Paralegal Studies, Certificate
The purpose of the Paralegal Studies Program is to provide students with the skills necessary to perform specifically delegated substantive legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Please note that paralegals and other non-lawyers may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.
The certificate is designed for students who already hold a degree (associate or bachelors) or who already have two years of college. All of the paralegal courses in the certificate program are included in the associate degree and the bachelor degree.
Students admitted to the paralegal certificate option must have already earned a bachelor’s degree, an AA or AS degree, or at least 60 semester hours of college-level work from a regionally accredited college or university. The 60 hours must include at least 18 semester hours of general education credit. The general education credits must include at least three semester hours in college-level English composition and 15 hours from at least three of the following academic areas: social and behavioral science, English composition and literature, foreign language, mathematics, humanities, natural science, appreciation or history of the arts.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Division Requirements | 9 | |
| PARA 1101 | Introduction to Law & Ethics 1 | 3 |
| PARA 2203 | Civil Litigation | 3 |
| PARA 2205 | Legal Research & Writing | 3 |
| Electives | 9 | |
| Choose three courses from the following: | ||
Any 2000-level PARA course | ||
Any 2000-level PARA course | ||
Any 2000-level PARA course | ||
| Judicial Process | ||
| Administrative Law | ||
| Litigation Techniques | ||
| Adv. Legal Research & Writing | ||
| Personal Law Issues | ||
| Constitutional Law I: Institutional Powers and Constraints | ||
| Constitutional Law II: Civil Liberties | ||
| Legal Studies Capstone | ||
| Social Sciences Internship | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 18 | |