Law, Economics & Public Policy

BACHELOR OF ARTS

On this page: Major Description | Requirements | Learning Objectives | Faculty & Staff | Courses

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The Law, Economics, & Public Policy (LEPP) major at the University of Washington Bothell offers students the opportunity to explore how legal institutions shape policy decisions, and how political and economic contexts influence the creation of law. The major also provides opportunities for advocacy and reflection on problems and issues impacting education, business, the environment, and human rights. Academic and other learning experiences enhance student’s analytical, research, and communication skills which prepares them for law school and other graduate or professional opportunities.

Do courses like Human Rights in America or Intro to Public Policy sound exciting to you?
Do you want to explore a career in Government, Management, or Law?

Purpose

Students in the Law, Economics & Public Policy major are passionate about participating in policy and legal decisions to create change and promote citizenship. Students may be interested in attending law school or pursuing a career in law.

Practice

Courses in the Law, Economics & Public Policy major include class discussion, writing exercises, and group projects to help students interpret and analyze complex legal and political issues, and communicate about real-world issues affecting the public.

Profession

Graduates of the Law, Economics & Public Policy major use their knowledge of political institutions to pursue careers in law, business, public health, non-profit agencies, media, consulting, federal agencies, state government, politics, and more.

Major requirements

Recommended preparation

Interested in exploring this major but not ready to commit? Consider taking one of the below courses! Any of these selections will help familiarize you with the academic program and prepare you for advanced coursework in the major.

  • BIS 282 Globalization
  • BIS 279 Introduction to Law & Society
  • BIS 284 International Relations

Prerequisites

Students must complete the following prerequisites, with a minimum 2.0 grade, to to declare the Bachelor of Arts in Law, Economics, and Public Policy major. Once all have been completed you can submit a declaration form, follow this link to the IAS Major Declaration Form

  • English Composition Coursework
    • B WRIT 133 OR B WRIT 134 OR ENGL 131 or equivalent Composition Course (5 credits)
    • B WRIT 135 OR ENGL 141 OR equivalent Composition course (5 credits)
  • Introduction Microeconomics Course
    • BIS 200/B BUS 220, ECON 200 or equivalent (5 credits)
  • Introduction to American Government or American Politics
    • BIS 175, BIS 280, POL S 202 or equivalent (5 credits)

Degree requirements

The following degree requirements are required as of Autumn 2024 quarter. Student who enter the Law, Economics, and Public Policy (LEPP) major prior to Autumn 2024 have different requirements. Please see your Academic Advisor for questions and academic planning.

  • BISLEP 301 Law, Economics & Public Policy (5 credits)
  • BISLEP 302 Policy Analysis (5 credits)
  • BIS 215 Understanding Statistics (5 credits)
  • Additional Skills & Methods coursework (5 credits)
  • Policy Foundation courses (10 credits)
  • Policy Foundation or Policy Problem courses (20 credits)
  • Additional IAS Coursework (20 credits)

TOTAL = 70 Credits

Note: Classes in this major are offered primarily during day-time hours.

School of IAS Requirements & Policies

  • Residency Requirement: 30 credits must be completed in residency at UW Bothell
  • Cumulative GPA Requirement: Major GPA must be at a cumulative of 2.00 or higher
  • Interdisciplinary Practices & Reflection (IPR): The IPR requirement can overlap with 70 credit major coursework or it can be completed through elective credits. Please see the IPR page for course options.
  • Upper Division Credit Policy: Of the credits applying to the major requirements, a minimum of 35 credits must be completed at the Upper Division (300-400) level.

Learning objectives

The Law, Economics & Public Policy curriculum advances the five core IAS learning objectives. Students taking courses and/or majoring in Law, Economics & Public Policy:

  1. Understand, critically examine, and apply theories and models of economic, political, social, and legal decision-making and policy-making.
  2. Acquire appropriate skill sets for analyzing, displaying and employing data (qualitative and quantitative) as evidence for understanding social, legal and political concerns.
  3. Become an effective and persuasive speaker, writer and presenter.
  4. Recognize and understand the role of ethical dimensions inherent in policy-making.
  5. Are able to apply the above skills to address complex social and policy problems in practice in order to foster greater equity and ethically negotiate intersectional spaces where diverse interests are represented.

People

Faculty

Please contact the LEPP Faculty Coordinator if you have any questions, concerns or ideas about the Law, Economics & Public Policy major.

Research Librarian

Courses

A. LEPP Core Courses (LEPP:CORE)

Students must complete both Core Courses

  • BISLEP 301 Law, Economics & Public Policy (5 credits) (AUT or WIN quarter)
  • BISLEP 302 Policy Analysis (5 credits) (WIN or SPR quarter)

B. Statistics Requirement

Students choose from one of the Statistics Courses

  • BIS 215 Understanding Statistics
  • B BUS 215 Introduction to Business Statistics
  • B MATH 215 Statistics for Health Sciences
  • STAT 220 Statistical Reasoning

C. Skills & Method Courses (LEPP:SKILLS)

Students choose from one of the Skills and Methods Courses

  • BIS 312 Approaches to Social Research
  • BIS 340 Approaches to Cultural Research
  • BIS 342 Geographic Information Systems
  • BIS 343 Geographic Visualization
  • BIS 352 Mapping Communities
  • BIS 410 Topics in Qualitative Inquiry
  • BIS 442 Advanced GIS Analysis and Applications
  • BIS 447 Topics in Quantitative Inquiry
  • BIS 483 Community Organizing
  • BIS 495 Internship
  • BIS 497 Political Internship in State Government

D. Policy Foundation Courses (LEPP:FOUND)

  • BIS 201/B BUS 221 Introduction to Macroeconomics
  • BIS 203 Economics of Gender
  • BIS 226 Foundations of U.S. Social Service
  • BIS 279 Introduction to Law & Society
  • BIS 353 Human Rights in Theory and Practice
  • BIS 338 Political Institutions & Processes
  • BIS 365 Institutions and Social Change (formerly BISSTA 304)
  • BIS 367 Ethics and Society (formerly BISSTA 359)
  • BIS 374 Middle East Politics
  • BIS 394 Comparative Economic Development
  • BIS 414 Topics in Human Rights
  • BIS 415 Public Policy & Law
  • BIS 416 U.S. Constitutional Law
  • BIS 491 Topics in Policy Studies
  • BISGST 324 International Political Economy
  • BISLEP 397 Topics in Law, Economics, and Public Policy
  • BISLEP 497 Advanced Topics in Law, Economics, and Public Policy

E. Policy Problem Courses (LEPP:PROBLEM)

  • BEARTH 155 Introduction to Climate Science
  • BES 331 Estuarine Science and Management
  • BIS 180 Introduction to Human Geography
  • BIS 183 Introduction to the Middle East
  • BIS 219 The Politics of Sex Education
  • BIS 227 Rad Women in the Global South
  • BIS 234 Media, Culture, and Capitalism
  • BIS 249 Introduction to Labor Studies
  • BIS 252 Politics of Science
  • BIS 255 Critical Diversity Studies
  • BIS 275 Social Problems
  • BIS 282 Introduction to Globalization
  • BIS 284 International Relations
  • BIS 307 Environmental Justice
  • BIS 310 Women, Culture and Development
  • BIS 326 Race, Space, and Segregation
  • BIS 327 History of US Labor Institutions
  • BIS/BEDUC 328 Diversity, Leadership, and Engagement
  • BIS 335 Human Rights in America
  • BIS 336 History of Mass Incarceration in the United States
  • BIS 349 Industrial and Organizational Psychology
  • BIS 359 Principles & Controversies of Sustainability
  • BIS 380 Bioethics
  • BIS 384 Health, Medicine and Society
  • BIS 386 Global Environmental Issues
  • BIS 392 Water & Sustainability
  • BIS 406 Urban Planning and Geography
  • BIS 408 Critical Physical Geography
  • BIS 419 Urban Politics and Policy
  • BIS 421 Technology Policy
  • BIS 441 Global Labor Markets
  • BIS 443 Education Policy & the Economy
  • BIS 448 Social Policy
  • BIS 456 Climate Anxiety, Grief and Resilience
  • BIS 458 Energy, Environment, and Society
  • BIS 459 Conservation & Sustainable Development
  • BIS 466 Human Rights & Resistance
  • BIS 468 Human Rights & Sustainability
  • BISAES 305 Power, Dissent, and American Culture
  • BISGWS 302 Histories and Movements of Gender and Sexuality
  • BISGST 303 History and Globalization
  • BISGST 397 Topics in Global Studies
  • BISGST 497 Advanced Topics in Global Studies

F. Courses that may count in LEPP

Topics courses under the below course numbers may apply to the LEPP major depending on the subject and title. Please see the Time Schedule notes to determine how they count toward the major.

  • BIS 293 Special Topics
  • BIS 294 The Arts of Collaboration: Working in Teams
  • BIS 305 Issues in Social & Political Philosophy
  • BIS 314 Topics in Geography
  • BIS 316 Topics in Psychology
  • BIS 339 Global Cultural Studies
  • BIS 341 Topics in the Study of Culture
  • BIS 393 Special Topics
  • BIS 396 Topics in Sustainability
  • BIS 442 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
  • BIS 490 Advanced Seminar
  • BIS 491 Topics in Policy Studies
  • BIS 493 Special Topics

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Petitions

IAS students may submit an online Major Petition form to request that alternate coursework satisfy a School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences (IAS) major requirement. Students must be admitted or declared in an IAS major in order for the online petition to be reviewed.

Submit an IAS Major Petition form