<p>Hey so I'm about to graduate from my community college with an associates in Criminal Justice. Im transferring over to university to finish my last two years of undergrad. I was thinking about double majoring in philosophy and psychology. I want to go to law school after. What are you views on this? Any advice is much appreciated. </p>
<p>Philosophy majors in general are as welcome as any of the other majors that apply to law schools. Law schools expect that they are getting students with good writing, speaking, and thinking skills who are accustomed to dealing with ideas and turning them around and around. Psychology is interesting in and of itself, and the new work being done in a very old field called philosophy of mind is intriguing. There are much less interesting majors you could choose, and these two should complement each other well. I’m bearish toward law school since the bottom fell out 8 years ago, so I’d suggest you investigate the industry quite thoroughly before spending your money and three years of your life to find that you cannot get work in the field. You won’t have to look far to find research that supports my thumbs down on the field for right now. </p>
<p>Philosophy majors tend to score relatively well on the LSAT, probably because their major courses give them practice in logic, which helps them solve the logic puzzle section (math majors also tend to score relatively well on the LSAT, probably for the same reason).</p>
<p><a href=“LSAT Scores of Economics Majors: The 2008-2009 Class Update by Michael Nieswiadomy :: SSRN”>LSAT Scores of Economics Majors: The 2008-2009 Class Update by Michael Nieswiadomy :: SSRN;
<p>I disagree a bit with ucb. First, I think it’s more that philosophy and math tend to attract people with the kinds of analytic skills that allow them to excel on the LSAT than it is that taking philo and math courses will improve your LSAT score. Second, many philosophy majors take only one course in logic --and, of course, you can take that course without majoring in philosophy. </p>
<p>Either or both are fine majors for law school. Criminal justice, BTW, is not. Double majoring will not boost your admission odds at all. </p>
<p>Philosophy will take you farther than psychology. I would suggest you major in Philosophy and minor in psychology if you’re really interested in psychology. (In order to work as a psychologist, you need graduate school anyway).
Only 30% law graduates are actually working in law. Right now, law school is only worth it if you can get into a Top 30 law school. And since law school, unlike PHDs, don’t “fund” their students, it’s a lot of debt to take on if you can’t get a job with the degree.
Philosophy is seen very favorably by law schools by the way. History and political science are other subjects you may want to investigate (and beef up your background in).
Criminal justice, however, does not lead very far, and certainly not to a reputable law school.</p>
<p>I appreciate all your responses. Thank you all.</p>