Pre-Law Minor

The Pre-law minor provides students with an interdisciplinary foundation in the skills required for law school and many legal professions: critical thinking, problem solving, persuasive communication, and perspectives on justice and legal history. Students can pair this minor with any major, since law schools enroll students from nearly every academic discipline. Often, law school applicants have traditional humanities/social sciences majors such as history or psychology, but law programs are also interested in applicants with diverse specialties such as nursing, math, and biology. The American Bar Association encourages students “to pursue an area of study that interests and challenges you, while taking advantage of opportunities to develop your research and writing skills.” The Pre-law minor helps students build these fundamental skills and provides a more focused path toward admittance to law school.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the pre-law minor, students will:

  • Demonstrate communication and writing skills that enable persuasive and effective communication and advocacy.
  • Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze legal and/or social issues.
  • Understand ways in which legal systems and the larger society influence one another.

Minor Requirements

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

Choose one course from the list below (3 credits):

PHIL 102Critical Thinking and Reasoning

3.00

PHIL 135Introduction to Ethics

3.00

Writing

Select one course from the list below (3 credits)

ENG 204Introduction to Professional Writing

3.00

ENG 401AAdvanced Composition

3.00

ENG 411BPrinciples of Modern Grammar

3.00

Persuasive Communication and Group Dynamics

Select one course from the list below (3 credits):

COM 329Business and Professional Speaking

3.00

COM 335Communication in the Public Interest

3.00

COM 404Principles of Persuasion

3.00

COM 412Intercultural Communication

3.00

COM 434Communication and Conflict Resolution

3.00

COM 464Leadership: A Communication Perspective

3.00

PSY 460Social Psychology

3.00

Society and Justice

Select two courses from the list below (6 credits):

CRJ 321Immigration and Justice

3.00

CRJ 411Comparative Criminal Justice Systems

3.00

CRJ 419Law and Society

3.00

CRJ 438Social Inequality and Crime

3.00

PSY 468Psychology of Inequality

3.00

PSY 469Psychology and the Legal System

3.00

SOC 441Social Inequality

3.00

Legal Environment

Select one course from the list below (3 credits):

BLW 302Legal Environment

3.00

CRJ 222Criminal Law & Procedures

3.00

ENV 345Environmental Regulations: History, Law, and Methods

3.00

HIST 401US Constitutional & Legal History

3.00

PSC 210American Public Policy

3.00

Summary of credit requirements for the Minor in Pre-Law

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 
Writing    3
Persuasive Communication & Group Dynamics 
Society & Justice    6
Legal Environment 
Total  18