Pre-Law Program
Curriculum
There are no specific “Pre-law” requirements for admission to law school, aside from the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The Law School Admissions Council and the Association of American Law Schools, which supervise law school admissions and accreditation, recommend that you acquire a broad based education and possess excellent reading, writing, and analytical skills.
You are encouraged to seek out courses which place heavy emphasis on reading and writing. In addition, it is wise to take classes which prepare you for alternative careers should you decide not to attend law school. While there are many law related courses at the University which may be of interest to law school-bound students, none of these should be considered a prerequisite or even an aid to law school admission, but these courses may help a student determine whether they are really interested in the law.
Options
Since there are no specific course requirements, there are a wide range of options for undergraduate study. Prelaw students have pursued undergraduate degrees in the sciences, language, business, political science, history, engineering, pharmacy, English, art, economics, theatre and any other major offered at the University.
Many have gone on for graduate degrees in their major fields prior to going to law school. As the law school curriculum is geared toward general private practice and the bar exam, specialization within law often depends on what a student has done as an undergraduate or graduate student in a field other than law.
Available Courses
Learning about the Law
PSC 113: Intro to American Politics (A2, C1)
PSC 334: Government Powers and the Law
PSC 371: Constitution and the Supreme Court
PSC 388: American Legal System
PSC 472: Civil Liberties (D1)
SOC/CCJ/PSC 274: Criminal Justice System
ECN/PSC 333: Economics and the Law
HIS 141: History of the US to 1877 (A3, C1)
HIS 142: History of the US since 1877 (A3, C3)
HIS 340: US History from 1914 to 1941
HIS 341: US History from 1941 to 1974 (A3, C3)
HIS 342: US History from 1968 to 2001 (B1, C3)
HIS 361: Laws & Outlaws: Rhode Island Legal History
Analytical Reasoning
PHIL 101: Critical Thinking (A3, B3)
PHIL 205: Philosophical Foundations
PHIL 314: Ethical Problems in Society and Medicine
PHIL 321: Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 323: Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant
HIS 363: Applied History and Policy (A3, B1)
Reading, Writing, and Research
ENG 121: OUTRAGE: The Literature of Protest and Dissent (A3, C1)
ENG 350: Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory
ENG 356: Literature and Law
WRT 106: Introduction to Research Writing (B1, B4)
WRT 290: Writing with AI
WRT 303: Public Writing
WRT 321G: The Ethics of Representation (B1, C1, G)