Pre-Law

The American Bar Association does not recommend any one major for a student planning to attend law school nor is there one field which will give you an advantage. Instead, law schools look for a rigorous liberal arts education that has sharpened skills and values essential for success in their programs. Select a major that you not only enjoy but that will demand excellence in critical thinking, expository and persuasive writing, oral communication, critical reading, research and organization. Also, seek out courses and instructors that require research papers, substantial reading, essay exams and oral presentations.

Choose a minor and electives that complement your major from history, political thought and theory, the American political system, ethics and justice, economics, human behavior, speech communication, journalism, English, and cultural studies. If you expect to practice patent-law, you may also choose courses from biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or engineering. Because the best law schools expect students to have two years of college-level foreign language, the B.A. degree is recommended. UT Tyler offers an 18-hour Pre-Law minor in the Department of Political Science and History (please look under this department for requirements) for interested students. The College of Arts and Sciences also has a very active Pre-Law Academy. PLEASE NOTE: A student intending to apply to law school should not take any undergraduate course on Pass/Fail or CR/NC basis. Pass (P) is typically interpreted as a "C" or "D;" CR is typically interpreted as a "C;" and an NC as an "F."

A student planning to apply for law school will receive advising from both an advisor in their major as well as the Pre-Law Advisor. The role of the advisor in their major is to ensure the student fulfills the requirements for the chosen major. The major advisor is the student’s primary advisor and should be consulted early and often. The Pre-Law Advisor is available to help a student make important choices regarding extra-curricular activities, the law school application process and choice of law school.