Law and Society Supplementary Program

Law and Society is an interdisciplinary supplementary major open to any undergraduate in addition to her or his regular major. Offered through the Department of Government, the program is designed to provide pre-professional training for students who plan to attend law school or who contemplate careers in fields closely related to the legal profession, such as government, criminal justice, business and social work.

The program consists of 24 credit hours, with 9 drawn from a core of prelaw classes in the Departments of Government, Criminal Justice and Journalism. Remaining credits may be selected from categories entitled "Critical Thinking," "Jurisprudence" and "Legal Issues in Society." For a full explanation of the program requirements, refer to the Government Department section in the Undergraduate Catalogue.

In addition to providing a quality multidisciplinary program of study, the Law and Society faculty occasionally offer special programs to assist prelaw students in preparing for the Law School Admissions Test and in applying to law school.

For upcoming events/classes, check with the Department of Government or with Dr. Nancy Baker, chair, Law and Society program.

Selected Comments from Alumni

"The other students just study individual cases, but the Law and Society background helps me put all the individual pieces together; I can see the bigger picture. [As an undergraduate] I learned the underlying politics of a case. For example, we had to read the full Marbury decision, and that was one where I was glad that I knew what the case meant" - NMSU grad in law school in Texas

"I came out of NMSU really prepared! Right now (with the exception of Contracts) I have had some background material on the subjects. Especially Constitutional Law. We just spent one week on the text of the Constitution and Marbury v. Madison / judicial review! All of the stuff so far I learned in the Supreme Court class [at NMSU]. I'm glad because where other people are worried about concepts and terms, I am not." - NMSU grad in law school in Michigan

I hope you enjoy your visit to the Department of Government. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call at (505) 646-4935.