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 cooperation with the University of Virginia's Corcoran Department of History, the Law School allows students to obtain a J.D. and an M.A. in history in three years. Several veterans of the dual-degree program have gone on to successful careers in legal academia, and several of its recent graduates have clerked for U.S. Supreme Court justices. More
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
CONTACT: Professor Risa Goluboff
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Program | Curriculum | Clinics
Faculty | Student Engagement
