If you are planning to go to law school, what should you major in for an undergrad degree?

Question

im thinking of going to law school, but i dont know what pre law students get bachelors degrees in.

Answer 1

You've gotten a couple of uninformed answers. Let me give you the facts.

Traditionally, people who hoped to attend law school majored in Philosophy, Political science, Economics, and/or History.Today, law schools are inundated with candidates, and like to see applicants who are different in some way. Over the last decade, I have written letters of recommendation for students who majored in dozens of different areas. Students with the majors I've listed below have ALL gained admission to law school.

Engineering, Art history, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Comparative religion, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Computer science, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Arabic, Asian studies, Eastern European studies, Classics (Greek, Latin, etc.), and of course, the traditional Philosophy, Political Science, and History.

One final bit of advice. Students who see themselves eventually in international law would have a tremendous edge in law school admissions if they majored in a language or some type of cultural studies. Students who see themselves practicing patent law might major in computer science or engineering as undergrads. Students interested in corporate law might favor economics or business as a major.

Best wishes to you.

Answer 2

I've heard and read several times that law schools are interested primarily in people with broad academic backgrounds who are able to think critically, and communicate effectively -- both orally and in writing. So really any degree in the humanities and social sciences (or a business degree) will do. Of course if you're interested in a particular area of law then you might tailor your undergrad a bit in that direction. Some schools do have a pre-law program, so you might want to look into that a bit.
To get a little more info from somebody that probably knows what they're talking about, check out: http://gradschool.about.com/cs/decisionmaking/a/law.htm
You might also check out the websites of different law schools, to see what kind of stuff they're looking for.

My uneducated opinion is that you should get an undergrad degree in something you're interested in -- then you'll enjoy your studies more, do better, and if you decide not to go to law school you'll at least have a BA in something you like.

Answer 3

James H and Professor X have the best answers.

The short answer is that you should major in whatever you want. Study what interests you! Also, even when you're in law school you probably won't know precisely what type of law you will practice. A lot of law students spend considerable time and energy exploring multiple areas of law.

...and just to clarify, I have degrees psychology, philosophy, and women's studies---and i currently attend an elite east coast law school

Good luck!

Answer 4

It can be a number of things. Some schools offer pre-law as a major but in others it's just a designation put on top of your other, regular major.

Political Science, English, Sociology, anything like that would be fine as your undergrad major.

Answer 5

James H has a good answer. If you can also major in the aspect of law in which you want to practise (commerce for business law, science and criminology for criminal law, that sort of thing) then you will have a good background. I know of one law student who is doing international and labour law at law school and took his bachelor's in political science. Good luck and hit the books not the bars.

Answer 6

Some colleges have a specific "pre-law" curriculum. Otherwise, many lawyers select political science (or related major, like international relations, public policy, government) or history. Why? Lots of reading that you have to analyze and assimilate, lots of writing, lots of research. All good skills to prepare you for law school. Good luck.

Answer 7

It depends on what area of law you're planning to go into. If you want to go into business law, you may want to get an MBA first or similar business degree. If you want to go into criminal law or government law, you may want to get a degree in political science.

Answer 8

Political Science or History

Answer 9

Some colleges have a pre-law programme. If that;s not an optionf or you , you may one to major in something like, history, political science, sociology or pyshcology.

Answer 10

Depends a lot on what type of lawyer you want to be. For example, if you want to do taxes or contracts, accounting would probably be a good major. Others: history, political science, communications, even mathematics, philosophy or psychology.