Ripon College offers a minor in law and society. It provides a network of courses designed to focus the student’s attention on the role of law and legal structure in a human community. Law is a primary means of ordering conduct and resolving social conflicts. Students understand the function, nature and limits of law. The minor is not intended as a pre-professional curriculum for the student interested in a career in law. Rather, it is designed for a wider audience interested in the entire question of the role of law and legal structures in a human community.

Achieve More

Latest News

Rick Kammen '68

Rick Kammen ’68 releases new book, is interviewed on NPR about prisoners at Guantanamo Bay

Richard Kammen ’68, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, was interviewed March 30 on National Public Radio. The interview can […]

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A new door is opening for Nate Jung ’20 of Random Lake, Wisconsin. In the fall, he will enter Marquette Law School in Milwaukee. At […]

John Hermes '68

Collaboration with professors was important aspect for John Hermes ’68

John Hermes ’68 of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is featured in the current 26th edition of The Best Lawyers in America, a peer-reviewed ranking recognizing lawyers […]

Faculty

Paul Jeffries

Jeffries, Paul

Associate Professor of Philosophy, Chair of Philosophy Department

Henrik Schatzinger

Schatzinger, Henrik

Professor of Political Science, Chair of Political Science Department and Director for the Center for Politics and the People

Sorenson, Steven

Adjunct Instructor of Political Science and Pre-Law Advisor

Advising

Ripon College faculty and professional staff are dedicated to helping you reach your goals, whatever they may be and however often they may change along the way. It’s part of our value statement to you.

As a student at Ripon, you will be assigned a faculty adviser based on your area(s) of interest. You will meet with your faculty adviser throughout your time as a student to discuss your current aspirations, plan your course schedule and plot a future trajectory. We also work collaboratively with Ripon College Career and Professional Development to help match your interests and skills to concrete goals and construct a plan for professional success offering personalized career counseling, off-campus learning opportunities and an online job board with potential to connect with local, national and international employers.

Advising at Ripon

Requirements

Requirements for a Minor in Law and Society
Core Courses POL 212 Introduction to Law
Additional Criteria 4 credits of independent study at the senior level in a topic in law and society in philosophy, politics and government, sociology or other appropriate department; and 12 credits selected from among the following courses (no more than eight hours of elective courses from one department may be counted toward the minor):
ECO 332: Resource and Environmental Economics (same as ENV 332); ENV 120: Environmental Studies; POL 112: Global Political Economy; HIS 262: American Race Relations; PHL 241: Ethics; PHL 353: Human Rights (same as ENV 353); POL 220: American Politics and Government; POL 412: Constitutional Law I: Landmark Decisions; POL 413: Constitutional Law II: The Bill of Rights; SOC 110: Introduction to the Sociological Imagination; SOC 306: Criminology, or other law-related courses, with the consent of the coordinator.

Unique Opportunities

Gaining experience in the field

Ripon College has a long tradition of offering an outstanding academic curriculum. In addition to the liberal arts and sciences education, we strongly encourage our students to spend a semester off campus, either on an international or domestic program.

While each of Ripon’s programs has unique characteristics, all offer the opportunity to gain valuable experience – interning in a field of interest, gaining exposure to a foreign culture or seeing some of the world’s most famous sites.

Pre-law students might be interested particularly in two domestic programs. Many students have gone on the Washington Semester to study the judicial process, American government, U.S. foreign policy or journalism. The program involves a seminar where they often are brought face-to-face with some of the leading American and foreign political figures of the day. It also involves an internship in a politician’s office or in the national office of an interest organization.

Other students have gone on the ACM Chicago Program, which has an Urban Studies emphasis that again involves both organized study and an internship and helps students of politics and government become intimately aware of the problems of modern American cities.