Paralegal Studies AAS
A.A.S. Degree—60 credit hours
Curriculum Code 1490
This program prepares the next generation of educated, ethical legal professionals who provide support to lawyers, judges, and others in the legal community. The program aims to develop 21st century paralegals focused on access to justice, current trends in the law, and continuous learning and professional development. The program does so by developing paralegals’ skills in writing, research, and technology, which will result in exceptional support and assistance to those employing our graduates. The program also develops paralegals’ substantive and procedural paralegal skills in areas such as bankruptcy law, civil law, criminal law, family law, real estate law, and probate law, which will result in a value-added contributor to the legal support team. Finally, the program develops paralegals’ ethical and professional competencies, which will result in invaluable assistance to lawyers in the pursuit of access to justice for all citizens.
Required General Education Courses
21 credit hours as follows:
(Note: Take MTH-120 or higher. MTH-120 recommended for transfer students.)
A minimum level of competency in mathematics is required for graduation for all A.A.S. degrees. This minimum competency may be demonstrated in one of three ways:
- Placement into MTH-120 or higher; or
- Successful completion with a minimum grade of “C” in BUS-120, MTH-102, MTH-109, MTH-121, or MTH-133 or higher-level mathematics course for designated career programs; or
- An equivalent transfer course from another college with a minimum grade of “C”.
Select 3 or more credit hours from the following Humanities/Language courses:
(Note: ARB-202 and SPA-202 may require completion of one or more prerequisites.)
Required Career Courses
27 credit hours as follows:
| BUS-136 | Business Law | 3 |
| CIS-115 | Microsoft Office I | 3 |
| PLS-110 | Introduction to Paralegal Studies | 3 |
| PLS-125 | Research & Writing for Paralegal I | 3 |
| PLS-140 | Civil Litigation for the Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-160 | Law Office Admin for Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-170 | Law Office Technology for Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-190 | Research & Writing for Paralegal II | 3 |
| PLS-290 | Paralegal Internship | 3 |
Electives
Select at least 12 credit hours from these courses:
| CRJ-101 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |
| PLS-210 | Bankruptcy Law for the Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-220 | Criminal Law for the Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-230 | Evidence for the Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-240 | Family Law for the Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-260 | Probate Law for the Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-270 | Real Estate Law for the Paralegal | 3 |
Suggested Schedule
Semester 1 (15 credit hours)
Semester 2 (15 credit hours)
| COM-102 | Composition II | 3 |
| COM-201 | Business and Technical Writing | 3 |
| PLS-125 | Research & Writing for Paralegal I | 3 |
| PLS-140 | Civil Litigation for the Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-170 | Law Office Technology for Paralegal | 3 |
Semester 3 (15 credit hours)
| MTH-120 | General Education Mathematics | 3 |
| PLS-160 | Law Office Admin for Paralegal | 3 |
| PLS-190 | Research & Writing for Paralegal II | 3 |
| PLS-___ | PLS Elective | 3 |
| PLS-___ | PLS Elective | 3 |
Semester 4 (15-16 credit hours)
| BUS-136 | Business Law | 3 |
| ___-___ | Humanities/Language Elective | 3-4 |
| PLS-290 | Paralegal Internship | 3 |
| PLS-___ | PLS Elective | 3 |
| - | | |
| PLS-___ | PLS Elective | 3 |
| OR- | | |
| CRJ-101 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 3 |