Pre-Law Program

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Program Concentration

Students interested in a formal, interdisciplinary course of study in preparation for Law School may participate in our pre-law concentration of courses. These courses are designed to provide the future law student with the background, academic preparation, and experience that will increase their abilities to succeed in law school. The program itself is designed to coordinate major courses and electives in such a way as to provide the student with a legal focus throughout his or her undergraduate program. The concentration adds no additional courses to the student’s graduation requirements. The courses for Pre-Law may also be counted as major, minor, or elective courses.

Majors and Pre-Law

Law schools do not require any particular undergraduate fields of study. Although our Pre-Law program is run out of the Political Science department, any undergraduate degree is sufficient for admission to Law School. Political Science, History, and Criminal Justice serve as the natural majors for prospective law students. Although the bulk of Pre-Law concentration courses are listed as Political Science, any major can work.

Pre-Law Advisors

There are two designated Pre-Law Advisors in Political Science and Criminal Justice. Each of these advisors can approve the inclusion of any class as an approved Pre-Law elective on the basis of a simple course description. New courses can then be included in a student’s Pre-Law electives as soon as such courses are developed. These two advisors are Judy Abbott and Brian Borlas.

Pre-Law Core - 18 Credit Hours:

BUS 215 - Business Law 3 Credit(s)
CRJ 101 - Introduction to Criminal Justice 3 Credit(s)
POL 260 - American Judicial 3 Credit(s)
POL 363 - American Constitutional Law 3 Credit(s)
or
POL 364 - Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 3 Credit(s)
POL 261 - Mock Trial I (Criminal) 2 Credit(s)
or
POL 263 - Mock Trial I (Civil) 2 Credit(s)
CRJ 375 - Special Topics 1-3 Credit(s)

Additional Requirements:

POL 200 is also required to fulfill the Social Science requirement for the Bonaventure program, but does not count towards the hours required by the concentration

Rather than provide a definitive list of acceptable Pre-Law electives, the individual student through consultation with a Pre-Law advisor, will choose courses that will count towards a major, minor or simply an elective requirement. For example, four of the core courses and three additional courses can generate 21 credit hours of Political Science credits which is half way to a major and well into a minor. A partial list of recommended courses is as follows:

Recommended Courses:

BUS 316 - Advanced Business Law 3 Credit(s)
COM 390 - Communication Law 3 Credit(s)
CRJ 246 - Foundations of Criminal Law 3 Credit(s)
CRJ 343 - Criminology 3 Credit(s)
CRJ 344 - Crime and Corrections 3 Credit(s)
PSY 380 - Psychology and Law 3 Credit(s)
CRJ 347 - Contemporary Criminal Law and Procedures 3 Credit(s)
POL 363 - American Constitutional Law 3 Credit(s)
or
POL 364 - Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 3 Credit(s)
POL 261 - Mock Trial I (Criminal) 2 Credit(s) and
POL 262 - Mock Trial II (Criminal) 1 Credit(s)
or
POL 263 - Mock Trial I (Civil) 2 Credit(s) and
POL 264 - Mock Trial II (Civil) 1 Credit(s)
POL 421 - G: International Law 3 Credit(s)
POL 480 - Practicum In Political Science 1-6 Credit(s)

Additional Information:

It is important to note that the previous list is in no way exhaustive or exclusive. Since we expect a number of new legal courses to be created thanks to new programs such as Digital Forensics and Forensic Psychology, course approval will fall under the new procedure discussed above.