Online Master of Legal Studies in Criminal Law
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The online Master of Legal Studies in Criminal Law, offered through ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, provides students with valuable expertise regarding how and why the criminal justice system operates the way it does.
The manner in which an individual becomes the “accused,” and the process requisite to the establishment of “criminal liability” are fundamental to the integrity of a just and fair society.
The study of criminal law equips students to understand the myriad agencies charged with enforcing various laws, the rights of suspected or convicted people, societal goals that may be achieved via the punishments meted out to offenders, and how laws differ from state to state and country to country. The Criminal Law focus area will provide students with valuable expertise regarding how and why the criminal justice system operates the way it does.
The M.L.S. program is a customizable degree with eight possible focus areas (each focus area is four courses in a particular subject):
- Conflict Resolution
- Construction Law
- Corporate and Health Care Compliance
- Criminal Law
- HR & Employment Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- Law & Sustainability
- Sports Law
The nation’s leading law school
- #1 in Arizona for bar passage - only law school where students placed top 3 on the Arizona bar exam in the last 25 years
- #4 public law school in the West
- #9 public law school in the nation
- #10 career services
- #14 financial aid
- #22 best value
- #27 best law school in the country
Featured Courses
This course introduces non-JD students to the U.S. legal system and to the types of legal reasoning used by U.S. lawyers and judges. It provides the necessary instruction to use legal reasoning in work, including reading and understanding cases and statutes and applying existing law to the issue presented. Students will engage in extensive written legal analysis exercises.
SDO 518 Fundamentals of Contract Law
This course will explore the fundamental principles of contract law under the common law and the Uniform Commercial Code statutory provisions. The focus will be on issues of contract formation and interpretation, defenses to enforcement, warranties and conditions, and remedies for breach of contract.
SDO 598 Property
This course explores the indicia of ownership, found property, estates in lang, landlord-tenant relations, nonpossessory interests in property, nuisance, land-use planning, and transfers of interests in property.
SDO 525 Tort Law
This course covers the legal protections of personality, property, and relational interests against physical, economic, and emotional harms.
SDO 598 US Constitution Law
This course addresses the role of courts in the federal system; the distribution of powers between state and federal
SDO 598 Advanced Topics in Criminal Law
This course considers principles of criminal procedure, with analytical emphasis on the right to counsel during trial, appellate, and post-conviction proceedings. It will also examine developments in the criminal justice system derived from the study of wrongful convictions during the Innocence Era.
SDO 598 Criminal Law
This course will cover the basic principles of criminal liability. These include: acts and omissions (actus reus); mental states and negligence (mens rea); excuses (e.g., insanity); justifications (e.g., self defense). All will be ultimately illustrated in a sample crime (usually homicide).
SDO 598 Criminal Procedure
This course provides a study of constitutional criminal procedure with major emphasis on the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel, the Fifth Amendment's right against self-incrimination, and the Fourth Amendment's right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
SDO 598 Evidence
This course covers the basic rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in civil and criminal trial proceedings. The primary focus is on how the Federal Rules of Evidence operate in practice, with some attention to areas in which the Arizona Rules of Evidence differ from the Federal Rules. The course is taught by the problem-method, with occasional simulations designed to illustrate how litigators deal with witness testimony and other forms of evidence at trial.
Faculty
With 300 combined years of experience, ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s faculty members span from across the country and are nationally recognized for their wealth of knowledge. Additionally, the College of Law’s world- class faculty members provide comprehensive legal education around popular focus areas and address legal challenges on a global scale.
Related Careers
Graduates with an ASU Online Master of Legal Studies in Criminal Law have career opportunities illustrated in the following list. Career examples include but are not limited to:
Requirements
U.S. educated applicants can apply through our FastApp process, which streamlines the application process and may allow for an offer of conditional admission to the MLS program while the applicant continues to submit any additional requested documentation. Possible outcomes from FastApp submission may include:
- Conditional Admission
- A request for supplementary documents
- A request to complete the full MLS application with accompanying documents
- Denial
For the FastApp application to be considered complete, it must include:
- The complete MLS FastApp application form and the following uploaded documents:
- An Unofficial Transcript from all undergraduate institutions attended
- Resume that does not exceed three typed pages.
If a decision cannot be made from a FastApp, our Admissions team may request additional information from an applicant, including any or all of the following:
- Writing sample
- Explanations to affirmative answers to any conduct questions
- Two letters of recommendation
- Transcripts from all institutions attended, including the transcript showing a bachelor's degree was conferred
Required Admissions Materials
***Students are strongly encouraged to first submit the MLS Fast App. This allows students to submit a much shorter application and the unit will ask for more information or materials as needed. The information below contains guidelines for items students might be asked to submit after completing the Fast App. More information about the Fast App can be found here: https://law.asu.edu/admissions/apply/mls
Other Admissions Materials
- Does the application require letters of recommendation?: Maybe – upon request from the Admissions Committee
- Is a personal statement required? If so, what are the parameters?: Maybe, a statement of interest may be requested by the Admissions Committee
- Writing Sample – A writing sample may be requested by the Admissions Committee
- A document, a personal, academic, or professional writing or report, produced by you (academic or professional paper is preferred)
- no less than 2 pages, no more than 10 pages; double-spaced; 12 point font
- The writing sample is different from the personal statement.
- The name of the uploaded file must contain the word Writing Sample
- When possible, it is preferred the student submits a sample that cites to other sources
*Foreign educated applicants must submit a Full Application. Please see special instructions for foreign educated applicants:
Get program details
To learn more about this program, fill out the form below and check your email for information on next steps.
