Paralegal Studies (Accelerated) Bachelor of Arts
Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours: 54
Program Entrance Requirements
Applicants must be at least 24 years of age; have earned a minimum of 12 semester (18 quarter) hours of transferable credit at a regional, accredited post-secondary institution; have earned a minimum of 2.0 (on a scale of 4.0) cumulative transfer GPA for all transferable courses; and have at least three years of full-time work experience. Credits earned through Prior Learning Assessment cannot be used for satisfying the 12-hour transfer credit hour requirement for admission into an accelerated degree program. The Paralegal Program is housed in the Department of Justice, Law, and Public Safety Studies.
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 (LX-430 and LX-445) as part of their related electives. Those with an interest in business law are encouraged to take LB-250 Business Law.
Degree Requirements
I. Core Courses (33)
A. Required Courses
| LV-101 | Introduction to Paralegal Studies | 3 |
| LV-201 | Fundamentals of Litigation for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-202 | Law Office Management and Computer Use for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-301 | Legal Research, Analysis and Writing | 3 |
| LV-302 | Interviewing and Investigating for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-303 | Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-401 | Paralegal Capstone: Practicum | 3 |
B. Select four Paralegal Specialty Electives:
| LV-310 | Torts and Personal Injury Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-312 | Basic Contract Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-314 | Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-316 | Real Estate Transactions and Property Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| LV-318 | Family Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-320 | Sole Proprietorship, Corporations, and Partnerships for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-322 | Commercial Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-324 | Elder Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-326 | Bankruptcy Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-328 | Environmental Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-330 | Immigration Law for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-332 | Intellectual Property for Paralegals | 3 |
| 90-334 | Taxation for Paralegals | 3 |
II. Select two Law-Related Courses: (6)
III. Select two courses in the Context and Role of Law in Society: (6)
| L8-361 | History of Political Thought I | 3 |
| L8-362 | History of Political Thought II | 3 |
| L8-363 | American Political Thought | 3 |
| LY-310 | Philosophy of Law | 3 |
IV. Select two additional Program Electives from courses listed below: (6)
| L9-325 | United States Since 1941 | 3 |
| L8-321 | Comparative Government | 3 |
| L8-331 | International Relations | 3 |
| LC-350 | Sociology of Criminal Behavior | 3 |
| LC-345 | Sociology of Delinquent Behavior | 3 |
| LX-200 | Court Systems and Probation | 3 |
V. Paralegal majors must select an American Government course as a General Education course in Social Studies. Select one American Government course (3):
| L8-200 | American National Government | 3 |
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| OR | |
| L8-210 | State and Local Government | 3 |
VI. The advanced writing requirement of the General Education curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of LV-301 Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing for Paralegals.