Graduate Degree Requirements

M.A. in Legal Analysis

The goal of the legal analysis major is to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary for understanding legal issues working from both theoretical and practical applications. A legal analysis degree would be attractive to those individuals with positions in a business organization, law office, or government operation where a working knowledge of the law is desirable. In addition to an MA in legal analysis, a student may also earn a paralegal certificate by making specific course selections. A degree in legal analysis and/or a paralegal certificate does not prepare students for the practice of law, and its graduates are not eligible for admission to the bar.

The coursework in legal analysis is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the legal environment in which individuals, businesses, and the judiciary operate. Because most of the professors are practicing attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, and paralegals, this gives the student the distinct advantage of the latest legal theory and real world practice.

M.A. in Legal Studies

The coursework in legal studies is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the legal environment in which individuals, businesses, and the judiciary operate. This major should be attractive to those individuals (for example, managers, teachers, government employees, and legal assistants) who need additional legal knowledge to function more effectively. The program in legal studies does not prepare students for the practice of law, and its graduates are not eligible for admission to the bar.

MA degree-seeking students with a declared major in legal studies may seek, concurrently with the degree, a certificate in paralegal studies. Some of the coursework is applied toward both the degree and the certificate.

M.A. in Patent Agency

The patent agency program prepares students who have a science or engineering background* to practice as patent agents before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in patent cases. A patent agent is a non-attorney whose license, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office, allows the person to prepare and prosecute patent applications. The global legal community is experiencing an increasing demand for intellectual property law services, thereby resulting in an increasing demand for patent agents knowledgeable in the field of intellectual property law.

The patent agency program provides the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to enter the field of patent agency well-prepared to prepare and prosecute patent cases. This program does not administer the Patent Agency Bar Examination, as the administration of the examination is the exclusive province of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

However, in addition to the theoretical and practical knowledge this program provides, a student can use the program to help prepare for taking the Patent Agent Bar Examination. Notably, the written portion of the Patent Agent Bar Examination has recently been eliminated. That means that many patent agents who pass the examination could be entering the work force with virtually no preparation in patent application drafting. A course of study that teaches students the art of patent drafting, such as this one, will likely result in the student competency, marketability, and higher compensation.

The coursework in the patent agency program is designed to provide students who have a science or engineering degree the opportunity to practice as patent agents before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in patent cases. In addition, the coursework is designed to help prepare students to take the Patent Agent Bar Examination.

Pursuant to the General Requirements Bulletin for Admission to the Examination for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, patent agents must possess the “legal, scientific, and technical qualifications necessary to enable him or her to render applicants for patents valuable service.” Section 10.7. See Section 10.7 for educational credentials that can demonstrate the required scientific and technical training. Students in this program are entirely responsible for ensuring that they qualify to sit for the Patent Agent Bar Examination. For more information, please visit http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/oed/examregist.htm.

Special Note

A legal assistant or paralegal is a person, qualified by education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. Paralegals or Legal Assistants may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law. Webster University's St. Louis area paralegal programs have been approved by the American Bar Association. The Kansas City program is not approved by the American Bar Association.