BALA Concentrations
3+3 Accelerated Law
Accelerated Law allows students to complete a majority of their coursework (75%) for a bachelor's degree from MSU, then transfer back 30 hours of L1 coursework from Mississippi College School of Law to complete the degree. Essentially, students complete 3 years at MSU, attend 1 year of law school, transfer back the credits for their bachelors degree, then complete the remaining 3 years of law school. Student must still apply to MC’s School of Law and meet all admissions requirements.
Political Communication
The Political Communication Concentration combines coursework in Political Science and Communication and Media Studies. It prepares students for careers in campaigning, public address and public affairs, and any public-facing roles related to governmental agencies and policymaking. The Political Communication Concentration is particularly useful for students who want to pursue law school or professional careers in legislation, campaigning, lobbying, and community outreach.
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice explores the causes and consequences of inequitable distributions of environmental benefits and hazards. It investigates the ethical, political, economic, legal, and sociological aspects of environmental issues, as well as provides students with sufficient natural science background to understand and explain human impacts on the natural world. Our course of study aims to give students an interdisciplinary perspective on the environmental and the social in tandem and how to redress environmental harms meaningfully, effectively, and fairly. The Environmental Justice Concentration is particularly useful for students pursuing careers in fields relating to sustainability, environmental planning, environmental law, and environmental policy.
International Studies
The International Studies Concentration combines coursework in the social sciences, humanities, and foreign languages to give students a well-rounded understanding of how political, economic, and social changes around the world impact our lives. International Studies is an increasingly popular area of study for students interested in careers in business, national security, politics, and the non-profit sector. It equips students with extensive knowledge of international institutions, the history, cultures, and politics of different regions of the world, and training in languages spoken around the world.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the study of language, including the structure of sounds, words, and sentences, how our brains process it, how people learn it, and the roles it plays in our societies. Studying linguistics teaches students to analyze patterns in the language of their daily lives and can contribute to careers such as language teaching, editing and publishing, speech therapy, advertising, and more. Only grades of C or higher will be accepted for courses in the emphasis areas.
Gender Studies
This concentration emphasizes different approaches to understanding gender and sexuality from different disciplinary perspectives. Students take courses in communication studies, English, world literatures, psychology, sociology, and sports studies. Courses emphasize how gender and sexuality are social constructions subject to change and interpretation over time and across cultures, and how inequalities tied to gender and sexuality are explained and addressed from different vantage points. This concentration also emphasizes empirical studies of gender as a form of identity, lived experience, and social inequality. Students draw upon course work in communication studies, criminology, history, political science, sociology, and social work. Courses emphasize the role of media, crime and the criminal justice system, historical constructions of gender, politics, and social problems and the responses to these problems in articulating how key social institutions and culture shape individual lives and societies.
Custom Program of Study
A custom program of study consists of at least 36 upper-division hours in approved emphasis areas. Each emphasis area must comprise at least 9 hours of upper-division coursework in that discipline.