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Philosophy Pre-Law Certificate

The Department of Philosophy offers a Pre-law Certificate that is primarily guided by the published recommendations of the American Bar Association (A.B.A.).1 The A.B.A. encourages prospective law students to pursue classes that cultivate a set of skills that will enhance the study of law. To this end, Philosophy’s Pre-law Certification requires that students take classes that typically cultivate the A.B.A’s recommended skill set:

  1. Problem Solving involves “courses and other experiences that will engage [students] in critical thinking about important issues, challenge …  beliefs and improve … tolerance for uncertainty and criticism.”1
  2. Critical Reading involves “close reading and critical analysis of complex textual material.”1
  3. Writing and Editing involves “preparing original pieces of substantial length and revising written work in response to constructive criticism.  […] Language is the most important tool of a lawyer, and lawyers must learn how to express themselves clearly and concisely.”1
  4. Oral Communication and Listening involves “the ability to speak clearly and persuasively… and excellent listening skills.”1
  5. Research involves “undertaking a project that requires significant library research and the analysis of large amounts of information obtained from that research.”1
1  http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/pre_law.html

Certificate Program Details

The certificate consists of 12 hours of coursework, plus a 0-credit research enrollment in the semester after you complete certificate program coursework; students may also enroll in the last semester of their coursework, if it is their last semester.

Certificate Requirements:

  • COMM 203: Public Speaking or COMM 243: Argumentation & Debate
  • PHIL 240: Introduction to Logic
  • Choose between 6 hours of the following courses:
    • PHIL 332: Social and Political Philosophy
    • PHIL 334: Philosophy of Law
    • PHIL 336: Advanced Topics in Philosophy of Law
    • PHIL 470: Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law
  • PHIL 491 (0 credit) – in order to enroll in the correct section of PHIL 491 specific to PPLW students, please contact the Academic Advisor for Philosophy to be enrolled.

Adding the Philosophy Pre-Law Certificate:

In order to add the Pre-Law certificate, students must 1) have less than 105 completed credit hours; 2) have completed at least 1 course towards the certificate program; and 3) have an overall TAMU GPA of at least 2.0.

Because the certificate program is an additional academic program, students should speak with their primary major advisor to ensure they will approve the addition of the certificate.

Students who wish to add the Philosophy Pre-Law Certificate can request approval through this online form. Please allow at least two weeks processing time for a response. During high-volume advising times (the week before classes begin, the first week of classes, and pre-registration), certificate requests will be suspended.

Program Contact:

Ziena Miller, Undergraduate Academic Advisor for Philosophy