The Legal Studies major provides a liberal arts education across traditional disciplines, focusing on law, legal processes, legal institutions, and their operation in society. In addition to courses in Legal Studies, students can take a wide range of courses offered by other units, including Sociology, Psychology, Religious Studies, Political Science, Educational Policy, African American Studies, Philosophy, Gender and Women’s Studies, American Indian Studies, Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies, English, and History.
The curriculum is designed around five themes, each of which is associated with a group of courses, and each of which incorporates comparative and historical approaches. The major requires a minimum of 11 courses and 33 credits.
Theme Group 1: Legal Institutions
Institutions are at the core of social life. They govern our interactions, distribute power and resources, and influence how we make sense of the world. Courses in this theme group focus on those institutions involved in the creation and application of law. They explore such questions as how legal institutions evolve; how legal institutions help determine the shape of law — in doctrine and in action — and how and whether, in turn, legal institutions can be shaped to create different social outcomes. Institutions are central to the studies of society and politics throughout the disciplines, and courses in the group include perspectives from history, anthropology, sociology, political science, and political theory.
Theme Group 2: Processes of Legal Order and Disorder
This theme examines the dynamics of order at the individual and societal levels. In the course of this examination, students are made aware of the political and social biases that can underlie definitions of “order.” This theme should also allow students to address how social and political biases relate to divisions of class, race, and gender, and how the mechanisms of conflict resolution and order maintenance can be used to reinforce or challenge existing power structures.
Theme Group 3: Law and Social Forces
This theme group explores the intersection between law, social structures, and social movements. Courses in this group address social inequality, generally in the US context, grounded in ethno-racial, gender, and sexuality-based difference. At critical points, the struggle for equality has taken pointedly legal form, whether in the shape of campaigns for legislative change or recognition, or through the litigation of particular cases. Legal categories have informed social identities. Equally, changing social identities have pushed back on legal categories. Courses integrate broad social dynamics with the rise of organized social movements that use law as an arena in which to reassess social life and values.
Theme Group 4: Law and Culture
This theme group introduces students to legal thought, institutions, and practices beyond mainstream or contemporary legal systems, specifically modern Euro-American legal cultures. Courses in this theme group present either culturally based challenges to mainstream modern legal systems or legal systems that are culturally or historically distinct from them. The comparative study of distinct legal traditions and movements forces us to reexamine the cultural presuppositions embedded in modern legal systems, revealing both good reasons for defending mainstream Euro-American laws and arguments and models for changing or questioning prevailing systems. Courses examine historical developments in or affecting law, non-Western legal thought or traditions, and the effect of cultural institutions such as religion, literature, or media on law.
Theme Group 5: Law and Theory
Many theoretical and philosophical questions are articulated as propositions about law: its nature, sources, contents, and relations to other aspects of social life. While only some philosophers or social, political, or legal theorists work specifically in the area of “legal theory,” almost all work in any of these areas contributes to our understanding of the sources and nature of law, legal institutions, and legal practices, and for many theorists, explicit discussions of law are central elements of their work. Courses in this theme group focus on the ways in which “law” is treated as a working concept or as a subject of study in theoretical works, and conversely on how understandings drawn from theoretical writings inform our own understanding of law in all its dimensions.
Questions? Email cjcp@ssc.wisc.edu
Courses that Fulfill Legal Studies Requirements
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Spring 2025 Courses
Legal Studies is an interdisciplinary major in which you take courses from a variety of departments. Because of this, not all courses are listed on the “select from section” of your dars report. Please refer to the list below for the most accurate list of courses offered that fulfill requirements. If a course indicates a dars exception is needed, it means that the course will not automatically show up on your dars report if enrolled. Advisors will process dars exceptions for the courses below on November 19, 2024. If you add a course after this date that needs a dars exception, please email cjcp@ssc.wisc.edu
Please note that a course can only fulfill (1) theme or the core perspective requirement.
Gateway Courses
Legal St/Soc 131: Criminal Justice in America
Legal St/Poli Sci 217: Law, Politics, and Society
Methods Courses (Statistics and Research Design)
Statistics
Economics 310: Statistics: Measurement in Economics
Ed Pol 209: Quantitative Methods for Education (dars exception needed)
General Business 306: Business Analytics
Psychology 210: Basic Stats for Psychology
Sociology 360: Statistics for Sociologists
Statistics 301: Introduction to Statistics
Statistics 371: Intro Applied Stats – Life Sciences
Research Design
Ed Pol 308: Qualitative Methods for Education (dars exception needed)
Political Science 170: Research Methods
Public Affairs 240: Evidence-Based Policy Making
Public Affairs 380: Analytical Tools for Public Policy
Psychology 225: Research Methods
Social Work 650: Methods of Social Work Research (dars exception needed)
Sociology 357: Methods of Sociological Inquiry
Theme Group 1: Legal Institutions
General Business 301: Business Law
*Int’l St 601: Human Rights, Lat. Am. Policy
Legal St./Hist 262: Amer Legal History 1860s to Pres
**Legal St. 400: Incarceration and Inequality
*Legal St. 400: Law and Climate Justice
**Legal St. 400/Soc 496: Race, Family and the State
*Legal St./Soc/GWS 406: Law, Sexuality, and Society
Legal St. 444: Law in Action
Legal St/ELPA/Ed Pol 542: Law and Public Education
Political Science 311: United States Congress
*Political Science 356: Principles of International Law
*Political Science 400: International Environmental Politics
Political Science 405: State Government and Public Policy
Political Science 408: The American Presidency
Political Science 411: The American Constitution: Powers and Structures of Government
Political Science 414: The Supreme Court as a Political Institution
Political Science 417: The American Judicial System
*Political Science/GEN&WS 435: Politics of Gender and Women’s Rights in the Middle East
Political Science 470: The First Amendment
Political Science 635: Comparative Politics of Sports
**Pub Affr 520: Inequality, Race and Public Policy (ethnic studies) (dars exception needed)
Theme Group 2: Process of Legal Order & Disorder
Legal St. 694: Field Observation in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies (only available to students currently enrolled in pre-internship canvas site. If you have an internship for Spring 2025 and you are not enrolled in pre-internship canvas site, please email cjcp@ssc.wisc.edu)
Psych 526: The Criminal Mind: Forensic and Psychobiological Perspectives
Psych 601: Prisoner Re-Entry (dars exception needed)
Sociology 441: Criminology
Sociology 496: Serial Killers in America (dars exception needed)
Psych 601: Psych of Juvenile Delinquency
Theme Group 3: Law & Social Forces
**AfAm 272: Race and American Politics from the New Deal to the New Right
**AfAm/History 321: Afro-American History Since 1900 (ethnic studies)(dars exception needed)
**AfAm 671: Women & US Slavery (ethnic studies) (dars exception needed)
**Asian Am/Soc 220: Ethnic Movements in the US (ethnic st and Comm B)
**Am Indian Studies 450: Land Grant/Grab (dars exception needed)
Econ 522: Law and Economics
Environmental St 349: Climate Change Governance
Ed Pol/ Intl. St. 220: Human Rights and Education (dars exception needed)
**GWS/Intl St 535: Women’s Global Health and Human Rights (dars exception needed) (biological sci)
GWS/Psych 322: Sexual & Relationship Violence Research & Activism
**History 143: History of Race and Inequality in Urban America
**History 393: Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction
*History 600: Global Anti-Apartheid Movement (dars exception needed)
**History 600: Indian Removal (dars exception needed)
*LACIS 440: Spanish: Immigration Law Clinic (dars exception needed)
Legal St. 135: Disability and the Criminal Justice System
**Legal St. 400: Incarceration and Inequality
*Legal St. 400: Law and Climate Justice
*Legal St./Soc/GWS 406: Law, Sexuality, and Society
**Legal St. 400/Soc 496: Race, Family and the State
Legal St. 422: Women and the Law
*Legal St./Soc/GWS 425: Crime, Gender and Justice
*Legal St./Hist/Envir St 430: Law and Environment
**Legal St./AfroAmer 435: Civil Rights
**Legal St./Soc/ChicLa 443: Immigration, Crime & Enforcement (ethnic studies)
Legal St. 473: Health Impacts of Unmet Social Needs (application required- Find More Information Here)
Psych 601: Legal Psych: Crim & Civil Issues
Social Work 375: Pwr Poss, SJ and Social Change
Social Work 636: Indian Child Welfare Act (dars exception needed)
*Spanish/ChicLa 215: Border & Migration Studies of Latinx America (dars exception needed)
Theme Group 4: Law & Culture
Ed Pol 150: Indigenous Education Policy and Practice (dars exception needed)
English 177: Narco-Narratives (Lit)
English 182: Doing Time: Race, Labor, Incarceration (Honors)
*History 201: Shanghai Life and Crime (Comm B)
*Legal St. 477: History of Forensic Science
*Legal St. 510: Legal Pluralism
Theme Group 5: Law & Theory
History 500: Medieval Law and Society (dars exception needed)
*Legal St./Hist 235: Prisons: From Antiquity to Supermax (dars exception needed)
*Legal St./History 426: History of Punishment
Philosophy 341: Contemporary Moral Issues (some sections are Comm B)
Core Perspectives
*Legal St./Hist 235: Prisons: From Antiquity to Supermax (dars exception needed)
Legal St. 262: Amer Legal History 1860s to Present
**Legal St. 400: Incarceration and Inequality
*Legal St. 400: Law and Climate Justice
**Legal St. 400/Soc 496: Race, Family and the State
*Legal St./Soc/GWS 406: Law, Sexuality, and Society
*Legal St./Soc/GWS 425: Crime, Gender and Justice
*Legal St./History 426: History of Punishment
**Legal St./AfroAmer 435: Civil Rights
**Legal St./Soc/ChicLa 443: Immigration, Crime & Enforcement (ethnic studies)
*Legal St. 477: History of Forensic Science
*Legal St. 510: Legal Pluralism
*Meets requirement that at least two courses in the major must have substantial content dealing with countries or cultures outside the United States or with the international legal system. For this requirement, a course can count for a theme and the global requirement.
**Meets Race/Justice requirement (for students who declared Fall 2023 and later). A course can count for a theme and the race/justice requirement.
Summer 2024 Courses
For the most current information, search the UW-Madison Schedule of Classes here
Major and Certificate overviews
Gateway Course
Legal St/Soc 131: Criminal Justice in America
Legal St/Poli Sci 217: Law, Politics and Society
Statistics
Economics 310: Statistics: Measurement in Economics
Ed Pol 209: Quantitative Methods for Education Policy
General Business 306: Business Analytics
Psychology 210: Basic Stats for Psychology
Sociology 360: Statistics for Sociologists
Statistics 301: Introduction to Statistics
Statistics 371: Intro Applied Stats – Life Sciences
Research Methods
Political Science 170: Research Methods in Political Science
Psychology 225: Research Methods
Sociology 357: Methods of Sociological Inquiry
Theme Group 1: Legal Institutions
ELPA 542: Civil Rights, Courts and Public Education
General Business 301: Business Law
Legal Studies 400: American Constitutional Law
*Political Science 400: Global Politics of Policing
Political Science 405: State Government and Public Policy
*Political Science 434: Politics of Human Rights
Political Science 470: The First Amendment
Theme Group 2: Process of Legal Order & Disorder
Communication Arts 371: Communication and Conflict Resolution
Legal Studies/Sociology 694: Criminal Justice Field Observation — [Application and concurrent internship required – Schedule appt with advisor if interested]
Sociology 421: Processes of Deviant Behavior
Theme Group 3: Law & Social Forces
Econ 522: Law and Economics
Ed Pol 220: Human Rights and Education
**GWS/Intl St 535: Women’s Global Health and Human Rights
**History 403: Immigration and Assimilation in American History
Legal St/GWS 422: Women and the Law
*Legal St/Soc/GWS 425: Crime, Gender and Justice
Theme Group 4: Law & Culture
*History 201: Shanghai Life and Crime
Poli Sci 400: Law and Justice in Film
Theme Group 5: Law & Theory
*Legal St/History 426: History of Punishment
*Legal St/History 450: History of Prison
Philosophy 341: Contemporary Moral Issues
Core Perspectives
Legal St/GWS 422: Women and the Law
*Legal St/Soc/GWS 425: Crime, Gender and Justice
*Legal St/History 426: History of Punishment
*Legal St/History 450: History of Prison
Fall 2024 Courses
For the most current information, search the UW-Madison Schedule of Classes here
Major and Certificate overviews
Gateway Courses
Legal Studies/Sociology 131: Criminal Justice in America
Legal Studies/Political Science 217: Law, Politics and Society
Statistics
Economics 310: Statistics: Measurement in Economics
Ed Pol 209: Introduction to Quantitative Methods (dars exception needed)
General Business 306: Business Analytics
LIS 440: Navigating the Data Revolution: Concepts of Data & Information Science (dars exception needed)
Psychology 210: Basic Stats for Psychology
Sociology 360: Statistics for Sociologists
Statistics 301: Introduction to Statistics
Statistics 371: Intro Applied Stats – Life Sciences
Research Design
Ed Pol 308: Intro to Qualitative Research (dars exception needed)
Political Science 373: Introduction to Survey Research
Psychology 225: Experimental Psychology
Public Affairs 240: Evidence-Based Policy Making
Public Affairs 380: Analytical Tools for Public Policy
Sociology 357: Methods of Sociological Inquiry
Theme Group 1: Legal Institutions
General Business 301: Business Law
Legal Studies/Hist 261: American Legal History to 1860
Political Science 401: Crime and Politics (dars exception needed)
*Poli Sci 401: Transitional Justice (dars exception needed)
*Legal Studies 400: Punishment and Society
Legal Studies 444: Law in Action
Legal Studies/ELPA 542: Law and Public Education
Legal Studies 641: Sociology of Law
**Political Science 304: The Political Economy of Race in the US
*Political Science 347: Terrorism
*Political Science 349: Global Access to Justice
*Political Science 354: International Institutions and World Order
Political Science 405: State Government and Public Policy
Political Science 419: Administrative Law
Theme Group 2: Process of Legal Order & Disorder
Legal Studies 694: Field Observation in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies (application and internship required-see more at: https://criminaljustice.wisc.edu/academics/criminal-justice-certificate-program/)
Psych 526: The Criminal Mind: Forensic and Psychobiological Perspectives
Psychology 601: Prisoner Re-Entry (dars exception needed)
Sociology 441: Criminology
Theme Group 3: Law & Social Forces
**AfAm 272: Race and American Politics from the New Deal to the New Right (ethnic st)
**AfAm 326: Race and Gender in Post-World War II U.S. Society (ethnic st)
**AfAm 621: Slavery and Capitalism in the United States (ethnic st) (dars exception needed)
**AfAm 671: Origins of Black Movements (ethnic st)
**AfAm 671: Topic: Criminalizing Blackness (ethnic st)
**AmerInd 450: Sovereignty and the Schoolhouse (ethnic st) (dars exception needed)
Ed Pol 220: Human Rights and Education (dars exception needed)
Econ 522: Law and Economics
Envir St 402: Water Governance, Policy and Conflict (dars exception needed)
*Gender and Women’s Studies: 435: Politics of Gender and Women’s Rights in the Middle East
Envir St 439: US Environmental Policy and Regulation
**History 143: History of Race and Inequality in Urban America
*History 201: Global History of Unfree Labor
History 600: Gen, War Crimes, and Human Rights in 20th century (dars exception needed)
*International Studies 401: Revolution and Insurgency
*International St 535: Women’s Global Health and Human Rights (dars exception needed)
*International Studies 601: Refugees in Global Context (dars exception needed)
Legal Studies 135: Disability and the Criminal Justice System
*Legal Studies 203: Jewish Law, Business and Ethics
*Legal St./Soc/GWS 406: Law, Sexuality, and Society
**Legal Studies 400/Soc 496: Race, Family and the State
**Legal Studies 400: Criminal Injustice in America
Legal Studies/Soc 496: Pornography and Censorship (Requires application)
*Legal Studies/Soc/GWS 425: Crime, Gender and Justice
**Legal Studies/ChicLa/Sociology 440: Ethnicity, Race and Justice (ethnic st)
Legal Studies 663: CyberLaw
Psych 401: Psychology, Law and Social Policies
**Sociology 220: Ethnic Movements in the U.S (Comm B and ethnic st)
Theme Group 4: Law & Culture
Anthropology 350: Political Anthropology
*Legal Studies/English 160: Truth and Crime (Lit)
Legal Studies 400: Tribal Court of Appeals Project
English 174: Protest Literature (dars exception needed)
*English 177: Narco-Narratives (Lit) (dars exception needed)
English 457: Cultures of AIDs Activism (dars exception needed)
Religious Studies 200: Religion and the First Amendment
Theme Group 5: Law & Theory
Journalism 563: Law of Mass Communication
*Legal Studies/History 426: History of Punishment
Philosophy 341: Contemporary Moral Issues (some sections are Comm B)
Core Perspectives
Legal Studies/History 261: American Legal History to 1860
**Legal Studies 400: Criminal Injustice in America
*Legal St./Soc/GWS 406: Law, Sexuality, and Society
*Legal Studies/History 426: History of Punishment
*Legal Studies/Soc/GWS 425: Crime, Gender and Justice
**Legal Studies/ChicLa/Sociology 440: Ethnicity, Race and Justice (ethnic st)
*Meets requirement that at least two courses in the major must have substantial content dealing with countries or cultures outside the United States or with the international legal system. For this requirement, a course can count both for purposes of meeting the Distribution requirement above and the Global Legal Systems requirement.
**Meets Race/Justice requirement (for students who declared Fall 2023 and later). A course can count for a theme and the race/justice requirement.