Missouri State University

Law and Society

The Uniqueness of the Law and Society Minor

The LAS minor is intended for use by students who want a broad understanding of how law operates in society as well as by students who anticipate a career in the law. The LAS minor is unique in several respects. Compared to the Legal Studies in Business Minor (in the Department of Finance and General Business) and the Public Law Minor (in the Department of Political Science), the Law and Society minor is highly interdisciplinary, looking at the topic of "law" from a wide variety of perspectives.

The Law and Society Minor does not rely primarily upon one discipline as do the two other law-related minors offered here at Missouri State. It should be understood that each of the minors mentioned are needed in order for interested students to have access to the minor which best addresses their intellectual and/or career objectives. That is, the Legal Studies in Business Minor is very well designed for anyone interested primarily in business-related law, as is the Public Law Minor for students interested in public law.

The Law and Society Minor is for other students - those who are curious about the nature and expression of "law" in a variety of societal settings (e.g., relationships between ethics and law, law and media, environmental law, planning law, the economics and philosophy of law, and all the other studies of law as found in the course titles below). As mentioned above, the Law and Society Minor is highly interdisciplinary, making it compatible with the current trend in academia towards interdisciplinary studies.

The content of courses available in the Law and Society Minor address Missouri State's unique public affairs mission by enhancing students' understanding of the interrelationship of various social institutions and the  structure of society in general. Finally, the Law and Society Minor refines and replaces the need to construct personalized minors in this area of study.

Because it requires only twenty-one (21) hours of course study, the Law and Society Minor can be taken easily with any one of several related majors (Political Science, Sociology, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Anthropology, English, etc.). It is an eclectic minor and, as such, is compatible with a wide variety of majors and student interests.

If you are interested in learning more about the program, please contact any of its advisors.

Law and Society, The

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science

Administration of the program. Courses must be approved by the faculty of the Law and Society Committee for inclusion in the minor. The Administrator must approve the course of study for each student who wishes to complete the Law and Society minor.

The Law and Society Minor is a 21-hour program of study with nine credit hours required in the core and an additional 12 credit hours of designated electives. No more than two courses with the same course prefix will count toward the minor.

  1. Core Courses (9 hours): SOC 380(3); PHI 340(3) or PHI 341(3); and PLS 515(3) or 517(3)

  2. Complete 12 hours from: AGB 314(3); ECO 435(3); JRN 407(3); LAW 231(3), LAW 537(3); PHI 345(3); PLN 570(3); CRM 210(3) or PLS 451(3) or PSY 320(3)

Law-Related Campus Organizations and Online Resources

Phi Alpha Delta, the Pre-Law Fraternity
Phi Alpha Delta is sponsored by the Missouri State Department of Political Science and offers its members opportunities to meet other students with a shared interest in the law. Programs offered throughout the academic year include presentations by area law-related professionals. Be sure to contact the fraternity to learn more about joining and attending its events.

You can find more information about the field of law by searching links to law-school resources, by exploring The Internet Law Library and by learning more about careers in the field of law.