The Field

Legal Studies is an education about law as a social and political product using an interdisciplinary liberal arts framework. Students majoring in Legal Studies are exposed to a wide array of courses that focus on the interrelationship between law, politics, and society in American, foreign, and international contexts. The critical, social scientific approach of the program encourages students to investigate and develop their attitudes toward law, politics, and society, and promotes thoughtful engagement with the role law can play in creating, maintaining and ameliorating the myriad challenges faced by local, national and global communities.

UMass Legal Studies is the oldest undergraduate law and society major in the country and the only one offered at a public university in New England.  It is the birthplace of mediation in education and of online dispute resolution through its National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution. UMass Legal Studies is also the home for the Center for Justice, Law and Societies, which promotes research, teaching and public engagement on issues of equality and justice. The Legal Studies major is housed in the Department of Political Science within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. 

There is no minor in Legal Studies. There are five Letters of Specialization available to Legal Studies majors. The Legal Studies Program also encourages study abroad to expand cross-cultural understanding in an increasingly global community.