Paralegal, AAS Degree

Offered at MCC in Grinnell (Code: MVPAR)

The Paralegal Program prepares students to enter employment at law offices and legal departments in industry to research and provide documentation for attorneys’ use in a variety of legal areas.

Plan of Study

General Education

CSC 118 - Computer Systems and Applications 3 credit(s)
ECN 115 - Personal Finance 3 credit(s)
ECN 120 - Principles of Macroeconomics 3 credit(s)
or
ECN 130 - Principles of Microeconomics 3 credit(s)
ENG 105 - Composition I 3 credit(s)
ENG 106 - Composition II 3 credit(s)
ENG 111 - Technical Writing 3 credit(s)
MAT 110 - Math for Liberal Arts 3 credit(s)
SPC 112 - Public Speaking 3 credit(s)

Humanities - Credit Hours: 6

(courses approved for AA)

Social/Behavioral Science - Credit Hours: 6

(courses approved for AA)

Total Credit Hours: 33

Program Requirements

CSC 119 - Computer Systems & Apps II 3 credit(s)
or
BCA 152 - Comprehensive Spreadsheets 3 credit(s)
PRL 101 - Paralegal Studies Orientation 3 credit(s)
PRL 109 - Introduction to Legal Research 1 credit(s)
PRL 114 - Advanced Legal Research and Writing 3 credit(s)
PRL 161 - Family Law 3 credit(s)
PRL 283 - Legal Ethics/Office Management 3 credit(s)

Total Credit Hours: 16

Program Electives (must select 15 credits)

ACC 261 - Income Tax Accounting 3 credit(s)
BUS 185 - Business Law I 3 credit(s)
CRJ 130 - Criminal Law 3 credit(s)
PRL 131 - Torts and Litigation I 3 credit(s)
PRL 132 - Torts and Litigation II 3 credit(s)
PRL 151 - Real Estate Law 3 credit(s)
PRL 165 - Estate Planning and Probate Law 3 credit(s)
PRL 172 - Administrative and Bankruptcy Law 3 credit(s)
PRL 183 - Employment Law 3 credit(s)
PRL 184 - Alternative Dispute Resolution 3 credit(s)
PRL 934 - Legal Practicum Varied credit(s)

Total Credit Hours: 15

Total Required Hours: 64

Courses Approved for AA

Communications - 9 Credit Hours

ENG 105 - Composition I 3 credit(s)
ENG 106 - Composition II 3 credit(s)
SPC 112 - Public Speaking 3 credit(s)

Humanities - 9 Credit Hours

No more than 6 credits from one prefix. LIT courses not on this list will satisfy this requirement and transfer to all three Iowa Regent Universities as Humanities electives.

ART 101 - Art Appreciation 3 credit(s)
ART 203 - Art History I 3 credit(s)
ART 204 - Art History II 3 credit(s)
ASL 131 - American Sign Language I 3 credit(s)
ASL 161 - American Sign Language II 3 credit(s)
CLS 150 - Latin American History and Culture 3 credit(s)
CLS 163 - Thai Culture 3 credit(s)
DRA 102 - Elements of Theatre 3 credit(s)
DRA 110 - Introduction to Film 3 credit(s)
FLS 241 - Intermediate Spanish I 4 credit(s)
FLS 242 - Intermediate Spanish II 4 credit(s)
HIS 112 - Western Civ: Ancient to Early Modern 4 credit(s)
HIS 113 - Western Civ: Early Modern to Present 4 credit(s)
HIS 142 - Middle Eastern Studies 3 credit(s)
HIS 145 - Modern East Asian Cultures 3 credit(s)
HIS 214 - Russian History and Culture 3 credit(s)
LIT 101 - Introduction to Literature 3 credit(s)
LIT 110 - American Literature to Mid-1800’s 3 credit(s)
LIT 111 - American Literature Since Mid-1800’s 3 credit(s)
LIT 120 - American Novel 3 credit(s)
LIT 133 - Minority Voices in U.S. Literature 3 credit(s)
LIT 150 - World Literature I 3 credit(s)
LIT 151 - World Literature II 3 credit(s)
LIT 164 - Modern Short Novel 3 credit(s)
LIT 180 - Mythology 3 credit(s)
LIT 188 - Detective Fiction 3 credit(s)
LIT 199 - Literature of the Fantastic 3 credit(s)
MUS 100 - Music Appreciation 3 credit(s)
MUS 205 - Jazz History and Appreciation 3 credit(s)
PHI 101 - Introduction to Philosophy 3 credit(s)
PHI 105 - Introduction to Ethics 3 credit(s)
REL 101 - Survey of World Religions 3 credit(s)

Social/Behavioral Science - 9 Credit Hours

No more than 6 credits from one prefix.

ANT 105 - Cultural Anthropology 3 credit(s)
ECN 115 - Personal Finance 3 credit(s)
ECN 120 - Principles of Macroeconomics 3 credit(s)
ECN 130 - Principles of Microeconomics 3 credit(s)
EDU 160 - Human Growth and Development 3 credit(s)
GEO 121 - World Regional Geography 3 credit(s)
HIS 151 - U.S. History to 1877 3 credit(s)
HIS 152 - U.S. History since 1877 3 credit(s)
HIS 254 - American Indian History 3 credit(s)
POL 111 - American National Government 3 credit(s)
PSY 111 - Introduction to Psychology 3 credit(s)
PSY 241 - Abnormal Psychology 3 credit(s)
PSY 251 - Social Psychology 3 credit(s)
SOC 110 - Introduction to Sociology 3 credit(s)
SOC 115 - Social Problems 3 credit(s)
SOC 120 - Marriage and Family 3 credit(s)

Math and Science - 10 Credit Hours

Must include at least one math and one lab science course

BIO 105 - Introductory Biology 4 credit(s)
BIO 112 - General Biology I 4 credit(s)
BIO 113 - General Biology II 4 credit(s)
BIO 146 - Genetics 3 credit(s)
BIO 148 - Human Genetics 3 credit(s)
BIO 151 - Nutrition 3 credit(s)
BIO 168 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I 4 credit(s)
BIO 173 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II 4 credit(s)
BIO 186 - Microbiology 4 credit(s)
BUS 230 - Quantitative Methods for Business Decision Making 3 credit(s)
BUS 235 - Calculus for Business and Soc Science 3 credit(s)
CHM 122 - Introduction to General Chemistry 4 credit(s)
CHM 165 - General Chemistry I 4 credit(s)
CHM 175 - General Chemistry II 4 credit(s)
CHM 261 - Organic Chemistry I 4 credit(s)
CHM 271 - Organic Chemistry II 4 credit(s)
ENV 120 - Environmental Biology 3 credit(s)
ENV 122 - Environmental Biology 4 credit(s)
MAT 110 - Math for Liberal Arts 3 credit(s)
MAT 129 - Precalculus 5 credit(s)
MAT 156 - Statistics 3 credit(s)
MAT 158 - Statistics II 3 credit(s)
MAT 210 - Calculus I 4 credit(s)
MAT 216 - Calculus II 4 credit(s)
MAT 219 - Calculus III 4 credit(s)
MAT 267 - Differential Equations 4 credit(s)
PHS 120 - Exploring Physical Science 4 credit(s)
PHS 142 - Principles of Astronomy 3 credit(s)
PHY 106 - Survey of Physics 4 credit(s)
PHY 121 - Elements of Physics 4 credit(s)
PHY 162 - College Physics I 4 credit(s)
PHY 172 - College Physics II 4 credit(s)
PHY 212 - Classical Physics I 5 credit(s)
PHY 222 - Classical Physics II 5 credit(s)

Computer Education - 3 Credit Hours

CSC 110 - Introduction to Computers 3 credit(s)

Physical Education - 2 Credit Hours

Two credit hours PE activity
or
PEH 110 - Personal Wellness 2 credit(s)

Student Development - 1 Credit Hour

SDV 108 - The College Experience 1 credit(s)

Electives - 21 Credit Hours

All transfer courses may be used here including courses listed above (if additional are taken beyond requirements). Students should plan their elective courses according to their college major if they are planning to transfer on for a four year degree.

A maximum of 16 hours of vocational-technical credits may apply toward elective credit with a maximum of 9 of the 16 being independent projects or experimental courses. No more than 6 activity credits (those having prefixes of PEA, MUA, and some MUS courses) may be applied to elective credits.