During the Autumn Quarter of their junior year, LLSO students have the option of designing their own independent research programs. These Focus Field plans are developed in consultation with and must be approved by the LLSO program administration. The Focus Field is centered around a basic theme or topic developed by the student. This theme or topic (a) must be related to law, broadly understood, and fall within the substantive bounds of LLSO; and (b) must be sufficiently focused and coherent.
This Focus Field plan will consist of four courses that the student has taken or plans to take, which may be drawn from available offerings throughout the University of Chicago. It is not necessary that every course included in the Focus Field have a clear or explicit legal focus, but all courses included in the plan must clearly fit within the overarching topic or theme of the Focus Field (which itself must be related to law). Coursework completed before admission to LLSO may be counted as part of the Focus Field.
Students who do not wish to develop an independent research program may instead opt to make “LLSO” their Focus Field. They can satisfy the Focus Field requirement by completing any four LLSO-listed courses that are not being counted to fulfill other LLSO requirements (such as the two Electives). Only courses with an LLSO designation may be counted in these “LLSO” Focus Fields.
