Certificate in Legal Studies

The Department of Political Science, along with the Department of Criminology, offers a special Certificate in Legal Studies to undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers in law. The program is open to students in all majors. To receive the certificate, students must meet all of the following requirements:

1.) Achieve a minimum GPA of 2.5 in all certificate courses.

2.) Take one of these three-credit political science courses:

PLSI 170 - Constitutional Law: The Federal Structure

PLSI 171 - Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

3.) Take one of these three-credit political science courses:

PLSI 154 - Congressional Politics

PLSI 160 - State and Local Government

PLSI 170 or 171 (which ever you did not take to fulfill requirement #2)

PLSI 174 - Politics and the Court

PLSI 172 or 173 or 179T - Moot Court

4.) Take two of the following six three-credit criminology courses:

CRIM 117 - Criminal Legal Process

CRIM 127 - Advanced Criminal Legal Process

CRIM 118 - Individual Rights in the Criminal Justice System

CRIM 119 - Legal Aspects of Corrections

CRIM 142, 143, 144, or 145 - Mock Trial (previously CRIM 136T)

CRIM 177 - Legal Policy in Victim Services

CRIM / WS 126 - Women and Violence: Public Policy and the Law

Students seeking to earn the Legal Studies Certificate are encouraged to compete for the Fresno State Moot Court Team.  This is a specialized class in which students prepare for and argue a mock appellate court case in scrimmages, regional, and national competitions.  Please contact Professor Gina Wallace for more information regarding the Moot Court Team.

To apply for the Legal Studies Certificate, please download and fill in this form.

Pre-Law Advisors:

Dr. Yishaiya Abosch, Department of Political Science 278-8396

Dr. Jason Kissner, Department of Criminology 278-2369

Once all 12 required units are completed and grades have been posted, complete the Certificate of Legal Studies Application and submit it to the Department of Criminology (S2 159).