If you are looking for an opportunity to gain real world experience while pursuing your degree, then the Legal Studies Department at the University of Illinois Springfield may be the right fit for you. The Legal Studies curriculum coupled with an internship can provide qualified students an opportunity to gain governmental, legal, and public policy experience through practical application.
The Illinois Innocence Project conducts research and investigative activities in cases where there is a strong likelihood that an inmate is actually innocent. The Illinois Innocence Project, housed in the Institute for Legal, Legislative and Policy Studies, was recognized as the only undergraduate innocence program at the National Innocence Project conference in San Diego in mid-January of 2002. It is still one of a few acknowledged undergraduate innocence programs in the country.
University of Illinois at Springfield
One University Plaza
Public Affairs Center 350
Springfield, Illinois 62703-5407
Phone: (217) 206-6535
Email: les@uis.edu
Sarah Gibson
Online Program Coordinator, Legal Studies
E-mail: les-online@uis.edu
Phone: (217) 206-7934
Office: PAC 307
The Legal Studies Department believes in giving students the opportunity to integrate classroom studies with practical experience and earn credit at the same time.
The Legal Studies faculty offer expertise in a breadth of interdisciplinary legal fields to enrich the education and opportunities of our students. They are involved in multi-faceted community engagement with academic, intellectual, professional and social agencies and organizations, not only locally and regionally, but also nationally and internationally including organizations focused on human rights, poverty, domestic violence, taxes, legal history, pre-law advising, and bar associations and foundations.
Legal Studies Bachelor’s Degree students may apply for participation in the department’s honors program. To graduate with Honors in Legal Studies, students must successfully complete the Honors section of LES 489 Closing Seminar, and graduate with a 3.5 UIS grade point average.
In our online Legal Studies Master’s Degree program we provide our online students with the same dynamic learning experience as our on-campus students. Students in our online program are taught by the same faculty members who teach in our on-campus program, and our online students are supported by both a faculty advisor and a program coordinator. Students in our online program also have the same curriculum as our on-campus program and receive the same diploma as on our on-campus students.
Many professionals need a comprehensive understanding of what the legal system is, how it works, how it interrelates with social change, and how it assists people in asserting their rights. The Master of Arts in Legal Studies addresses these needs within the framework of an interdisciplinary liberal arts education, and is well-suited for students who are pursuing professions where the practical knowledge of the law and legal system is required.
Broaden your skill set and deepen your understanding of the law and the American legal system through a minor in legal studies.