Pre-Law Advisors: Mark Shimota, Claire Haeg, Shannon Smith, Derek Larson, Michael Livingston, Emily Berg Paup, Christina Tourino, Dennis Beach

A rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts program is excellent preparation for admission to law school. Law schools do not require that a student take a specific sequence of courses as an undergraduate. Students are encouraged to choose a major that aligns with their interests and strengths while developing essential skills for legal study and practice. Although many pre-law students gravitate toward majors such as Political Science, English, Philosophy, Strategic Communication Studies, Sociology, History, or other fields within the social sciences and humanities, students from any discipline can pursue the study of law.

Students preparing to apply to law school should choose courses that will enable them to understand and critically examine human institutions and values, build their analytical and logical reasoning skills, and to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. Students may wish to explore their interest in law through law-related courses and internships. The Pre-Law Society provides opportunities for students to participate in a competitive inter-collegiate mock trial program.

The absence of a specific coursework for law school should not be confused with an absence of criteria. It is strongly recommended that a student considering the legal profession meet with a faculty pre-law advisor for information about the application process, as early as second semester in their first year of college.

The following is a list of suggested courses because they either engage with legal content or they help to develop key skills valued by law schools - such as critical thinking, analytical and logical reasoning, writing, and oral communication. These are not requirements for a pre-law program. Students should choose courses that best fit their interests and academic goals. 

It is strongly recommended that a student considering the legal profession meet with a faculty pre-law advisor for information about the application process, as early as second semester in their first year of college.

Suggested Courses:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
COMM 102	Public Speaking and the Public Sphere	4
COMM 110	Voices Unheard: Gender, Race, and Power in America	4
COMM 220	Debate & Democracy	4
COMM 225	Argumentation and Advocacy	4
COMM 245	Introduction to Media Writing	4
COMM 278A	Rhetoric of Social Change	4
COMM 305	Gender, Voice, and Power	4
COMM 330	Apology and Crisis Communication	4
COMM 379A	Freedom of Speech	4
COMM 379C	The Truth Wars: Media and the Limits of the First Amendment	4
COMM 390	Communicating Ethically	4
ENGL 311	Creative Nonfiction	4
ENGL 317	Writing in Business	4
ENVR 360	U.S. Environmental History	4
GBUS 361	Law and Business	4
GBUS 362	Gender & the Law	4
HIST 277D	Revolution and Repression in Modern Latin America	4
HIST 277B	Protest, Riot, and Rebellion in US History	4
HIST 277C	Fascism Past and Present	4
HIST 279D	The American Revolution	4
HIST 295A	Debating the French Revolution	4
HIST 301	Race and Law in US History	4
HIST 329	Guns, Gold and Slaves: Africa and the British Empire	4
HIST 333	Gender and Society in Western Europe	4
HIST 355	Slavery in the Atlantic World	4
PCST 346	Mediation and Conflict Resolution	4
PCST 349	International Law and International Organization	4
PCST 277A	Theory & Practice of Nonviolence	4
PHIL 125	What is Justice?: Social Philosophy	4
PHIL 241	Ethics Tools	2
PHIL 377B	Liberty, Equality & Race in American Political Thought	4
PHIL 379B	Knowledge and Power	4
POLS 224	Courts, Law and Policy	4
POLS 295	Public Policy Debate	1
POLS 321	Law and Literature	4
POLS 323	Constitutional Law: Structure and Power	4
POLS 324	Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties	4
PSYC 309L	Forensic & Legal Psychology	4
PSYC 381	Psychological Disorders	4
SOCI 304	Social Theory	4
SOCI 336C	Corrections: Race, Gender and Power in Prisons	4
PHIL 321	My Goodness!: Moral Philosophy Moral Philosophy	4