The American Bar Association, the American Association of Law Schools, and pre-law advising organizations agree that a solid liberal arts education is the best preparation for law school. Law schools accept students with a wide variety of majors and backgrounds.

Northland offers many majors that are good preparation for law school, such as history, sociology, humanity and nature studies, psychology, and more. These majors train you to think clearly, make good arguments, write effectively, and read with excellent comprehension, all skills needed for law school and the practice of law.

If you want more focus on preparation for law school, Northland’s pre-law major might be right for you. This major includes courses from history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, etc. that focus specifically on law and legal issues in society, from PSY 343: Legal Psychology to SOC 332: Crime, Deviance, and Social Justice to BUS 431: Legal and Ethical Environment of Business.

Northland has a 3-2 articulation agreement with Vermont Law School, one of the premier environmental law schools in the country. In this program, students spend three years at Northland, working on a pre-law major, then move on the Vermont Law School after their third year. The first year of law school counts as the last year coursework for a Northland degree. Vermont’s accelerated program allows the completion of a law degree in two years of coursework, so you can be practicing law five years after you start at Northland. If the accelerated law school program sounds too aggressive, then you can switch to the standard three-year program at Vermont Law School once you get there.

However you want to navigate your path to law school, our pre-law advisor and staff can help you find a major that is good preparation for law school, locate internships in law firms, learn how to prepare for the LSAT, and discuss what law school is like, including what it will cost.