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Pre-Law Studies Department

Pre-Law Studies

The American Bar Association (ABA) recommends a wide range of majors for students interested in pursuing a career in law. Students are encouraged to pursue areas of study that interest and challenge them, while taking care to develop skills in critical reading, research, analysis, logic, and writing. Students can pursue any field of study, but typically students interested in law school pursue a degree in one of the following majors:

  • Business Administration
  • Criminal Justice
  • English
  • History
  • Media Communication
  • Political Science
  • Social Work

Students also pursue minors in the following fields:

  • Business Administration
  • Creative Writing
  • Criminal Justice
  • Diversity Studies
  • History
  • Literary and Cultural Studies
  • Media Communication
  • Philosophy
  • Political Science
  • Professional Writing
  • Social Work
  • Speech

However, students who have degrees in STEM, the arts, and nursing can also choose to pursue a career in law.

Preparation for law school uses a skills-based approach rather than a knowledge-based approach. You want to pursue undergraduate coursework in your major and minor that helps you develop and master skills in:

  • Reading comprehension – the ability to read, with understanding and insight, lengthy and complex materials*
  • Analytical reasoning – the ability to consider a group of facts and rules and determine what could or must be true*
  • Logical reasoning – the ability to analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments*

*from the Law School Admission Council

Pre-Law at AV¶¶Òõ

AV¶¶Òõ offers a Certificate of Proficiency in Pre-Law Studies. This 9-credit hour interdisciplinary program provides students with the writing, argumentation, and analytical reasoning skills necessary for law school while also preparing them for the LSAT or GRE. The certificate of proficiency will prepare students for jobs in legal studies or prepare them for law school.

Pre-Law Advisor

Mr. Jeff Adams is the AV¶¶Òõ Pre-Law Advisor. His role is to provide information about law and the legal profession as well as information about the LSAT test or law school application and admission process. Mr. Adams’s office is in the Babb Center for Career Services, and he can be reached at Jeff.Adams@uafs.edu.