<p>If I wanted to double major in Law, Jurisprudence, & Social Thought and Political Science, how would I got about doing that? How many courses are required for each major?</p>
<p>I actually just looked it up. 11 for LJST and 10 for Political Science, 12 for Political Science with Honors. I wanted to double major, but I’ll be coming in as a junior. Boo</p>
<p>Yeah, double majoring is going to be nearly impossible for me as well. I’m looking into the five college certificates, specifically, “Logic”. I’m still not sure what a certificate equates to in theory (second major, minor, somewhere in between?). I’ve posed the question here a few times and nobody seems to have an idea.</p>
<p>Well, I’m hoping they accept all 4 of my Political Science courses towards that major, so I’ll only have 6 more required courses, 8 if I go for honors. As far as LJST goes, I don’t think I have a single course for the major, unless some of my Political Science courses will qualify. When will we get to speak to an adviser? I’m thinking I can take a winter intersession course at Smith or MHC. </p>
<p>Do you know what the normal course load is for a semester?</p>
<p>^
From what I’ve been told, per semester: Normal course load is four classes, two for major requirements, two to tickle your fancy (or for second major, certificate, ect.).</p>
<p>Edit: Also, for transfer purposes, each Amherst course is worth four credits. So if you took four political science courses at your previous college, each worth 3 credits, that gives you a total of 12 credits. Divide by four, that’s three Amherst courses. Your department head will decide how many credits will actually count toward your major, though.</p>
<p>Dang it, that means I’m already behind. I found courses for the Fall that count for LJST and PSCI. Do you think they’ll accept the one course for both majors?</p>
<p>Have you talked to your department head? Also, I see that you’re in the class of 2012? I thought you were going in as a Junior.</p>
<p>^
I will graduate after the Fall 2011 semester (Class of 2012E). No, they didn’t accept all of my credits, so I will have to complete one extra semester. This is no big deal for me, though. And I have not spoken to my department yet. I’m not even sure if we’ll have to take a First-Year Seminar (another question nobody seems to know the answer to). All of this stuff will be taken care of first week of September, though, I’m sure. I choose not to worry about it for now.</p>
<p>So we don’t choose our classes beforehand? Yeah, and I wouldn’t mind having to do an extra semester at Amherst. Actually, I wish I could do an extra semester, so I can study aboard or something.</p>
<p>Double majoring in LJST and Poli Sci is probably not feasible at this point. Most departments won’t let you double count courses towards multiple majors. I wouldn’t worry about it, though. LOTS of people (including me) come in interested in both LJST and Poli Sci and contemplate a double major, but most find that they find one or the other department more appealing and end up sticking with that one (unless, of course, they end up doing something completely different). I would suggest that you take a class in each department your first semester and see what grabs your fancy more.</p>
<p>I will warn you, though, that Poli Sci will probably be much more feasible. You’ll likely be able to use many more of the classes you’ve already taken, since LJST type classes are extremely rare outside Amherst. Also, LJST requires you to take 2 seminars your junior year (one research, one analytical) and a senior project, which might be difficult with little prior preparation in the department.</p>
<p>On other mechanics, I’m not sure how it works for transfers, but first years meet with their advisors (you’ll have one assigned to you, although you can change later fairly easily) and pick classes during orientation. Then you’ll have the first couple weeks of the semester to shuffle your schedule around if you want. Also, I would not count on using Winter session courses towards filling any requirements. It’s generally the case that winter study courses don’t count for credit.</p>
<p>Aww, another student told me that they would let one course count for two majors. I really want to major in both. I feel with that combo, I’ll definitely be prepared for law school. What exactly are the seminars?</p>
<p>“Analytic Seminars emphasize close analysis of text, practice, or image, and frequent writing; Research Seminars require students to complete substantial, independent projects.”</p>
<p>e.g.</p>
<p>41 - Interpretation in Law and Literature (A)
42 - When Law Fails (A)
43 - Law’s History (R)
44 - Late Modern Moral Philosophy and Legal Theory (A)
45 - Law and Political Emergency (A)
48 - Law and War (R)
49 - Law and Love (R)
50 - Twentieth-Century American Legal Theory (A)
52 - Film, Myth, and the Law (A)
54 - Neoliberalism and Legal Theory (R)
56 - Representing and Judging the Holocaust (R)
57 - Property, Liberty, and Law</p>
<p>I really recommend that you either speak with department chairs once you arrive on campus, or e-mail those professors at your leisure.</p>
<p>^
OCC, I know you’re looking to prepare for law school, but consider the following:</p>
<p>A. Pre-Law courses do not prepare you for the LSATs as demonstrated here [Average</a> LSAT Scores for 29 Majors with over 400 Students Taking the Exam](<a href=“http://www.phil.ufl.edu/ugrad/whatis/LSATtable.html]Average”>http://www.phil.ufl.edu/ugrad/whatis/LSATtable.html)</p>
<p>Notice that Pre-Law majors finish second to last in average LSAT scores. </p>
<p>B. Also, most lawyers, law school students, and people who work for law school admissions say that a pre-law major does not give a student any sort of edge in the admissions process. Ironically, most say it is the absolute worst major to apply to law school with as emphasized by this thread (which happens to be sticky-ed) in the law school forum of college confidential <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/514978-undergrad-law.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/514978-undergrad-law.html</a></p>
<p>I do realize that LJST at Amherst contains more than your typical Pre-Law curriculum, but if you’re taking it simply because you think it’ll give you an edge for law school, you might want to consider other options.</p>
<p>“The Department of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought (LJST) places the study of law within the context of a liberal arts education. The Department offers courses that treat law as an historically evolving and culturally specific enterprise in which moral argument, distinctive interpretive practices, and force are brought to bear on the organization of social life. These courses use legal materials to explore conventions of reading, argument and proof, problems of justice and injustice, tensions between authority and community, and contests over social meanings and practices. In addition, the curriculum of LJST is designed to foster the development of a substantive focus for student interests in the study of law and skills in analysis, research, and writing as well as capacity for independent work…
**
LJST is not a pre-law program designed to serve the needs of those contemplating careers in the law…**”</p>
<p>^
“LJST is not a pre-law program designed to serve the needs of those contemplating careers in the law…” and yet “the curriculum of LJST is designed to foster the development of a substantive focus for student interests in the study of law…”</p>
<p>Not quite a contradiction, but certainly convoluted.</p>
<p>It’s funny. It does seem counter intuitive that one’s desire for a career in law may not be best served by studying law as an undergrad. It reminds me of Basic Rifle Marksmanship in basic training. The drill sergeants absolutely hated training grunts who had prior experience shooting firearms. They claimed that, nine times out of ten, people who already thought they knew how to shoot were doing it all wrong. On the other hand, take a guy who has never held a weapon in his life (like I was), and he is putty in your hands. </p>
<p>They were right too. The best marksmen I knew were trained by the military with no prior experience.</p>
<p>I’ve read that as well, but I also like the study of law. But I suppose I can just wait for law school to learn that. I really would like a double major in something. I was considering LJST or Anthropology. </p>
<p>Wow, I love how Political Science ranks 16 on that list. Philosophy seems like the route to go, but I’ve never enjoyed it.</p>