Pre-Law Program
Advisors:
Rachel Durso, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Sociology, Dept Chair, Director of Justice, Law, & Society Minor
Nanette Cooley, MA, Executive Director, Center for Career Development
The Pre-Law program at Washington College allows you to pursue your academic interests as an undergraduate while ensuring you gain the skills needed to prepare for and succeed in law school. There is no one major to make you most successful in law school, so instead we encourage you to complete a major that interests you, especially if it will help with your career prospects or the type of law you want to study. Having a background in chemistry or engineering for intellectual property law, environmental science for environmental law, or art history for copyright, can be just as beneficial to you as majoring in something traditionally associated with law programs, like economics, English, political science, philosophy, or sociology.
No matter what your major, the pre-law advisors will work one-on-one with you to:
- Ensure you are developing the necessary reading, writing, and logic skills to succeed on the LSAT, including rounding out course schedules so you are taking coursework outside your major that will ultimately benefit your career goals
- Discuss the journey toward law school
- Strategize application materials, provide feedback on them, and read through essays
- Direct you to pertinent campus events, some of which are hosted by our staff
- Help you select and apply to law schools, including discussing what matters to you in a school
- Connect you to relevant recourses; our program is a member of the Northeast Association of Pre-Law Advisors and registered with the LSAT, ensuring we have up-to-date resources and guidance to pass along to our students
Law school is a large financial commitment, and our faculty is committed to working with you to understand what it is that lawyers do—especially outside a courtroom—and how a law degree will best help you achieve your career goals. Our staff want to ensure you are set up for success.
While at Washington, you are encouraged to pursue your interests, not only through your major, but also in your Senior Capstone Experience (SCE) and extracurriculars. All these things show commitment and time management skills that law schools are looking for and will differentiate you from other candidates. Completing your SCE, particularly in the form of a written thesis, no matter what topic, and being able to talk about all the work that goes into completing that year-long project—project management experience, goal setting, time management, conceptualization, critical thinking, research—will set you apart from most undergraduates. Participate in groups, clubs, and activities that you value, and take on leadership roles within them.
While there is no pre-law major, there are several faculty members on campus who teach courses related to law, including law in political science, philosophy of law, logic, an Inside Out prison education partnership, and the legal environment within business. The Justice, Law, and Society minor and participating on the Mock Trial team will also prepare students for the type of work they might do as a lawyer.
Recommended Courses
Common Majors
Some Majors for SpecialtiesArt History
