The Law School’s curriculum places the history of law and the ongoing story of the Constitution in context so students can better understand both the past and present legal landscape. With more than 25 faculty members in constitutional law and legal history, Virginia offers an unparalleled variety of lecture courses, seminars and colloquia in the field. Students interested in exploring legal history in depth have the option to complete a dual J.D.-M.A. in history in three years. Hands-on experiences are also available through two clinics, on the First Amendment and Supreme Court litigation, which offer students access to the practice of appeals based on constitutional argument. Virginia enriches its curriculum through lunch workshops and other events in which new and established scholars in the field discuss their work.
Program on Legal and Constitutional History
Virginia’s Program on Legal and Constitutional History creates a rich intellectual community of scholars and students with shared historical interests. It sponsors a dual-degree opportunity and organizes workshops and author talks focused in the field.
J.D.-M.A. Program
In order to encourage the study of legal history and to attract able students into the field, the School of Law, in conjunction with UVA's Corcoran Department of History, offers a combined J.D.-M.A. degree program. Law students interested in the program should contact the Law School faculty advisor, Professor Risa L. Goluboff.
Event Programming
The program sponsors a series of monthly legal history lunch workshops in which scholars and Virginia faculty members present works in progress. Advanced J.D.-M.A. candidates participate in these workshops and even present drafts of their own M.A. theses.
The program also sponsors a series of lectures and panel discussions in which authors of recent important books are invited to engage in discussions of their work with students and faculty participating in the Colloquium in American Legal History.
Remaining Legal History Workshops, 2012-13
12 p.m., Faculty Lounge
April 8 Joint J.D.-M.A. Session: Emma Hall: "Making Law Work: Robert F. Kennedy and the American Lawyer as an Agent of Reform" and Matthew Jobe: "A Response to Chicago Railway: Minnesota Farmers' Fight for Lower Railroad Rates in the 1890s"
April 22 Jessica Lowe, UVA Law: TBA
CONTACT: Professor Risa Goluboff
The
Program | Curriculum | Clinics
Faculty | Student Engagement
