Graduate Degree Requirements

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.S. in Patent Practice (Online Only)

The U.S. patent practice 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 U.S. patent practice 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 higher student competency, marketability, and compensation.

The coursework in the U.S. patent practice 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

Please note that the MS in U.S. Patent Practice is not approved by the American Bar Association and is not intended to prepare students to work as paralegals. The program is expected to be online in Fall, 2010.

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.