Pre-Law

Minimum number of credits required to graduate:  124

Minimum Cumulative GPA required to graduate:  2.0

Minimum number of credits to complete the minor: 18

The Pre-Law Minor is an interdisciplinary law minor for students who are interested in attending law school, who plan on pursuing legal related careers, or who want to learn more about different areas of the law that may be relevant to their professional careers or to legal areas they are likely to encounter in their personal lives. The minor provides students with exposure to substantive law courses and topics. For those students interested in attending law school, the courses in the minor will help confirm their interest in pursuing a legal career, enhance the critical thinking, analytical, and other skills that students will need to be successful in law school. The courses provide insight into how lawyers think and analyze legal issues, expose students to the Socratic method and to the unique way of studying the law used in law school, and also provide students with sufficient knowledge and background in the law to be competitive in law school. For students not planning on law school, the minor will provide them with practical information and exposure to the legal system and to the legal issues and topics that will be useful in their careers and personal lives.

The Pre-Law minor requires a minimum of five courses: two required courses, three electives, and an experiential component. The two required courses are an introductory course in the law and a constitutional law course that will provide students with a basic understanding of the U.S. legal and court systems, knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, and an overview of some substantive legal areas both from a practical and theoretical perspective. The three elective courses offer a range of choices to coincide with student interests. Please note that on-line pre-law courses do not qualify to meet the five (5) course or 18 credit requirement for the pre-law minor. The experiential component will provide students with practical exposure to and experience in the law or a related legal area. Students can meet this experiential requirement by participating in an internship, a service learning assignment in a legal area, Moot Court, shadowing an attorney, or by engaging in additional activities that expose students to practical experience in the law (must be approved by the department).