Pre-Law Minor

For information, contact Dr. Christine Carpino ccarpino@cedarcrest.edu, 610-606-4666, ext. 3923 or Professor Christine Lombardo-Zaun, clomzaun@cedarcrest.edu, 610-606-4666, ext. 3697

The Pre-Law minor and advising program is designed to provide students with individualized assistance in regard to all phases of the law school admission process while also ensuring that students contemplating a career in law are exposed to the seminal ideas and fundamental values that have informed the pursuit of justice within the context of the Western tradition.

Substantively, the Pre-Law minor promotes a cross-disciplinary course of study and focuses on the core skills of “problem solving, writing and editing, oral communication and listening, research, and exposure to law” emphasized by the American Bar Association as essential to pre-law training. Pre-Law students are provided with an intellectual foundation for the study of the relationship between law and civil society. Faculty advising and support services for students enrolled in the program include course scheduling, completion of the law school application process, and preparation for the law school admissions test.

Although strongly encouraged, students do not have to declare a Pre-Law minor to participate in the Pre-Law advising program.

Learning Outcomes

Students who graduate with a Pre-Law minor will:

• Develop core knowledge of the legal system in the United States;
• Develop the oral and written communication skills to express ideas clearly and persuasively
• Develop the ability to critically analyze and evaluate research and arguments and;
• Develop an understanding of the various facets of law.

Minor Requirements (18 credits)

For students who are majoring in Political Science with a Law and Society concentration, only 3 courses (either required or elective) can overlap for both the major and the Pre-Law minor.

Required Courses – (12 credits)
BUA 221 Business Law
CRJ 101 The Legal System
THS 105 Public Speaking
PSC 204 Legal Research and Writing

Elective Courses: choose 2 courses (6 credits)
PSC 110 American Politics
PSC 202 Law and Justice OR PSC 207 Law and Women’s Rights
PSC 210 American Public Policy
BUA 239 Employment Law
BUA 328 Power, Influence and Negotiation
COM 255 Media, Law and Ethics OR BUA 281/BUA282 Professional Ethics

To apply transfer credits toward the completion of these requirements, students must have earned a grade of “C” or better in each course to be transferred. Courses completed more than ten years ago will not be accepted for purposes of completing the requirements of the program.