Paralegal Studies / Bachelor of Arts (Accelerated)

Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours: 54  

The Paralegal Program is housed in the Department of Justice, Law, and Public Safety Studies.

Program Entrance Requirements

To be admitted, adult students should have earned a minimum of 30 semester hours of transferable credit at a regionally accredited post-secondary institution which includes College Writing I (or equivalent); have earned a minimum of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) cumulative transfer grade point average based upon all transferable courses; demonstrate evidence of significant work experience or military training; and write a personal statement outlining a plan for achieving success in an adult accelerated program at Lewis University.

Credits earned through Prior Learning Assessment cannot be used for satisfying the transfer credit hour requirement for admission into an accelerated degree program.

Requirements for the B.A. in Paralegal Studies

  • Successful completion of a minimum of 128
  • Completion of the final 32 semester graded credit hours at Lewis University, including four core and/or specialty upper-division courses in the major (12 semester credit hours).
  • Achievement of an overall grade point average of at least 2.00 (“C”) for all courses taken at Lewis University and a 2.00 average for courses in the major.
  • Completion of all General Education and Mission-related requirements.

Paralegal students in the accelerated program with an interest in criminal law are encouraged to take the substantive and procedural criminal law courses (CSJS 43000 and CSJS 44500) as part of their related electives. Those with an interest in business law are encouraged to take BSAD 25000 Business Law.

Degree Requirements

Program: BA-PRLG-L

I. Core Courses (33)

A. Required Courses

PRLG-10100Introduction to Paralegal Studies

3

PRLG-20100Fundamentals of Litigation for Paralegals

3

PRLG-20200Law Office Management and Computer Use for Paralegals

3

PRLG-30100Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing for Paralegals

3

PRLG-30200Interviewing and Investigation for Paralegals

3

PRLG-30300Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Paralegals

3

PRLG-40100Paralegal Capstone: Practicum

3

B. Select four Paralegal Specialty Electives:

PRLG-31000Torts and Personal Injury Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-31200Basic Contract Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-31400Wills, Trusts and Estates for Paralegals

3

PRLG-31600Real Estate and Property Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-31800Family Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-32000Sole Proprietorship, Corporations, and Partnerships for Paralegals

3

PRLG-32200Commercial Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-32400Elder Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-32600Bankruptcy Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-32800Environmental Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-33000Immigration Law for Paralegals

3

PRLG-33200Intellectual Property for Paralegals

3

PRLG-33400Taxation for Paralegals

3

II. Select two Law-Related Courses: (6)

POLS-37100Constitutional Law

3

POLS-37200Civil Liberties

3

BSAD-25000Business Law 1

3

CSJS-26000Juvenile Justice System

3

CSJS-43000Elements of Criminal Law

3

CSJS-44500Criminal Procedure / Rules of Evidence

3

III. Select two courses in the Context and Role of Law in Society: (6)

POLS-36100History of Political Thought 1

3

POLS-36200History of Political Thought 2

3

POLS-36300American Political Thought

3

PHIL-31000Philosophy of Law

3

IV. Select two additional Program Electives from courses listed below: (6)

HIST-32500United States Since 1941

3

POLS-32100Comparative Government

3

POLS-33100International Relations

3

SOCI-35000Criminology

3

SOCI-34500Juvenile Delinquency

3

CSJS-20000Court Systems and Probation

3

V. Paralegal majors must select an American Government course as a General Education course in Social Science. Select one American Government course (3):

POLS-20000American National Government

3

-
OR

POLS-21000State and Local Government

3

VI. Advanced Writing Requirement

The advanced writing requirement of the General Education curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of:
PRLG-30100Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing for Paralegals

3