Specialization Requirements for Law Students and Curriculum

• 2024-2025 Law and Philosophy Class Schedule

  Please view the schedule of Law and Philosophy courses that may be offered during the 2024-2025 academic year.
• Course Work Requirement
  • Students must complete four qualifying courses (of at least two semester units each) with a grade of B or better in each course.
  • At least two of the courses must come from the Core List. (These lists may be updated by the faculty affiliated with the Program as new courses are added.). Courses on the Core List will be frequently offered. They will usually be taught by members of the faculty who have special expertise in the area of Law and Philosophy, drawing on foundational materials and methodologies of the subject.
  • The other two courses may come from the Core List from the Other Qualifying Courses List or students may petition the Faculty Director of the Program to have other relevant courses or independent studies counted toward the specialization.
  • Courses from the Core List need not be taken before other qualifying courses. Coursework need not be complete before the student tackles the written work requirement.
• Core Courses
  LAW 217

  Legal Philosophy

  LAW 551

  Philosophy of Punishment

  LAW 555

  Legal Theory Workshop

  LAW 418

  Contemporary Philosophy of Law: The Cutting Edge

  LAW 533

  The Philosophy of Prisons and Punishment

  LAW 587

  Free Speech Theory

  LAW 563

  The Foundations of Legal and Moral Responsibility

  Philosophy 166 - Philosophy of Law 

  (strongly recommended)

  (This course is not part of the standard Law School curriculum and hence not subject to priority enrollment. Interested students should contact the instructor in the fall to request enrollment and notify the faculty Director. Be aware that the course runs on the quarter system and starts in January term, running for 10 weeks.)

• Other Qualifying Courses
  LAW 266

  Critical Race Theory

  LAW 273

  International Human Rights Law

  LAW 376

  Law and Dissent

  LAW 389

  Prison Law and Policy

  LAW 543

  UCLA Colloquium on Tax Policy and Public Finance

  LAW 616

  Theories of International Law

  LAW 655

  Feminist Legal Theory

  LAW 666

  The Law and Political Economy of Debt

  LAW 567

  Direct Democracy

  LAW 649

  Religious Legal Systems: Jewish Law

  LAW 511A/B

  Social Media and the Future of Democracy

  LAW 612

  Reproductive Rights and Justice

  LAW 699

  Freedom of Speech: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives

  LAW 668

  The 8th Amendment Punishments Clause

  LAW 928

  Religious Liberty

  Philosophy M257 - The Ethics and Politics of Communication 

• Written Work Requirement

  To earn the specialization, students must also complete a substantial research paper (20 to 35 pages) on a topic in law and philosophy with a grade of B+ or better.

  To discuss the specialization, students may contact Faculty Director or the Law and Philosophy Program Manager.

  For detailed information about the specialization including other courses and methods of fulfilling the specialization, please visit the Law and Philosophy Specialization page in MyLaw (login required).