2024-2025

Law and Society, Minor

Department of Politics and International Affairs

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

University Requirements

  • A minor is earned in conjunction with a bachelor's degree.

    To receive a minor (18 - 24 units) at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject matter areas with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0. At least 12 units of the minor must be unique to that minor and not applied to any other minor.

In addition to University Requirements:

  • Complete individual plan requirements.

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

No more than fifty percent of the units used to satisfy minor requirements may be used to satisfy major requirements.

Minimum Units for Completion 21
Major GPA 2.0
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114

Purpose Statement

The law and society minor helps prepare students for further study of the law or legally-related fields.  This minor is useful to those students considering a pre-law program, but it also would be useful for those considering careers in public service, non-profit organizations, and social advocacy groups.  Students who complete this minor will gain additional knowledge about salient legal concepts and analytical methods to evaluate current public policies.  They will also gain insight into the American legal system as well as critical reading, writing, and analysis skills.  Students are required to take courses from a wide range of disciplines, including Politics and International Affairs, Criminal Justice, Business Law, Ethnic Studies, and more.  This interdisciplinary minor will enrich a student’s chosen major and will assist them in future careers in law enforcement, the legal system, public policy, and more.


Student Learning Outcomes

  • Identify and use salient legal concepts and analytical method to evaluate current public policies, political actors’ behavior, societal events, and institutional arrangements within a diverse world.
  • Evaluate the strengths and limitations of a variety of significant analytical approaches used in legal studies and the legal experience.
  • Analyze, synthesize and evaluate the interconnectedness and interdependence of the legal experience.
  • Demonstrate an ability to apply the discussion to policy and “real world” applications.
  • Critically reflect upon the nature and consequences of diversity (e.g. race, gender, class, ethnicity, religion, culture, nation), and develop an understanding of how this diversity both alters and is altered in the legal world.

Minor Requirements
Additional Information

  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.