Legal Studies Major

Bethany offers a major and minor in legal studies, as well as a paralegal certicificate and pre-law program.

Major Requirements

Note Bethany’s Program Requirements Disclaimer when planning your coursework.

Mission Statement

The legal studies program prepares students for various law-related careers while adhering to biblical moral principles and values. This major equips students for a variety of vocations, including paralegal, business leadership, nonprofit board service, community development, consulting, corrections, and probation. This major also provides a foundation for the pursuit of advanced degrees in law or other graduate programs. Students cultivate a broad understanding of basic principles of law and the role and function of the legal system.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students majoring in legal studies will demonstrate an ability to:

1. Identify the appropriate legal procedures applicable to a variety of civil and criminal controversies;
2. Research and analyze the relationships among case facts, statutory law, case law, and constitutional principles involved in specific legal controversies;
3. Advocate, in both written and oral communication, for a particular party in a legal controversy;
4. Evaluate, in reference to both the historically contingent legal culture and the more transcendent principles of natural law, the arguments offered by competing sides in legal controversies.