Master of Science in Legal Studies

Description and Outcomes

The Master of Science in Legal Studies program is designed to provide a solid foundation in legal doctrine and concepts while developing and refining your ability to identify and analyze legal issues. The program highlights the foundations of the American legal system, process and procedure, dispute resolution, legal research and writing, legal reasoning and analysis, ethical decision making, jurisprudence and legal history, and substantive law in selected areas. If you are not interested in practicing law, but want to develop a better understanding of the law as it affects your career or other areas of interest, this may be the program for you. The program in legal studies does not prepare you for the practice of law, and you are not eligible to sit for any state's bar examination based solely on your completion of this program.

Upon graduation, you could pursue career opportunities in law and law-related fields, government, or business, or may use the background knowledge gained through this degree to prepare for further graduate study.

Program Length

The Master of Science in Legal Studies program consists of a minimum of 55 quarter credit hours. Upon successful completion of the program, you will be awarded a master of science degree.

Program Outcomes

  1. Legal Principles: Apply legal principles and concepts to the analysis of complex social, political, and economic issues.
  2. Ethics: Reflect on the ethical and moral implications of the law and legal processes.
  3. Leadership: Apply principles of leadership to shape change and improve the application and direction of the law and the legal system in relation to institutions or society.
  4. Reflective Practice: Utilize the skills of a reflective practitioner to analyze and solve problems within a professional context.

Professional Competencies

In addition to the discipline-specific outcomes, professional competencies are integrated throughout your academic program. You can review the professional competencies associated with your academic program in the Professional Competencies section of this Catalog.

Program Availability

For program availability, please refer to the U.S. State and Other Approvals section and Program Availability Information.

Policies

Certification, State Board, and National Board Exams

Certain state certification and licensure boards have specific educational requirements for programs to lead to a license or certification that is a precondition for employment in a recognized occupation. Prospective and current students must review Purdue Global’s State Licensure and Certifications site to view program and state-specific licensure information.

Unless otherwise specified, Purdue Global's programs are not designed to meet any specific state’s licensure or certification requirements. Licensure-track programs may limit enrollment to students in certain states; please see Purdue Global’s Program Availability Information to determine enrollment eligibility.

You are responsible for understanding the requirements of optional certification exams. Such requirements may change during the course of your program. You are not automatically certified in any way upon program completion. Although certain programs are designed to prepare you to take various optional certification exams, Purdue Global cannot guarantee you will be eligible to take these exams or become certified. Your eligibility may depend on your work experience, completion of education and/or degree requirements, not having a criminal record, and meeting other certification requirements.