Breadcrumb
Pre-Law @ Cal Poly Humboldt
Pre-Law @ Cal Poly Humboldt
Thinking about going to law school? Start your journey here!
The campus pre-law advisors are your Cal Poly Humboldt 's primary resource, along with this website and the Career Center, for obtaining the guidance you need concerning information about applying to and attending law school, pursuing other career paths in law related careers, and finding information on pre-law activities on campus.
Preparation for the Study of Law
Pre-law is not a specific course of study in a particular discipline. There is no established major or specific course of studies for pre-law preparation. Many different routes exist for preparing for the study of law. Various legal professional organizations, such as the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools, emphasize that success in a legal education comes from a background that has developed the essential skills of strong analytic thinking, including the ability to analyze arguments and situations with sound reasoning, and the ability to communicate well, both in writing and orally.
Any number of possible majors and minors, along with elective courses, could be combined in preparation for the study of law. The best advice is to choose a major that interests YOU, and choose as many challenging courses from other areas as possible that support your development. Perhaps the best way to prepare for law school is to take challenging courses. This will train your mind to perform well within the rigors of law school studies and later as a member of the legal profession.
There are a number of courses in all three colleges that have courses with substantial law-related content! Some of them might even give you a “taste” of what law school courses are like. The following is a sample (please note: make sure you consult with each department to see when these courses are offered).
Law-Related Courses @ Cal Poly Humboldt
- CRGS 360 Race, Gender and U.S. Law
- JMC 328 Media Law
- NAS 364 Federal Indian Law
- NAS 468 Tribal Justice Systems
- PHIL 307 Philosophy of Law
- PSCI 410 U.S. Constitutional Law
- PSCI 412 Legal Research
- PSCI 413/414 Moot Court and Moot Court Competition
- ESM 325 Environmental Law and Regulation
- BA 310 Business Law
Joice Chang, J.D., Ph.D.
Chair and Professor
Department of Politics
Pre-law advising is individualized. This is one of the many aspects of being a professor that I love: having the opportunity to have a conversation with students (and alums) one-on-one, to learn what makes you you and to discover together whether and how going to law school will lead you to a future you envisioned.
We also endeavor to have one pre-law event per semester, time and resources permitting. Previous events have included guest speakers, LSAT workshops, and law school application workshops.
Other Faculty with J.D.s
There are other faculty with J.D.s with whom you can also connect!
Other Resources
The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) is a nonprofit corporation whose members are more than 200 law schools in the United States and Canada. All law schools approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) are LSAC members. The LSAC is best known for administering the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).
The following links connect to web pages that will provide you with a wide range of information related to undergraduate preparation for and application to law school and legal careers.