<p>I was wondering if anyone could give me some information about the Legal Studies major at Berkeley. What courses did you need to complete prior to transferring? Is this a competitive major compared to Political Science?</p>
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<p>It's capped for admissions--I think it was at 25 spots this year. The admission rate was 33% I believe last year. So it has a higher rate than the social sciences division, but it's capped status makes it a little difficult to call. Admissions counselors told me that even with all the prerequisities completed and a 3.5+ gpa, it's difficult.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that it is not recommended as prep for law school. You should only do it if it is truly your passion and your place where you can earn a 4.0. Otherwise, it's better for breadth to do a non-law major.</p>
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<p>there are no majors that are "not recommended" for law school, I've read about that 25 spot admissions in their powerpoint files, however, i know a couple of people with that major who graduated, and they say it really doesn't matter, it shouldn't be difficult to get in. Legal studies basically makes you review over past cases looking for significance, relevance, etc. If you interested in law, take it, don't think that its "not recommended" for law school so I shouldn't take it.</p>
<p>WingZer0, you are incorrect. Pre-law majors are distinctly not recommended for law school. Legal studies, however, is not precisely a "pre-law major" (as it is not recommended as a major for future law students). Perhaps you meant there is no major** recommended ** AT CAL, in which case you are correct. In a sense, all majors are not recommended...</p>
<p>From the Legal Studies Department website:</p>
<p>"Legal Studies was not specifically designed to prepare students for law school, nor does it provide paralegal training. There is no officially recommended pre-law major here at Cal. ... Choose a major in which you are genuinely interested. Doing well and becoming more competitive for law school will naturally follow."</p>
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I've read about that 25 spot admissions in their powerpoint files, however, i know a couple of people with that major who graduated, and they say it really doesn't matter, it shouldn't be difficult to get in.
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Who is a more credible source: an admissions advisor or students (were they even transfer students?)?</p>
<p>Almost everything ending in "...studies" is not rigorous enough for law school. Traditional humanities/liberal arts majors will suffice. If one would like to endure more rigour, a science curriculum is also suitable; however, there could be a decrease in your GPA.</p>
<p>This is a good source:</p>
<p>You can see that legal studies majors end up in law schools, although some top schools are absent from the list; you can compare it to other majors.</p>
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This is a good source:
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<p>An even better source:</p>
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Admissions officers understand that students majoring in mathematics, the hard sciences, and engineering are typically subjected to much tougher grading curves than students majoring in the humanities. There are also majors that are assumed to enjoy lenient grading unless you present evidence to the contrary: Sociology, languages, Communications, visual and performing arts, any "identity politics" majors like Women's Studies or African American Studies, Journalism, and any class that involves watching Eminem videos or studying the Beatles. There are also certain majors at specific schools that are well known to admissions officers as relatively fluffly in terms of grading, like Social Studies at Harvard[...]
On a related note, law schools typically prefer liberal arts majors (and here I include math adn science) over pre-professional majors like Business, Accounting, or Pre-Law. The higher up the food chain a law school is, the stronger the bias against preprofessional programs.
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<p>Anna Ivey, The Ivey Guide to Law School Admisssions, (Harcourt, 2005).</p>
<p>She is the former Dean of Admissions at the University of Chicago Law School.</p>
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although some top schools are absent from the list; you can compare it to other majors.
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<p>The preponderance of top schools are missing from that list, "top" being construed, by agreement amongst professionals, as the "top 14."</p>
<p>I agree with everythings thats been said but I would also like to add that the legal studies major lends itself to a double major.</p>
<p>The major overlaps a good number of upper division courses with Sociology, Rhetoric, Pol Sci, and philosophy. With maybe a summer course you could be in good position to double major.</p>
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The major overlaps a good number of upper division courses with Sociology, Rhetoric, Pol Sci, and philosophy. With maybe a summer course you could be in good position to double major.
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Not really. The College of Letters & Science has restrictions on how many classes can overlap for credit in a double-major; in fact, I think it's limited to one or two classes. They do, however, give you an extra semester to complete a double-major.</p>
<p>EDIT: "Your program plan cannot include more than 2 upper division courses used to satisfy requirements in both departments and your application must be submitted at least one full semester prior to graduation."</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/choosingmajor/declare.html%5B/url%5D">http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/choosingmajor/declare.html</a>.</p>
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<p>The number of courses allowed to overlap wasn't really the reason, rather the numbers of disiplines that fillfill requirments in the legal studies major.</p>
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With maybe a summer course you could be in good position to double major.
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The above is what I was concerned with. Many students have the idea that you can complete a double major without too much trouble by being smart about the majors you choose and, following that, the classes you choose. </p>
<p>The truth is, a double major is a double major: it really is completing two majors. It's much more than one additional class in the summer; it's a limiting thing that requires a lot of work.</p>
<p>just to clear things up, i basically said, take any major you want, because there aren't any majors designed for law school. their reasoning on accepting math/science majors does give one an edge, HOWEVER, taking a math/science major will dramatically DESTROY your gpa. GPA and LSATs are almost 50/50 in terms of getting into a law school. These numbers are indexed and the highest percentages are automatically admitted regardless of any other underlying factors that are taken into consideration.</p>
<p>that being said, if you want to take a math/science major, go right ahead, a GPA of 3.7 for math/science will kick butt against a 3.7 polysci or legal studies. however, chances are you won't get a 3.7 THUS it really doesn't matter what major you take for admittance into law school.</p>
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3.7 polysci or legal studies.
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<p>...and a 3.7 polisci "kicks but against" a 3.7 legal studies.</p>
<p>Traditional humanities majors are respected because they are rigorous. Your new-age majors are a joke.</p>
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GPA and LSATs are almost 50/50 in terms of getting into a law school. These numbers are indexed and the highest percentages are automatically admitted regardless of any other underlying factors that are taken into consideration.
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It entirely depends on the school.</p>
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<p>"Traditional humanities majors are respected because they are rigorous. Your new-age majors are a joke."</p>
<p>rigorous? are you saying they are as rigorous as math/science majors? or are you saying its just more rigorous than legal studies?</p>
<p>if polysci or psyc are as "rigorous" as math or bio majors then why is it math and bio majors have significantly lower GPA scores?</p>
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if polysci or psyc are as "rigorous" as math or bio majors then why is it math and bio majors have significantly lower GPA scores?
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Political science and psychology are not humanities majors. They're weak, offshoot majors of the discipline that deserves its own category (with many majors under it) but is today considered a humanity: philosophy.</p>
<p>lol, i just read the orignal posters question. and i realized i didn't answer a thing.</p>
<p>The legal studies major provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to become familiar with legal ideas, legal institutions, and the legal process. It is designed to provide tools for reasoned appraisal of how the law works and of the policies that underlie it. The major is based firmly on the view that the study of law and justice has a rich humanistic tradition and that its pursuit can encourage sustained reflection on fundamental values.</p>
<p>Legal studies courses are taught by members of the Law School faculty, including humanities scholars and social scientists who teach in the graduate program in Jurisprudence and Social Policy. The courses build on the contributions of philosophy, history, sociology, political science, economics, psychology, and anthropology, as well as legal scholarship. It should be noted that legal studies is a liberal arts major in the College of Letters and Science. The major was not established for the purpose of preparing students for law school. It is designed for undergraduate students who are interested in law as a field of critical inquiry, irrespective of their ultimate career objectives.</p>
<p>Lower Division Requirements.One term of course work is required in each of the following areas: introductory statistics, introductory economics, introductory philosophy, and European history. Students may declare the major after completing course work from two of the four areas. These courses must be taken for a letter grade; the cumulative grades must be 2.0 or better. A list of courses offered at Berkeley which satisfy these prerequisites is available at the Legal Studies Program office and on the Legal Studies web site.</p>
<p>Upper Division Requirements.A minimum of 32 upper division units is required for completion of the major. All of these units must be taken for a letter grade. Students must complete one course from each of the following four groups of courses: A. Legal and Social Theory; B. Historical/Comparative; C. Principles and Problems of Substantive Law; D. Administration of Justice. The remaining units may be completed either with courses from within the department, or with up to three courses from an approved list of law-related courses offered by other departments.</p>
<p>The rationale for the structure of the legal studies curriculum becomes apparent if a few words are said about each of the course groupings referred to above. The Group A requirement insures that all students are exposed to conceptual analysis and broad intellectual perspectives. Group B courses are meant to limit parochialism and to insure that students have the capacity to draw on the insights of legal traditions other than their own. The courses from Group C are meant to acquaint students with selected forms of legal ordering<em>e.g., the substantive law of crimes, property, negligence</em>and to assure that students can relate legal doctrines to social policies and historical contexts. The Group D requirement assures that students in the major have familiarity with some of the important aspects of legal procedure or, more broadly, legal process. These courses use relevant insights from the social sciences, e.g., organizational theory, to illuminate the dynamics of law-making, adjudication, and implementation.</p>
<p>Honors Program.With consent of the major adviser, a student majoring in legal studies with an overall GPA of 3.3 and a GPA of 3.5 in legal studies courses may be admitted to the Honors Program. The honors student is required to enroll in H195, the legal studies honors course, for one or two semesters (at the instructor's option) and to prepare an honors thesis.</p>
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rigorous? are you saying they are as rigorous as math/science majors? or are you saying its just more rigorous than legal studies?
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<p>The latter.</p>
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Political science and psychology are not humanities majors.
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<p>The former is, the latter is not a traditional one.</p>
<p>I would consider traditional humanities majors to be, but not confined to, history, government, English, and philosophy. There are probably more, but I just awoke.</p>
<p><a href="with%20many%20majors%20under%20it">quote</a> but is today considered a humanity: philosophy.
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<p>I said this before and I will say it again: from your posts, it is apparent that you have a smattering of philosophy. Stop aggrandizing the major. If you at all held the virtues of the discipline, you would not approach other disciplines with such arrogance.</p>
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I said this before and I will say it again: from your posts, it is apparent that you have a smattering of philosophy. Stop aggrandizing the major. If you at all held the virtues of the discipline, you would not approach other disciplines with such arrogance.
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I beg to differ. You are mischaracterizing humanities. You don't need to know much to know that psychology was once a branch of philosophy. And "government" is simply not a humanity, nor is political science; go find one source that classifies them as such. Further, YOU must not hold the virtues of the discipline if you are willing to put it on equal ground with a discipline like political science.</p>
<p>Your post was ironic in its ability to display amazing arrogance; we must turn to nspeds as the absolute authority of not just philosophy, but the "traditional humanities"!</p>