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-10100 | Introduction to Paralegal Studies | 3 |
| PRLG-20100 | Fundamentals of Litigation for Paralegals | 3 |
| PRLG-20200 | Law Office Management and Computer Use for Paralegals | 3 |
| PRLG-30100 | Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing for Paralegals | 3 |
| PRLG-30200 | Interviewing and Investigation for Paralegals | 3 |
| PRLG-30300 | Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Paralegals | 3 |
| PRLG-40100 | Paralegal Capstone: Practicum | 3 |
B. Select four Paralegal Specialty Electives:
II. Select two Law-Related Courses: (6)
III. Select two courses in the Context and Role of Law in Society: (6)
IV. Select two additional Program Electives from courses listed below: (6)
V. Paralegal majors must select an American Government course as a General Education course in Social Science. Select one American Government course (3):
VI. Advanced Writing Requirement
The advanced writing requirement of the General Education curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of:
| PRLG-30100 | Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing for Paralegals | 3 |