Pre-Law Program

All Programs

​Adrian College offers a pre-law program for students who plan to continue their studies in law school. 

It is generally agreed that future lawyers need to be very broadly educated and that there is no one pattern of undergraduate preparation which is ideal for everyone who is planning to attend law school. Each student should select a major or majors which will encourage development of orderly work habits and which will sharpen the ability to think, to reason and to state ideas clearly.

Students are encouraged to meet early in their undergraduate careers with the Director of the Romney Institute for Law and Public Policy, Professor Nathan Goetting, so they can craft a course plan that best meets their needs and helps them learn more about the resources available to pre-law students here at Adrian College. The individual attention provided by our program assures that students will be acquainted with important concepts that will be helpful in law school while allowing students maximum flexibility to select the rest of their studies on the basis of their personal interests and aptitudes.

The two universal law school pre-requisites—good reasoning skills and good writing skills—can developed in numerous courses in diverse majors across the curriculum here at Adrian College.  The best attributes students can bring with them to law school are the ability to write eloquently and persuasively and a rigorously trained analytical mind adept at solving problems and thinking critically. These attributes can be cultivated by taking the courses listed below.

Recommended courses for all pre-law students include:

  • Accounting/Business Administration 203  Principles of Accounting I (3)
  • Accounting/Business Administration 204  Principles of Accounting II (3)
  • Accounting/Business Administration 305  Business Law (3)
  • Criminal Justice 366 Criminal Law (3)
  • Criminal Justice 393  Criminal Procedure and the Courts (3)
  • Criminal Justice 396  Constitutional Law I: Powers of Government (3)
  • Criminal Justice 397  Constitutional Law II: Individual Liberties (4)
  • Criminal Justice 398 / Journalism 398 First Amendment (3) 
  • Criminal Justice 401  Legal Research and Case Analysis (4)
  • Philosophy 105  Logic (3)
  • Philosophy 201  Introduction to Jurisprudence (4)
  • Philosophy 331  Philosophy of Law (3)
  • Political Science 101  American National Government (4)
  • Political Science 394 Government Powers (4)
  • Political Science 395 Civil Liberties (4)
  • Communication 300  Argumentation and Debate (3)
  • Communication 302  Persuasion(3)