Pre-Law

The “Statement on Pre-legal Education” prepared by the Association of American Law Schools emphasizes that no single course of study is required for admission to law school. Rather, the Association stresses the importance of a “broadly based undergraduate program that includes training in analytical reasoning and writing.” Specifically, the Association recommends courses in the following areas: English language and literature; political science; American history; macro and microeconomics; statistics; accounting; computer science; and a host of other fields. “Many entering law students have college majors in political science, history or economics,” according to the Association, “but a significant proportion have undergraduate degrees in philosophy, anthropology, engineering, sociology, the natural sciences, or other disciplines.” In short, it is less important which college major the pre-law student chooses than that he or she choose a major of “intensity and depth” that demonstrates his or her “capacity to perform well at an academically rigorous level.”

If a student is interested in a legal career, he or she should indicate his or her primary major plus the Pre-Law major when he or she first enrolls at Black Hills State. By indicating this interest, the faculty adviser will be able to contact the student and supply him or her with the latest information about a legal career.

The College of Arts and Sciences offers the pre-law student an excellent opportunity to develop the basic skills and insights required of successful law students and practicing attorneys. Whether the pre-law student chooses to major in history, political science, sociology, or social science, to minor in economics or some other area of social science, the College of Arts and Sciences offers majors and minors, which are both rigorous and meaningful. Our students have been accepted to and graduated from law schools throughout the country.

See Dr. John Glover, Jonas Room 121, for academic counseling. For more information write or call Dr. Glover, Black Hills State University, 1200 University, Unit 9081, Spearfish, South Dakota 57799-9081, 605- 642-6003