must still complete the credit hours in
some other course (except for waivers of LES 401 or 402).
Closure Requirements
A master's thesis or completion of LES 504 Graduate Seminar
(including the course project) is required of all master's degree
candidates as a closure exercise. Students selecting the thesis
option may enroll in up to eight hours' credit in the master's
thesis course (LES 590). They may accrue that total in increments.
Campus policy requires that students be enrolled in at least one
semester hour of master's closure credit for each semester after
they have begun their master's closure exercise until that exercise
is completed. For LES students choosing the thesis option, this
requirement means that if the thesis is not completed during the
initial four hours of enrollment in LES 590 Thesis, students must
register for LES 590 for one credit hour in each subsequent semester
until eight hours are accumulated or the thesis is completed. If the
thesis is still not completed by the time eight hours of continuous
enrollment in LES 590 have been accumulated, students must register
for LES 598 (zero credit hours, one billable hour) each semester
until the thesis is completed. Likewise, if students choosing to
take the graduate seminar fail to complete the required course
work/project during the initial four hours, they must enroll in LES
597 (zero credit hours, one billable hour) each semester until the
course work/project is complete. (Department policy allows students
until the end of the first week of classes in the subsequent
semester to complete closure requirements before they are required
to re-enroll in the closure course.)
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