Law and Values

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Learn how the legal system works. Get a better understanding of how politics and the economy interact. Wrestle with philosophical questions like: What makes a "good" society?

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Why Study Law and Values?

In today’s global world, it’s critical for leaders to be able to look at a problem and grasp the big picture. A law and values major provides you with the tools to understand the institutions that shape society. It also helps you address important questions relating to law, policy, and the common good.

If you like to contemplate big issues like this, a law and values major might be right for you. Studying law and values equips you to become a leader in law, business, politics, civil service, or the nonprofit sector.

Why Study Law and Values at Luther?

Political science, economics, and philosophy have a long intellectual kinship. One field of study often raises questions or suggests creative solutions for another.

Luther’s law and values major is an interdisciplinary program. It includes courses from political science, economics, and philosophy.

In your courses, you’ll debate big questions about how we should organize the legal, economic, and political institutions that shape our lives. You’ll also hone valuable leadership and decision-making skills, like understanding complex problems, forming persuasive arguments, and clearly communicating solutions.

Knowledgeable Faculty

Learn from experienced faculty within the law and values program.

Comprehensive Curriculum

The law and values program prepares you for work in government, politics, law, nonprofit, and business. Or you can choose to attend graduate school to study law, policy, or related fields.

What You’ll Learn

As a law and values major, you’ll engage in questions of law, policy, and the common good.

By studying law and values at Luther, you’ll:

Develop a better understanding of the way various political and economic systems interact
Recognize the way different types of institutions lead to different types of societies
Examine the sources of human value systems by considering, assessing, and defending ways to define a “good” society
Evaluate the laws, policies, and other social forces that shape political and economic institutions
Exhibit skills of effective leadership and decision-making by analyzing complex problems through a multidisciplinary lens
Compose sound and persuasive arguments about contemporary social issues
Effectively communicate well-formulated solutions

Curriculum

It's not enough to have just a theoretical understanding of social challenges unless you also have the practical skills to do something about them. That's why the law and values major includes courses that emphasize legal, quantitative, and logical reasoning. Being engaged in this type of thinking ensures you will be well equipped to think creatively about problems and then set out to address them.

Steve Holland, professor of economics