Pre Law

Pre-law Electives

Before enrolling in any elective courses outside of your major, please speak with your primary major advisor.  When selecting a pre-law elective, you should search for classes that will help you build skills needed for the LSAT and law school. However, you can opt to choose a class that centers around a particular kind of law that might interest you. USF offers an array of classes that can either build your skills for law schools or expose you to law-related content.  

Also, some of these courses may satisfy general education requirements. Please consult with your primary major advisor to see which general education requirements you are missing and how you could possibly take a pre-law elective for these missing requirements as part of your graduation plan.

Course offerings change and evolve over time.  Please note that the availability of classes can vary every semester so make sure to check the Class Schedule Search for the most up-to-date list of classes each semester.

Below is a sample listing of courses that are offered regularly and can be taken by pre-law students.  The list is grouped by discipline/subject area.

Anthropology

ANT 4930 Forensic Science

Business

BUL 3320 Law and Business I 
BUL 3321 Law and Business II

MAN 3025 Principles of Management

TAX 4001 Concepts of Federal Income Taxation - Restricted to Business majors

Communication

SPC 2608 Public Speaking 
SPC 3301 Interpersonal Communication 
SPC 3513 Argument and Debate
SPC 3425 Group Communication
SPC 3544 Persuasion & Media
SPC 3710 Communication and Diversity
SPC 4701 Intercultural Communication

ORI 3004 Communication as Performance

Classics

CLA 3124 Daily Life in Ancient Rome 

Criminology

CCJ 3014 Crime and Justice in America
CCJ 3024 Survey of the Crim. Justice System
CCJ 4224 Miscarriages of Justice

CJL 3110 Substantive Criminal Law
CJL 4115 Environmental Law and Crime
CJL 4410 Criminal Rights and Procedures

Economics

ECO 2013 Macroeconomics 
ECO 2023 Microeconomics 
ECO 4504 Public Finance
ECO 4505 Economics of Crime

ECP 3201 Economics of Women and Work
ECP 3203 Labor Economics
ECP 3302 Environmental Economics
ECP 3413 Economics of Regulation and Antitrust
ECP 3530 Economics of Health 
ECP 4451 Law and Economics

English

ENC 3250 Professional Writing 
ENC 3310 Expository Writing 
ENC 3371 Rhetorical Theory

History

AMH 2020 American History II
AMH 3140 Age of Jefferson
AMH 3270 United States since 1945

EUH 3412 Roman Republic
EUH 3413 Roman Empire
EUH 3576 History of the Soviet Union, 1917-1991

LAH 3130 Colonial Latin America

Leadership 

LDR 2010 Leadership Fundamentals 
LDR 3301 Leadership in Public & Community Service 
LDR 4204 Ethics and Power in Leadership
LDR 4230 Global Leadership 

Mass Communication:

MMC 4200 History & Principles of Communication Law 
MMC 4208 Media Law and Ethics

Philosophy

PHI 1103 Introduction to Critical Thinking 
PHI 1600 Introduction to Ethics
PHI 2010 Introduction to Philosophy
PHI 2101 Introduction to Formal Logic 
PHI 3130 Formal Logic

PHM 3400 Introduction to Philosophy of Law

Political Science

AMS 3700 Racism in American Society

INR 3202  Human Rights
INR 4403  International Law

POS 2041  American National Government
POS 3283  Judicial Process and Politics
POS 3691  Law and Politics
POS 3697  Environmental Law
POS 4614  Constitutional Law I
POS 4624  Constitutional Law II

Religious Studies

REL 2166 Religion and Ecology
REL 3131 New Religions in America
REL 3167 Sustainable Development and Religion
REL 4177 Comparative Religious Ethics 

Sociology

SYG 2000 Intro to Sociology

World Languages:

Learning any language is valuable for a pre-law student.  Language selection could vary depending on your legal career plans.  Spanish 1 & 2 is recommended for most legal fields.  Latin is also highly recommended because legal terminology is grounded in Latin.

LAT 1120 Beginning Latin I
LAT 1121 Beginning Latin II
LAT 2220 Intermediate Latin
LAT 2221 Intermediate Latin II

SPN 1110 Introductory Spanish for High Beginners
SPN 1120 Beginning Spanish I
SPN 1121 Beginning Spanish II
SPN 2200 Spanish III
SPN 2201 Spanish IV
SPN 2340  Advanced Spanish for Native Speakers I
SPN 2341  Advanced Spanish for Native Speakers II