What Major to Select in Order to Be a Lawyer

Pre-Law Students Should Study a Foreign Language.

Students who want to become lawyers don't need to major in any specific discipline as an undergraduate. Instead, they should get a broad education in a wide array of subjects.

Any Major is OK

Pre-Law Students Should Study Wide Array of Courses in College

Students from all academic disciplines are admitted into law schools, the American Bar Association says. Because of this, it does not recommend any specific major.

Courses to Study

The bar association says students can have majors ranging from history to business and art to mathematics.

Multi-Disciplinary Courses

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, says a variety of classes, including English, foreign languages, public speaking, government, math and computer science are useful to prospective lawyers.

Specialized Coursework

A student who knows what area of law he wants to specialize in can benefit from taking courses related to that discipline, the BLS handbook says. For example, a future patent lawyer might major in math or engineering, and a future tax lawyer in accounting.

Grades

The website BecomeALawyer says good grades are important to getting into law school as law schools pay more attention to grades than subjects.

References

• American Bar Association on Undergraduate Majors
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• BecomeALawyer

Resources

• American Bar Association