Courses to Explore Law
Looking for ways to explore the legal field? The courses below can give you an insight into what you might encounter working in law.
Law-Related Courses at NC State
| ACC 508: Advance Commercial Law | “A study of law and regulation as a structure in which to develop business goals and strategies. Students will examine those elements of law and regulation that are a context for ethical business behavior.” Pre-Req: MAC Program. |
| AFS 305: Racial and Ethnic Relations | “Study of the nature of the relationships among racial and ethnic groups in societies around the world but with emphasis on the United States. Explores topics such as inequalities of wealth, power, and status, racism, conflict, and social boundaries among groups.” Pre-Reqs: 3 cr. in SOC, 200 level |
| ANT 252: Cultural Anthropology | “Comparative study of contemporary human culture, social institutions and processes that influence behavior. The range of human cultural variation shown throughout the world, including the student’s own cultural system.” |
| ANT 450: Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable Living | “Examines the myriad ways that culture serves to mediate the human-environmental equation. Focus is given to different belief systems, subsistence strategies, technological achievements, and policy formulations.” Pre-Reqs: : ANT 310,325,330 or 346 |
| ARC 562: Legal Issues in Architecture | “The main principles of law affecting the profession of architecture as it is influenced by contracts, torts, agency, property, and environmental restrictions.” Pre-Req: Architecture Majors, ARC 561 |
| ARE 106: Agri Business Law | “The application of legal principles to agribusiness. Includes a review of our legal system contracts, real property, personal property torts, business organization, estate planning, and laws affecting agribusiness.” |
| ARE 306: Agricultural Law | “Legal principles of practical importance in an agricultural setting: the court system; tort, contract and real and personal property law; legal aspects of organizing an agribusiness; environmental and labor regulations affecting agriculture; income and estate taxation of agriculture.” Pre-Req: ARE 201 or EC 201 or EC 205 |
| ARE 309: Environmental Law & Economic Policy | “Current federal and state environmental laws and regulations and their common law foundations. Relationship of the law and its regulatory mechanisms to economic policy issues: externalities, pollution taxes, incentives, permit trading, and cost-benefit analysis.” Pre-Req: ARE 201 or EC 201 or EC 205 |
| CE 464: Legal Aspects of Contracting | “Legal aspects of contract documents, drawings and specifications; owner-engineer-constructor relationships and responsibilities; bids and contract performance, Labor laws; governmental administrative and regulatory agencies; torts; business organizations; ethics and professionalism.”Pre-Req: CE 463; Core-Req: CE 365 |
| COM 211: Argumentation and Advocacy | “Theory-based analysis of public argument in specialized settings of law, politics, academic debate, business and organizations, and interpersonal relations.” |
| COM 411: Rhetorical Criticism / ENG 411 | “Rhetorical analysis of public speeches, social movements, political campaigns, popular music, advertising, and religious communication. Neo-Aristotelian criticism, movement studies, genre criticism, dramatistic analysis, content analysis, fantasy theme analysis.” Pre-Req: Junior standing |
| ECI 438: Medical Law and Ethics | “Ethical and legal issues involved in delivering health care, such as euthanasia, reproductive technology, organ transplants, patients’ rights, and confidentiality.” |
| ENG 395: Studies in Rhetoric and Digital Media/COM 395 | “Study of the influence of emerging technologies on rhetorical theory and practice. Rhetorical analysis of texts, including visual and audio texts. Invention and construction of digital media texts as a means of engaging rhetorical theory and analysis. Topics vary to adapt to emerging technologies and changing vernacular practices.” Pre-Req:ENG 101 |
| HI 324: History of Common Law and Constitution | “ The focus will be on the European social, political and intellectual contexts within which Anglo-American law emerged, and the foundations of legal and constitutional principles.” |
| HI 380: History of Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Change | “This course explores the historical development of nonprofits and philanthropy in the United States from the colonial period to the present: the origins of charity and philanthropy as concepts for social change and social justice, the rise of benevolent societies in the nineteenth century, the creation of philanthropic foundations and advocacy organizations in the twentieth century, and the construction of complex relationships between modern nonprofits, the state, and the private sector.” |
| HI 383: Law in the American Story | “An examination of the law, legal structures, and American legal profession from the colonial period to the present.” |
| MIE 305: Legal and Regulatory Environment | “Introduction to fundamental subfields, rules, and concepts of law that are regularly significant to business operations. Emphasis on the law of contracts, torts, property and intellectual property rights, business organizations, and agency.” |
| PA 410: Public Administration for Police Supervisors | “Introduces law enforcement supervisors to the subject of Public Administration as a field of intellectual inquiry and as a field of professional activity. Students will learn how important founding principles such as federalism, separation of powers, equity, and democratic accountability impact police organizations today.” |
| PHI 205: Introduction to Philosophy | “Introduction to selected problems of enduring philosophical importance, including such topics as the nature of morality, knowledge, human freedom, and the existence of God. Content varies with different sections.” |
| PHI 309: Political Philosophy | “ Philosophical study of important political ideas and values such as liberty, equality, justice, rights, and democracy. May include readings from classical and contemporary sources.” Pre-Req: One PHI course |
| PHI 312: Philosophy of Law | “Fundamental legal issues such as what constitutes a law or legal system. Justifications of legal interference with individual liberty. Philosophical legal issues illustrated by specific legal cases.” |
| PHI 313: Ethical Problems in the Law | “Explores uses of the legal system, including such topics as the death penalty, plea bargaining, legalizing euthanasia, censorship, Good Samaritan laws, the insanity defense, civil disobedience, preferential treatment.” Pre-Reqs:PHI 221 or PHI 375 or PHI 376 |
| PHI 332: Philosophy of Psychology | “Problems and controversies that overlap the boundary between philosophy and psychology: the mind/body problem, behaviorism vs. cognitivism, the prospects for artificial intelligence, and language and the questions of innate knowledge.” Pre-Req: 6 credits in PHI. Credit One PHI course or one PSY course |
| PHI 375: Ethics | “Examination of traditional questions of philosophical ethics: What are the principles of moral conduct? What sort of life is worthy of a human being? Includes both classic and contemporary literature.” |
| PHI 401: Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason | “A text-based critical study of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason Focusing on such topics as perception, judgment, knowledge, space, time, substance, causation and reality. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 401 and PHI 501.” Pre-Req: |
| PRT 406: Sports Law | “Fundamental principles of law, especially tort and contract law, applied to sports situations. Analysis of liability of sports personnel in various roles including participant, coach, promoter, trainer and official.” Pre-Reqs: Junior Standing |
| PS 305: The Justice System in the American Political Process | “Criminal justice process and civil justice system in the American judiciary, including court organization and legal professionals such as police, attorneys and judges; formulation and implementation of policies by law enforcement and the courts; impact of political system upon police, attorneys and judges; interaction between public and legal professionals in judicial decision making. “ Pre-Reqs:PS 306 or PS 311 |
| PS 307: Introduction to Criminal Law in the United States | “Principles underlying the criminal law in the United States and classification of crimes, criminal act, factors affecting criminal responsibility and various types of offenses.” |
| PS 309: Equality and Justice in United States Law | “Equality and justice in American law; federal and state court interpretation of constitutional and statutory law.” |
| PS 313: Criminal Justice Policy | “This course covers the basic policies and controversies in criminal justice in the United States. The course will explore how criminal justice policies get made, why they get made, how well or poorly they work, and what we can do better.” Pre-Req: 201 |
| PS 320: U.S. Environmental Law and Politics | “Emergence of the environment as an issue in United States politics. Law and policy pertaining to air and water pollution, land-use, water, energy, toxic substances, and wilderness.” |
| PS 335: International Law | “Usefulness and limitations of international law, including obligations and immunities of sovereign states, non-state actors, peaceful settlement of disputes, human rights, laws of war, and recent international war crimes tribunals.” |
| PS 336: Global Environmental Politics | “International politics, laws, and policies pertaining to global environmental problems in the realms of population, pollution, climate change, biological diversity, forests oceans, and fisheries.” |
| PS 361: Introduction to Political Theory | “Nature and purpose of politics, as treated by such writers as Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and Nietzsche.” |
| PS: 362: American Political Thought | “American ideas and institutions as viewed from the perspective of great American political thinkers, such as Frederick Douglass, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Henry David Thoreau, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Malcolm X.” |
| PS 418: Gender Law and Policies/ WGS 418 | “Law and policy pertaining to contemporary gender issues. Examination of agenda setting, policy formation, implementation, judicial interpretation and evaluation of selected issues, such as reproductive policies, equal employment and sexual abuse.” |
| PS 431: The United Nations & Global Order | “United Nations in contemporary world politics. Functions and operation of central organs, commissions, and specialized agencies. Role in addressing global issues including peacekeeping, arms control, human rights, economic and social development, and environment.” Pre-Reqs: PS 231 or PS 236 or PS 335 |
| SOC 202: Principles of Sociology | “Introduction to sociology. Analyses of key processes and institutions including interaction, inequality, organization, socialization, and social change. Addresses experiences and outcomes of diverse groups in U.S. society. Includes core sociological concepts, methods, theories.” |
| SOC 306: Criminology | “Study of processes whereby behavior is defined as crime and persons are identified as criminals. Includes a sociological investigation of agencies of law enforcement, adjudication, corrections and prevention; patterns of criminal behavior; explanations of variations in criminality with emphasis on sociocultural and sociopsychological theories.” Pre-Req: 3 cr. in SOC, 200 level |
| SOC 427: Sociology of Law | “Sociological concepts, theories and research of law as social control. Social forces behind the creation, maintenance and application of law in American Society.” Pre-Reqs:3 cr. in SOC 200-level; SOC 300 |