Since law schools generally do not have specific undergraduate course requirements for admission, there is no single course of study which constitutes a formal pre-law program. Admission to most law schools requires a bachelor’s degree (or in some cases a minimum of three years of undergraduate study), with a specified minimum grade-point average, and an acceptable score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). This test involves general intellectual abilities, skills in organization and expression of ideas, and general knowledge in the fields of the humanities and the social sciences.
Pre-law is not a major program, but rather serves as a way to ensure contact between students and the Pre-law adviser, who may provide information and advice about particular law schools, law school applications, and the LSAT. Thus you must still declare an academic major and minor (where appropriate), and your individual academic strengths and personal intellectual interests must dictate that choice. Any major program that requires you to think and work independently, and which demands that you research and produce original work of the highest caliber, is one you should pursue.
Law school admissions committees are looking for talented, accomplished, and (most importantly) interesting and well-rounded applicants. Whether you major in marine biology or literature, history or mathematics, or any other discipline, as long as you’re doing something you love and are doing it exceptionally well, you’ll have chosen an appropriate Pre-law major.
Print this Page