Pre-law at the Honors College
Students must earn a "C" or better in each course taken to fulfill a concentration requirement.
Many Honors College students have gone on to law school and have successful careers in the field of law. The College’s rigorous liberal arts and sciences curriculum not only prepares students to be strong candidates for law school, but once there, prepares them to excel. The College has several resources to help students decide if law is the career they want to pursue, and to prepare students for the application process.
Coursework:
Unlike medical schools, law schools do not require any particular coursework or major for admission. They seek applicants with strong critical thinking and writing skills. Whatever your concentration at the Honors College, you will develop these skills through writing-intensive courses and working on your honors thesis. We also offer a concentration and minor in Law and Society that many students have found helpful not only in deciding whether a career in law is a good fit for them, but in developing skills that help them thrive in law school. But students have succeeded in law school having majored in all of our concentrations. Some of the more popular majors for pre-law students, besides Law and Society, are Political Science, Philosophy, Psychology, History, Economics/Business, and Environmental Studies.
Some specific courses are especially helpful to pre-law students. We regularly offer courses in Constitutional Law, an introductory course in ‘Law and American Society’ that introduces students to the legal system and legal research, as well as courses such as ‘Punishment’, ‘Law and Economics’, ‘Privacy’, and ‘Psychology and Law’. Many pre-law students take ‘Logic’ to help prepare for the LSAT (Law school Admissions Test). In addition, each spring semester the Honors College offers a 1-credit course called “Law in the Real World” (IDH 3720). This unique course exposes students to different areas of law by having a different guest attorney each week present on their area of specialization. Finally, many pre-law students do internships in law, be it at a law firm, with the courts, or the district attorney’s office. This invaluable experience introduces students to what it is like to be a lawyer in practice.
Pre-Law Advising:
FAU has a number of pre-law programs that Honors College students take advantage of, including pre-law advisors in the University Advising Services Office on the Boca Raton campus, including attorney-at-law Dalel Bader. FAU also offers LSAT preparation courses, the FAU Undergraduate Law Journal, visits from law school admissions officers, and other resources to help you prepare for applying to law school. To learn more about these resources visit the FAU PLUS (Pre-law University Services) website.
Public-speaking opportunities:
The Honors College offers two outstanding public-speaking opportunities that are particularly valuable for students thinking about law.
The Moot Court program is run by a local attorney who helps students prepare for annual competitions in which students argue a hypothetical case before judges, competing against colleges from around the nation. Each team consists of two oral advocates who are responsible for mastering the assigned precedent cases and are judged based on their forensics, knowledge of the law, demeanor, and ability to answer questions from the bench. For more information about moot court, visit the American Collegiate Moot Court Association website. The Course POS 3675 is a 1-3 credit graded course offered in the Fall semester to help students prepare for the competition and develop public speaking and analytical skills. Contact Prof. Mark Tunick if you are interested in Moot Court, at tunick@fau.edu or 561-799-8670.
Another public-speaking opportunity is the Diplomacy Program. This program was established in 1996 and offers students interested in international affairs opportunities to enhance their diplomatic skills in areas such as speech writing, public speaking, negotiation, dispute resolution, and research. FAU's Diplomacy Program has prepared students to compete in ‘Model UN’ competitions in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Maastricht, Netherlands. Diplomatic competitions are simulations of major international organizations in which schools are assigned countries and students serve as diplomats of their assigned country. Each year since 2007, FAU's delegation has been honored with a national award. Students apply to the program and enroll in INR 4503 Honors Advanced Diplomacy. For more information visit the Leon Chaney Diplomacy Program Website.