Introduction to the Pre-Law Concentration
The Pre-Law ConcentrationSee also: Why Choose Pre-Law?
The pre-law concentration at UL-Lafayette provides students interested in careers in law with a balanced and challenging course of study. It emphasizes the development of the skills necessary to succeed in law school and a legal career: research and writing skills, speaking skills, interpersonal skills, and substantive knowledge of the foundations of the legal system. The concentration leads to a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, and is in compliance with the official American Bar Association (ABA), Law School Admission Council (LSAC), and Association of American Law Schools (AALS) suggested guidelines for pre-law education. (http://www.abanet.org/legaled/prelaw/prep.html). The pre-law concentration is a pre-professional program. As such, it is also necessarily a challenging program. Students in the pre-law concentration need to work diligently to build and maintain excellent academic records from the time they first enter the university. Hundreds of students have completed the pre-law concentration and been admitted to law schools throughout the nation. These include Harvard, Georgetown, Baylor and the University of Texas as well as the Louisiana law schools at Tulane, Loyola, Southern, and LSU. Students who achieve a high grade point average in their undergraduate work and score well on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) will be especially attractive candidates for the most competitive law schools.
Advisory Services
Effective academic and career advising is particularly emphasized in UL-Lafayette's pre-law concentration. Two political science faculty members, one of which has a law degree, serve as specialized advisors to pre-law students. They are prepared to provide information about individual law schools, their admission requirements and procedures, and their scholarship programs. The Department of Political Science further facilitates the law school admissions process by serving as a campus distribution point for the law school admissions test (LSAT) materials and applications. Pre-law students, other students, and community members can obtain up-to-date information from the Departmental office in Mouton Hall, Room 112. The academic program is supplemented by the UL-Lafayette Law Club which is sponsored by the Department of Political Science and advised by a member of its faculty. The club is open to all students interested in law school and sponsors various extra-curricular activities, lectures by local attorneys and judges, field trips to law schools and the appellate courts, campus visits by law school admissions officers, and a brief practice course for the LSAT. Further information concerning advisory services can be found on the Pre-Law Advising page.
Career Opportunities
Graduates of law schools are prepared for a variety of careers with a significant range of salary expectations. A national study of 1992 graduates indicated that 59% entered private practice, 28% entered public service (includes judicial clerkships, government jobs, military, and public interest groups), and 9% took positions in business and industry. The average starting salary for the 1992 graduates was $42,000 with those going into private practice averaging over $47,000. Those graduates taking positions in business and industry averaged $40,000 while those entering government service averaged $31,000, and those working in the public interest arena averaged $26,000. While there has been some concern that the legal profession is overcrowded, the American Political Science Association reports that "Occupational growth projections into the next decade continue to show modest growth..." As in every profession, opportunities for the lawyer will depend on the academic credentials of the lawyer, the quality of the law school attended, the area of specialization, and the type of position sought. Those in newer areas of specialization such as environmental law, intellectual property law, immigration law, and family law, may enjoy wider opportunities. Our own alumni, according to a 1994 survey, hold many positions in the legal profession in both the private and public sectors. Public sector alumni include several judges, a public defender, assistant district attorneys, an assistant attorney general, staff attorneys for the Louisiana legislature, a U.S. Senator, a U.S. Congressman, and several state legislators. More than fifty attorneys with undergraduate degrees from our program are engaged in private practice in the Lafayette area and other alumni are in private practice across the United States.
Pre-Law Concentration Requirements
The pre-law concentration at UL-Lafayette follows the guidelines for pre-legal education jointly recommended by the ABA, AALS, and LSAC. The program provides a rigorous, intellectually stimulating, and wide-ranging educational experience which emphasizes comprehension and expression in words, critical understanding of the human institutions and values with which the law deals, and creative power in thinking. Students take basic courses in English, philosophy, modern languages, history, science, mathematics, and accounting. These core courses are combined with 30 hours of political science selected from the many courses offered by the Department. These include political philosophy, state and local govemment, international relations, the legislative process, the judicial process, constitutional law, and civil liberties. Students must also complete an 18 hour minor in a field which complements their politial science studies. Students in the pre-law concentration frequently choose a minor in English, history, sociology, or philosophy. An interdisciplinary minor consisting of a selection of courses in the College of Business Administration is also permitted. For more specific requirements regarding the Pre-Law concentration, please see the POLS Programs page.
Scholarships and Internships
There are many scholarship opportunities for Political Science majors, including those who choose the Pre-Law Concentration. Two of the more notable scholarships for entering freshmen are The John Breaux Scholarship and The William Martin Scholarship. Sophomores may qualify for The Colonel Thomas Ritchie Memorial Award or The Ray L. Barry Memorial Scholarship. Junior and senior political science students are eligible for scholarships such as the Police Jury Scholarship, The Mouton Scholarship, and the Walter S. Craddock Scholarship, among others. Also, each year the department nominates one student who is interested in pursuing legal studies for the Joseph Onebane Memorial Endowment Scholarship. Our most qualified students are eligible to participate in a variety of internship opportunities. In recent years political science majors have successfully completed internships with the Democratic National Committee, the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon, the State Board of Regents, the Secretary of State, the Displaced Homemakers of Louisiana, the Chief Administrative Offica of Lafayette Parish, the Lafayette Regional Planning Commission, and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. Eight students have also served as McNair interns working on research projects with faculty members. Many of these internships earn academic credit and in some cases stipends are attached. For a complete list of available scholarships and requirements, please see the POLS Scholarships page.
The Faculty
All our faculty members in the Department of Political Science have Ph.D.'s in political science from outstanding universities, and one faculty member also holds a law degree. The department is known for the quality of its classroom teaching and for the professionalism and scholarly passion found in its classrooms. Moreover, student evaluations of instruction consistently grant high marks to teaching efforts. One faculty member, Dr. Donn Kurtz, was recently selected for the Faculty Excellence Award granted by the alumni of Blue Key, an honorary leadership society on campus. Faculty involvement with students does not end in the classroom. Each student is assigned an advisor who is available for consultation on academic affairs throughout the student's university career. Faculty are also involved in student affairs. They serve as members of the Union Program Council, advisors for a variety of campus student organizations, mentors for the McNair Scholars program, and as a liaison for major university internship programs in Washington, D.C and in Baton Rouge. Faculty are actively involved in research activities as well and bring the excitement of that research to the classroom. Articles by UL-Lafayette political science faculty have been published recently in some of the most prestigious journals in the profession. A book was recently published and several others are in production. For a list of faculty and staff members, along with background and contact information, see the POLS Faculty and Staff page.
Tel. 337-482-6171; E-mail: pols@louisiana.edu