Pre-Professional Program
Since liberal arts education is essential to sound professional education, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences provides an opportunity for students to study both a liberal arts and a pre-professional curriculum in their choice of a number of pre-professional areas before entering professional schools. With thoughtful planning, transfer to the professional schools can be made without loss of credit or time. Such programs are available to students interested in engineering, journalism, law, library science, home economics, medicine, dentistry, dental hygiene, medical technology, pharmacy, occupational and physical therapy, the ministry, religious education and social work.
PRE-LAW PROGRAM
The Pre-Law Program is a co-curricular support service open to all students of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who are interested in learning more about career opportunities in the practice of law. As such, the program has two primary goals: (1) to provide students with the information and advising necessary for them to make informed decisions as to whether or not a career as a lawyer is for them, and (2) to provide serious pre-law students with support services designed to assist them in selecting and gaining admission to an appropriate law school.
The University has a pre-law club and a chapter of the international law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta. Participation in PAD is open to all pre-law students with at least a 3.0 GPA. The pre-law club is open to all interested students.
No particular course of study (major or minor) is a prerequisite for admission or success in law school. Today's law students may have undergraduate degrees in Political Science, English, Business, Psychology, natural science, History, foreign languages, Education, Music, or other subjects. Therefore, the main guide to undergraduate study should be the student's own interests and talents. Since the successful study and practice of law can be based on any of a large number of college backgrounds, pre-law students are advised to select a major which interests them and in which they believe they can show their best work.
The skills most related to success in the study and practice of law can be developed or improved through study of any academic field in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Still, we recommend the following general guidelines to pre-law students for making curricular decisions: A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively in oral and written expression. Words are the tools of the lawyer's trade; therefore, lawyers must be able to speak and write well. In addition, law students must develop the capacity for creative and critical thinking, since they must be able to reason logically from given premises to tenable conclusions and to do so quickly and under pressure.
To assist pre-law students in preparing for law school, a Pre-law Handbook is published by the pre-law program. That handbook contains a list of recommended courses for the consideration of pre-law students. Copies of the Pre-law Handbook may be obtained free of charge from the Dr. John Carter, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Pre-Law Program.
A list of recommended courses is provided to assist in identifying individual courses that may have special value in preparing for law school and a legal practice. This list is intended to supplement the CMU's general education requirements, as well as the specific requirements of whichever academic major the student may elect. Some of the courses listed may fulfill specific academic requirements of the university and/or one or more of its departments of study.
Recommended Pre-Law Preparation Courses
- Communication Skills Area
- AC201 Principles of Accounting I
- AC202 Principles of Accounting II
- CT201 Public Relations
- CT306 Media Law
- CT320 Interpersonal Communication
- EN305 Expository Writing
- EN306 Advanced Workplace Writing
- Human Institutions and Values
- AC340 Income Tax
- AC350 Accounting for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations
- BU341 Business Law-Contracts
- BU342 Business Law-Commercial
- CJ202 Criminal Law
- CJ301 Constitutional Aspects of Criminal Justice
- PL306 Ethics and the Professions
- PS101 Introduction to American Government
- PS308 American Constitutional Law and the Judicial Process
- PS309 Law in American Society
- PS318 American Legislative Politics
- Critical Thinking
- EC201 Macroeconomics
- EC202 Microeconomics
- EC330 Law and Economics
- MA105 Elementary Statistics
- PL101 Introduction to Logic
- PL105 Introduction to Philosophy
- PL311 The Study of Knowledge
- SO350 Social Theory
PRE-HEALTH SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL TRACK
The Pre-Health Science Professional Track is open to all students interested in the health sciences. Pre-Health Science Professional students who may to pursue specialty areas such as Optometry, Veterinary Medicine, Genetic Counseling, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Podiatry, Chiropractic Medicine, Public Health, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Osteopathic Medicine (DO), and Allopathic Medicine (MD). Most of these specialty areas also strongly recommend taking MA105 Statistics. Consult your advisor and professional program for more specific application requirements including prerequisite coursework, GPA, and specialty exams. Students on this track receive intensive advising throughout their college experience.
Most Pre-Health Science Professional students belong to AED (Alpha Epsilon Delta, national pre-health professions honor society), BBB (Beta Beta Beta, national biological honor society), and Gamma Sigma Epsilan. These groups Bring guest speakers to campus and visit medical, professional, and graduate schools, pharmaceutical companies, and other sites of interest. They also attend national conventions and have been honored with awards for their outstanding activities and service. AED and BBB meet jointly and regularly to discuss issues in medical ethics and to plan service projects.