Arizona State University Launches First Online Undergraduate Law Program

Considering a law degree, but lacking the time or schedule to make traditional school a reality? You wouldn’t be alone in your dilemma. Far from it, in fact, and an increasing number of traditional schools are creating online curricula to compliment new technology and accommodate our country’s changing academic landscape. Arizona State University (ASU) is one such school, and this fall will be introducing an online legal degree to the repertoire at the university’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

This program being freshly offered is the Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies (BSLS). What makes this particular degree program so special? Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is the first law school in the United States to offer an undergraduate legal studies degree online — a recognition that the school’s dean does not take lightly.

Through the program, the school hopes to open up the world of law to a broader audience than ever before. College dean Paul Schiff Berman states, “As part of the College of Law’s drive to develop a new model of public legal education for the 21st century, we are transforming the school into a multifaceted legal studies center that educates a wider cross section of the public, not just those who intend to become lawyers. This online bachelor’s degree will make us the only law school in the country with a comprehensive program designed to train the next generation of legal and paralegal staff around the country.”

This program is not the equivalent of a Juris Doctor degree, nor is it a pre-law prep course. Rather, it is a broadly-scoped degree meant to prepare students for careers within the law field, from paralegal to legal assistant, and how to better understand legal processes for more successful careers in business or administration or even social work. With this online degree, students can open the door to a vast landscape of options without having to give up a current career in the process.

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