Director: Prof. Blake Wilson (email for info, declaring the minor, and for being added to the pre law mailing list). 

Administrative Support: Forthcoming

Email us to be added to the Pre Law Resource Center mailing list.

This program is designed to provide students with the support and skills necessary to maximize their admission to laws school or for other careers in the legal field. To earn this academic minor, students must complete the required number of units (24) with a minimum GPA of 2.0 (C). Please note: if students intend to apply to law school, they are advised to take all courses for a letter grade (and not Credit/No Credit) and they are further advised that law schools typically require a GPA that is substantially higher than the minimum GPA required by this minor.

NOTE: A minimum of 12 units must be outside of the student's major, and a minimum of 12 units must be upper division.

View the Pre-Law Minor catalog page with clickable links for all pre-law courses.

Program Requirements

1. Complete the following two core courses:

(6 units)

PHIL 2100 - Logic 3 unit(s)
CJ 4100 - Jurisprudence, Law and Society 3 unit(s) (Spring only)

2. Select one of the following Service Learning/Activity courses:

(3 units; may not double count as a Group A-D elective)

CJ 3125 - Moot Court 3 unit(s) (OFFERED IN FALL)
CJ 4945 - Court Observer Program 3 unit(s) (OFFERED IN SPRING)

3. Select 15-18 units of electives from the following courses:

Group A: Argument and Advocacy
(6-8 units)

CJ 3100 - Legal Research and Writing 4 unit(s) (Spring only)
CJ 3125 - Moot Court 3 unit(s) (Fall only)
COMM 3140 - Persuasive Messages 3 unit(s)
COMM 3910 - Critical and Interpretive Research Methods in Communication 3 unit(s)
COMM 4170 - Professional Interviewing 3 unit(s)
ENGL 4010 - Introduction to Rhetoric 4 unit(s)
PHIL 2000 - Introduction to Critical Thinking 3 unit(s)

Group B: Ethics and Social Justice
(3 units)

ANTH 3000 - Anthropology and Global Issues 3 unit(s)
CJ 3315 - Hate Crimes 3 unit(s)
CJ 4960 - Race, Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice System 3 unit(s)
ETHS 3900 - Writing, Race, and Power (WP) 3 unit(s)
PHIL 3400 - Ethics (WP) 3 unit(s)
PHIL 4401 - Professional Ethics 3 unit(s)
SOCL 4010 - Race and Ethnic Relations 3 unit(s)
SOCL 4430 - Contemporary U.S. Immigration 3 unit(s)

Group C: Law and Politics
(3-4 units)

ANTH 4181 - Political Anthropology 3 unit(s)
CJ 4945 - Court Observer Program 3 unit(s) (Spring only)
ECON 4335 - Political Economy (WP) 4 unit(s)
PSCI 3210 - Legislative Process 3 unit(s)
PHIL 2700 - Introduction to Political Philosophy 3 unit(s)
PSCI 3220 - Constitutional Law 4 unit(s)
PSCI 3225 - Civil Liberties 4 unit(s)
PSCI 4214 - The Judicial Process 4 unit(s)

Group D: History and the Environment
(3 units)

ECON 4560 - Natural Resources and Environmental Economics 4 unit(s)
GEOG 4130 - Hazards and Risk Assessment 3 unit(s)
HIST 3620 - Early National United States 3 unit(s)
HIST 4670 - California History 3 unit(s)

Updated: July 11, 2023