Pre-Law Minor


A Student In A Lab

Some Kettering University students aspire to careers that combine their technical preparation with graduate work in a non-technical field.  Existing minors in Liberal Studies offer opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of academic areas usually regarded as necessary preparation for graduate study outside of engineering and science.  By offering a minor in Pre-Law, we can help those students interested in entering law school to have more focused preparation.

The American Bar Association maintains that there is no prescribed set of undergraduate courses that prepare students for law school.  It does maintain, however, that there is a set of skills, values and significant bodies of knowledge that are a foundation for a legal education.  The Pre-Law Committee of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar provides advice for undergraduates preparing for law school.  See http://www.abanet.org/legaled/prelaw/prep.html for its statement from which the following information is taken.

The core skills and values are:

  • Analytic / Problem Solving Skills
  • Critical Reading
  • Writing Skills
  • Oral Communication / Listening Abilities
  • General Research Skills
  • Task Organization / Management Skills
  • Public Service and Promotion of Justice

 The broad knowledge base beneficial to law students includes:

  • A broad understanding of history, including the various factors (social, political, economic, and cultural) that have influenced the development of society in the United States.
  • A fundamental understanding of political thought and of the contemporary American political system.
  • Some basic mathematical and financial skills, such as an understanding of basic pre-calculus mathematics and an ability to analyze financial data.
  • A basic understanding of human behavior and social interaction.
  • An understanding of diverse cultures within and beyond the United States, of international institutions and issues, of world events, and of the increasing interdependence of the nations and communities within the world.

Requirements for the Minor

Our general education program addresses the core skills and values and the minor would both sharpen these and provide greater breadth of knowledge. To provide this broad knowledge, the Liberal Studies minor in Pre-Law allows students to take courses related to four learning objectives that are described below.  Students shall select four courses representing at least three of these objectives. The courses shall be selected from at least two different disciplines across these objectives. The disciplines include history, philosophy, literature, sociology and communication.

  1. Achieve an understanding of international institutions and issues, of world events, and of the increasing interdependence of the nations and communities of the world.
    HIST-306 International Relations
    HIST-308 America and the World
    HIST-310 Imperialism
    HIST-316 History of the Atlantic World
    HIST-318 Africa in the 20th Century
    HIST-320 Modern Middle East
  2. Achieve an understanding of 1) the development of political thought and/or 2) political and legal systems.
    PHIL-373 Philosophy
    PHIL-378 Moral and Ethical Philosophy
    LIT-304 American Literature and Philosophy
  3. Achieve an understanding of human behavior and social interaction with particular emphasis on understanding diverse cultures within and beyond the U.S.
    SOC-332 Contemporary Social Problems
    SOC-336 Sociology of the Family
    SOC-337 Religion in Society
    SOC-338 Gender and Society
    LIT-309 Literature of Multicultural America
  4. Achieve an understanding of effective and ineffective practices in human communication.
    COMM-311 Rhetorical Principles of Persuasion
    COMM-313 Rhetorical Principles of Public Speaking
    HIST-314 Human Conflict and Conflict Resolution
    SOC-335 Analysis of Social Dissent

With the Department Head’s prior approval, topics courses numbered 391, Independent Study courses numbered 499, or other courses may be applied toward the minor, provided they have a central focus on law.

Pre-Law Advisors

Students wishing to minor in Pre-law are advised by the Pre-law advising committee.  This committee will consist of three faculty (possibly including qualified adjuncts) appointed by the Department Head of Liberal Studies.  The initial appointments to this committee are: Jamie McLaughlin (patent attorney and ECE professor), Michael Callahan and Badrinath Rao (Liberal Studies faculty).

View the official Kettering Catalog.