Careers in Law RAP

This wonderful RAP is designed for 30 first-year students who want to pursue careers in law or related fields.

When you join this RAP you will...

• Enroll in a small section of Constitutional Law (Poli Sci 162), rather that the 80 student section offered on main campus
• Learn how to plan your undergraduate program to be best prepared for a future career in a legal field.  
• Discuss and identify ways to pursue your academic and/or career goals.
• Share your living-and-learning experience with other students committed to exploring opportunities in law. 
• Work closely with the Pre-Law advisor

As you probably know, there is no prescribed course of undergraduate study for admission to law school. The best guide is to follow your own personal and academic interests so that you will be motivated to excel.

This RAP will help you identify the paths for your undergraduate education that best suit your individual needs and skills. 

Once in law school, you will study the legal principles underlying specific areas of the law; in your undergraduate classes, you need to acquire the core knowledge and skills upon which your legal education will be built. Since law deals with a wide variety of human conflicts, the more you know about the diversity of human experience, the better prepared you will be to study law. In addition, lawyers need an increasingly broad range of knowledge including:

• A good understanding of history, particularly U.S. history
• A basic understanding of political and legal institutions
• Familiarity with ethics and theories of justice
• A grounding in economics
• Basic mathematical and financial skills

Students in this RAP will participate in a small section of Introduction to Constitutional Law. In this class you will have an opportunity to engage in stimulating group discussions, and have opportunities to work on special projects with others in the RAP. The Pre-Law advisor will attend this class periodically during the first semester. She will also meet individually with the students to help develop an academic plan.

Be sure to visit the How to Join page on this website to learn about the process and important timelines you must follow to become a member of this fantastic program!