Law, Letters, and Society at UChicago

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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@JBStillFlying Virtually all undergrad classes except for the Core are 2000-level - the only exceptions I think are the new Signature classes. There are a ton of introductory 2000-level classes because of that - for example, the introductory PLSC classes, which are explicitly geared towards students brand new to the subject. Intro to Political Philosophy is similar, I’ve actually personally taken it.

The preselected courses are not rigorous. That’s the problem. There’s no way those courses are too rigorous to take more than one per quarter - I took three at once plus a 4000-level class my second year with no problems. They’re run of the mill classes, many of them introductory and no harder than the average Hum, like the ones I listed above. The pre-approval requirement is also not unique or a mark of rigor, not sure why you think it is - PLSC axed pre-approval a couple of years ago in an attempt to increase the rigor of its major, as their pre-approval list was letting too many students take too many classes outside the department. It’s now case-by-case.

Regardless of whether it is rigorous in some absolute sense, it definitely has absolutely no reputation for rigor, which was my original correction before we went down this rabbit hole. Pre-law students are not the best gauge for a reputation for rigor given that rigor is anathema to them, and the pre-law frat is made up of the most pre-professional of the pre-laws. For better or for worse, nobody takes LLSO seriously. The university nearly eliminating it did not help its reputation. If anyone is curious to get a third take, the most recent Reddit post on it also mentions its utility for GPA-maximizing.

Fundamentals is brutal FWIW, not for the faint of heart. It’s living proof that it’s possible to do an interdisciplinary, very open major in an intensive and rigorous way.

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This will be my last response to this rather futile debate.

  1. Like any major, LLSO offers the opportunity to make it extremely challenging or less so. Honors are sparingly granted, have a GPA minimum and require a serious paper.
  2. The kids who apply already are a select group of high achievers with strong GPA’s .
  3. The program was halted for one year only and is now better and stronger with two leaders.
  4. If it serves students well in their law school application, why is that a problem ???
  5. The consistent demand for the major speaks for itself.
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Let 1,000 bloom. As long as it satisfies the objectives of the College curriculum-wise and isn’t the only path to Law School (the Outcomes Report numbers hint that it isn’t), then there’s no harm in offering the major. If ya don’t like it, don’t take it. And it’s only about 1.5% of the class anyway so hardly making a significant dent in terms of academic or campus culture.

Law School isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it’s not exactly for dummies. Anything marked with the “pre-law” moniker might attract obnoxious GPA-chasers who despise rigor; but those kids aren’t exactly going to be prepared for law school - or the law, for that matter. My guess is that H & H pre-select precisely in order to avoid this pitfall. And if they are choosing those who they know would do great in law school, so what?

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Law school care not a hoot in what the student majors, as long as it perceived to be a challenging major, and the grades matter a lot.

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“and the grades matter a lot.” - That is easily seen on USNews recent law school rankings. Those GPA’s are scary.

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Reports are in. The core requirement Legal reasoning with Hammond went very well according to reports. The “chosen” 25 reportedly are an exceptional group. Hammond is now running the Program. Not sure what happened to Hutchins.