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Paralegal Studies A.A. Degree

Part Time

This program roadmap represents one possible pathway to complete the program. Please see a counselor to create an education plan that is customized to meet your needs. This roadmap is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.

Catalog:: 2025-26
GE Pattern:: local AA/AS
Total Units:: 60
Start Term:: Fall

First Year

Semester 1 (Fall)

7 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	GE AREA
GE	ENGL C1000 ^ABA Academic Reading and Writing or	3	L1A
GE	ENGL C1000H ^{H, ABA} Academic Reading and Writing - Honors	3	L1A
GE	STAT C1000 ^ABA Introduction to Statistics or	4	L2
GE	STAT C1000H ^{H, ABA} Introduction to Statistics - Honors	4	L2

Semester 2 (Spring)

10 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
Req	LA 300 Introduction to Law and the American Legal System	3	ENGL C1000 or C1000H or ESLW 340
GE	POLS C1000 ^ABA American Government and Politics or	3		L4
GE	POLS C1000H ^{H, ABA} American Government and Politics - Honors	3		L4
GE	ENGWR 303 ^ABA Argumentative Writing and Critical Thinking Through Literature	4	ENGL C1000 or C1000H	L1B

Second Year

Semester 3 (Fall)

9 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	GE AREA
Req	LA 320 Legal Research	3
Req	LA 350 Law Office Management	3
GE	any Area L6 (Ethnic Studies) course	3	L6

Semester 4 (Spring)

9 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
Req	LA 310 Civil Procedures and Litigation	3
Req	LA 321 Legal Writing	3	LA 320
GE	PHIL 310 ^ABA Introduction to Ethics	3		L3

Third Year

Semester 5 (Fall)

7 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	GE AREA
Req	LA 312 Torts and Personal Injury	3
GE	ANTH 300 ^ABA Biological Anthropology or	3	L5
GE	ANTH 480 ^{H, ABA} Honors Biological Anthropology	3	L5
Elec	any Area L7A (Physical Education) course ¹	1	L7A

Semester 6 (Spring)

6 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
Req	LA 314 Contract Law	3
RE	LA 334 Criminal Law and Procedure	3	LA 300

Fourth Year

Semester 7 (Fall)

6 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
RE	LA 342 Evidence	3	LA 300
Elec	any Area L7B (Life Development Skills) course ¹	2		L7B
Elec	any elective course	1

¹ Students in majors (like this one) with 45 units or more of required coursework are exempt from the Area L7 general education requirement. See a counselor if you wish to waive this requirement.

Semester 8 (Spring)

6 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
RE	LA 362 Estate Planning and Probate Procedure	3	LA 300
Elec	any elective course	3

^ABAcourses that meet the ABA Breadth requirements for this degree

^H honors courses

Explanation of Categories
GE	General Education	A course that fulfills a specific general education requirement for a degree, which can be replaced with another course that meets the same requirement
Req	Required Core	A course that is required for this program
Elec	Degree Elective	A degree-applicable course that is part of a degree roadmap to ensure that there is a total of at least 60 units, which is a requirement for an associate degree
RE	Restricted Elective	A course selected from a list of elective courses specified for this program in the course list in the catalog, which can be replaced with another course from the same list

Career path

Career Options:

Paralegals find employment in both state and federal government as well as private practice and corporate settings.

Advising Notes:

This degree can be completed using either the local AA/AS general education (GE) pattern or the Cal-GETC transfer GE pattern. See a counselor to determine which pattern is best for you based on your academic goals.
Students can substitute ESLW 340 for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly known as ENGWR 300/480).
Elective Courses: any elective courses numbered 100-499, or having a 4-digit number starting with C.

Scheduling Notes:

LA 300 is offered in the fall, spring, and summer.
LA 310, 312, 314, and 350 are offered in the fall and spring.
LA 320 is offered in the fall regularly, and in the spring and summer occasionally.
LA 321 is offered in the spring regularly, and in the fall and summer occasionally.
LA 330, 332, 336, and 342 are offered in the fall.
LA 334, 360, 362, and 365 are offered in the spring.
This program can be started in spring and summer as well. See a counselor to adjust the coursework.

Other Notes:

The American Bar Association (ABA) has specific requirements for 18 units of additional non-legal-assisting coursework (ABA Breadth). See the Legal Assisting website for more information.
An internship (LA 498) is highly recommended as it opens up potential employment opportunities. Students can earn between 0.5 – 4.0 units for related paid or unpaid work experience including volunteer and internship positions through LA 498. See the Work Experience website for more information.

Published April 24, 2025

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