PRELAW STUDY
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Interest encourages scholarship, and students will derive the greatest benefit from those studies that stimulate their interest.
2. Of first importance to the lawyer is the ability to express thoughts clearly and cogently in both speech and writing. Freshman writing seminars, required of nearly all Cornell freshmen, are designed to develop these skills. English literature and composition, and communication courses, also serve this purpose. Logic and mathematics develop exactness of thought. Also of value are economics, history, government, and sociology, because of their close relation to law and their influence on its development and ethics, and philosophy, because of the influence of philosophic reasoning on legal reasoning and jurisprudence. Psychology leads to an understanding of human nature and mental behavior. Some knowledge of the principles of accounting and of the sciences such as chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering is recommended and will prove of practical value to the lawyer in general practice in the modern world.
3. Cultural subjects, though they may have no direct bearing on law or a legal career, will expand students' interests; help cultivate a wider appreciation of literature, art, and music; and make better-educated and well-rounded persons.
4. Certain subjects are especially useful in specialized legal careers. For some, a broad scientific background -- for example, in agriculture, chemistry, physics, or engineering -- when coupled with training in law, may furnish qualifications necessary for specialized work with the government, for counseling certain types of businesses, or for a career as a patent lawyer. A business background may be helpful for those planning to specialize in corporate or tax practice. Students who anticipate practice involving labor law and legislation might consider undergraduate study in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Whatever course of study is chosen, the important goals are to acquire perspective, social awareness, and a critical cast of mind; to develop the ability to think logically and analytically; and to express thoughts clearly and forcefully. These are the crucial tools for a sound legal education and a successful career.
The presence of the Cornell Law School on campus provides the opportunity for a limited number of highly qualified undergraduates registered in the College of Arts and Sciences at the university to be admitted to the Law School. At the time of entry they must have completed 105 of the 120 credits required for the Bachelor of Arts degree, including 92 credits of course work in the College of Arts and Sciences.
It may be possible for exceptionally well-qualified students in other Cornell undergraduate colleges to arrange to enter the Law School after three years. The College of Human Ecology offers a program in which students spend their fourth year at the Law School. In addition, members of the Cornell Law School faculty sometimes offer undergraduate courses such as Nature, Functions, and Limits of Law, which are open to all undergraduates.
