Undergraduate Certificates, Diplomas & Associate Degrees

A.Sc. in Paralegal Studies

Introduction

The demand for capable paralegals is growing rapidly in the Caribbean and the wider world. They are required to perform many tasks formerly carried out by lawyers as well as to carry out the office procedures necessary for the efficient running of law offices. The Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies (ASc PALS) prepares persons for this role and also provides a foundation in law for entry to further academic study in law. The programme provides an overall understanding of the Commonwealth Caribbean legal system. The delivery of each course ensures that it is relevant to the country in which it is offered to give the student a working knowledge of that jurisdiction while providing breadth to enable them to move to another jurisdiction and function effectively. The programme instruction will be practice-oriented to ensure that paralegals have a good functional grasp of paralegal practices.

Entry Requirements

  1. Candidates should meet UWI matriculation requirements - possess acceptable passes in 5 CXC General Proficiency or GCE 'O' Level subjects, not necessarily obtained at the same sitting, including English Language and Mathematics. An acceptable pass at CXC is a pass with Grades I, II or III at the General Proficiency level. Grade III was accepted with effect from May/June 1998. (Please note that the same subject cannot be counted at both CXC General Proficiency and GCE Ordinary Level.)

    2. OR

  2. Candidates should have the Certificate in APS, Business Management or APOM or another tertiary qualification deemed appropriate by the School of Continuing Studies.

    3. OR

  3. Persons of the age of 21 years and over. Such persons should have been out of secondary school for at least five (5) years, have demonstrated academic potential and have gained academically relevant knowledge and work place experience, will be required to present with their applications full details of their career - a document outlining their knowledge development and employment record and an official academic transcript: certificates, documents and references and to submit to tests and/or interviews as required by the senate and the appropriate faculties.

Programme Requirements

In order to qualify for the award of an Associate of Science degree (Legal Studies) a student must have:

  • a)    completed 69 credits of which 24 are from the General Education requirements
  • b)    satisfied the course requirements for their specific Associate Degree programme
  • c)    completed the programme within the maximum allowable timeframe.

Students enrolled in the Associate Degree programmes are not eligible for transfer to the Bachelor's degree programmes. Students must apply to the Bachelor's programme and complete all the requirements of application.

Prerequisites

For some courses there are pre-requisites, which must be taken and passed before registration for such courses is permitted. Where these apply, a list of pre-requisites (in parenthesis) will be listed next to the relevant courses. Additionally, in view of the implementation of a new Student Administration System, new course codes have been assigned. These replace the old course codes which are listed in the Handbook.

Programme Structure

The Associate of Science (ASc) degree programmes operate under a semester system with two semesters and a summer session to each academic year. Each semester is 15 weeks of instruction plus the examination period and the summer session is 9 weeks of instruction plus the examination period.

Core courses for ASc PALS are not offered during the summer session and summer is not a required period of study for the ASc PALS.

The ASc programmes are offered on two different part-time delivery schedules. Students are required to follow the prescribed course of study for their programme option and delivery schedule and write assignments and examinations.

Course of Study

Students of the ASc programmes must pursue a course of study comprising 20 courses totaling 60 credits. Unless otherwise indicated, each course is 45 contact hours, taught over one semester or summer session and is equivalent to 3 credits. Students are required to take at least 2 courses in any one semester.

Type of Course Number of courses Total Credits
General Education courses 6 18
Core courses 13 39
Electives 1  3
Total 20  60


Year 1

Semester 1

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

ENGL1900

English & Communication I

3

INFO1900

Information Technology

3

SOCI1900

Caribbean Studies

3

LAW1900

Introduction to Caribbean Legal Systems & Methods

3

 

Semester 2

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

ENGL1901

English & Communication II

3

LAW1900

Introduction to Caribbean Legal Systems & Methods

3

LAW1902

Introduction to Legal Research and Writing

3

LAW1908

Introduction to Tort Law

3

LAW1910

Introduction to Constitutional & Administrative Law

3

 

Semester 3

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

MATH0900

 Mathematics

3

 

Year 2

Semester 1

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

MATH0900

Mathematics

3

LAW1907

Introduction to Contract Law

3

LAW1903

Civil Practice & Procedures I

3

LAW1906

Introduction to Criminal Law

3

 

Semester 2

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

LAW1910

Introduction to Constitutional & Administrative Law

3

LAW1904

Introduction to Criminal Law

3

LAW1905

Civil Practice and Procedures II

3

SPAN0900

FREN0900

Introduction to Spanish OR

Introduction to French

3

 

Elective – Choose 1 of

3

BUAD1905

Corporate Secretarial Practices

3

MGMT1902

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management

3

ACCT1900

Principles of Accounting I

3

 

Semester 3

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

 

 

 

 

Year 3

Semester 1

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

LAW1907

Introduction to Contract Law

3

LAW1909

Introduction to Property Law & Practice

3

LAW1911

The Law of Associations

 

LAW1912

Introduction to Administration of Trusts & Estates

3

LAW1901

Law Office Management

3

 

Semester 2

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

LAW1912

Introduction to Administration of Trusts & Estates

3

LAW1901

Law Office Management

3

 

Elective – Choose 1 of

3

BUAD1905

Corporate Secretarial Practices

3

MGMT1902

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management

3

ACCT1900

Principles of Accounting I

3

 

Semester 3

Course Code

Course Name

Credits

 

 

 


To get a list of courses by semester and level click here.

Assessment

Coursework, mid-semester examination, final examination.

Withdrawal

Candidates studying on the part-time option A schedule must complete the Associate Degree in a minimum of 9 semesters including summers and a maximum of 18 semesters including summers. Students will be asked to withdraw if they have not obtained:
  • 9 credits at the end of semester 3
  • 21 credits at the end of semester 6
  • 33 credits at the end of semester 9
  • 48 credits at the end of semester 12
  • 60 credits at the end of semester 15
  • 69 credits at the end of semester 18
Candidates studying on the part-time option B schedule must complete the Associate Degree in a minimum of 5 semesters and a maximum of 10 semesters. In order to continue in the associate degree programmes, candidates must successfully complete the programme at the following minimum rate, at least:
  • 12 credits at the end of semester 2
  • 27 credits at the end of semester 4
  • 42 credits at the end of semester 6
  • 51 credits at the end of semester 8
  • 60 credits at the end of semester 10