Law and Society, B.I.S.

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Return to: 3470 Department of Political Science

Program coordinator: Holloway Sparks

The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) program in Law and Society offers students a career-oriented range of skills and knowledge about the law from social science and humanities perspectives. The degree is an excellent choice for pre-law students.

Students have flexibility to craft a degree program that fits their interests and goals. Students will complete courses in at least 3 disciplines and may apply up to 6 hours of internship credit toward their degree. Law and Society students typically take courses in Political Science, History, Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, Economics, Philosophy, Sociology, Speech Communication, and related fields.

Career paths for Law and Society majors include:

lawyer
judge
mediator
victim advocate
paralegal or legal assistant
politician
legislative assistant
public affairs officer
journalist
educator

Program Admission

Students may enroll in a concentration upon admission to Georgia State University. Students who wish to change their major to this degree program should select a concentration in consultation with their academic advisor and the faculty coordinator. A 2.0 Georgia State University GPA is required.

Students who enroll in a concentration will be required to submit a course plan checklist to demonstrate their understanding of the degree requirements. It is highly recommended that students develop a course of study with their specific faculty coordinator before taking coursework in the degree program to avoid taking courses that will not count towards graduation.

Academic Advisement for Undergraduate Students

Academic advisement for undergraduate students is provided through the University Advisement Center (freshman through junior status/fewer than 90 hours) and the college’s Office of Academic Assistance (senior status/90 or more hours). See Office of Academic Assistance for additional information.

Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Arts students should also consult regularly with the faculty program coordinator for the specific program regarding course selection, program plans, experiential learning, and other academic opportunities.

Graduation with Distinction in the Major

This unit offers undergraduate students with the opportunity to earn the designation of graduation with distinction in the major. Please contact the undergraduate director for the specific criteria for this honor.

Degree Requirements

Please refer to the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies College Degree Requirements of this catalog for academic regulations for this program.

Students must complete coursework in at least three disciplines (defined by course prefixes) in Area G and in at least two disciplines in Area H. Areas G and H should be constructed so that students take courses in distinct disciplines in each area (with some overlap expected); that is, the same prefix should not predominate in both Area G and H.

In addition to the Program Degree Requirements, students must fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements (see College Degree Requirements ) and the University Degree Requirements (see 1400 University Degree Requirements and Graduation ).

University Grade-Point Average and Grade Requirements

Georgia State University undergraduate students must achieve an overall institutional grade-point average of 2.0 and a major GPA of 2.0 in Areas G and H to receive a bachelor’s degree from the university. Grades of C- can be used to satisfy graduation requirements. However, some courses have prerequisites that require a grade of C or higher. (See 1460 GPA Requirement for additional information.)

Area F: Courses Appropriate to the Major (18 Hours)

Students must complete level 1002 of a world language. 3 Hours

Select additional courses to complete 18 hours

AAS 2010 - Introduction to Africana Studies 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 2101 - Principles of Accounting I 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 2102 - Principles of Accounting II 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 2020 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology 3 Credit Hours
ECON 2105 - Principles of Macroeconomics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 2106 - Principles of Microeconomics 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 2130 - American Literature 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 1101 - Introduction to Human Geography 3 Credit Hours
GERO 2000 - Introduction to Gerontology 3 Credit Hours
CRJU 2200 - Social Science and the American Crime Problem 3 Credit Hours
CRJU 2700 - American Criminal Courts 3 Credit Hours
HIST 1111 - Survey of World History to 1500 3 Credit Hours
HIST 1112 - Survey of World History since 1500 3 Credit Hours
HIST 2110 - Survey of United States History 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 2010 - Introduction to Philosophy 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 2030 - Introduction to Ethics 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 2500 - Introduction to Symbolic Logic 3 Credit Hours
POLS 2401 - Global Issues 3 Credit Hours
PSYC 1101 - Introduction to General Psychology 3 Credit Hours
PSYC 2050 - Introduction to Drugs and Behavior 3 Credit Hours
SCOM 1500 - Public Speaking 3 Credit Hours
SCOM 2710 - Argumentation 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 1101 - Introduction to Sociology 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 1160 - Introduction to Social Problems 3 Credit Hours
WGSS 2010 - Introduction to Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies 3 Credit Hours
World language at the 1001-2002 levels

Area G: Area of Concentration - Law and Society (27 Hours)

Students must complete coursework in at least three disciplines (defined by course prefixes) in Area G.

Select from the Following Internship Courses

(No more than six hours of internship credit may be used.)

CRJU 4930 - Internship Seminar in Criminal Justice 3 Credit Hours
POLS 4930 - Legislative Internships 3 to 9 Credit Hours
POLS 4940 - Internships 1 to 6 Credit Hours

Area H: Allied Fields

Students must complete coursework in at least two disciplines (defined by course prefixes).

Select additional courses to reach at least 15 credit hours from the list in section 4 above (excluding courses already counting toward Area G) or from any of the following

ENGL 3110 - Technical Writing 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3130 - Business Writing 3 Credit Hours
HIST 3000 - Introduction to Historical Studies-CTW 4 Credit Hours
PHIL 3000 - Philosophical Discussions-CTW 3 Credit Hours
PMAP 4411 - Introduction to the Law for Public and Nonprofit Managers 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3800 - Introduction to Political Research-CTW 3 Credit Hours

Area J: Electives

Electives are used to build the hours in Areas G-J to 60 hours, have 39 hours at Georgia State University taken at the 3000-4000 level for residency, and complete 120 hours required for graduation.