Choosing the Best Undergraduate Major for Law School

Deciding on a major may be easier than college undergraduates think, especially if they’re planning to apply to law school in the future.

Experts suggest that there is no “best” major if you plan to go to law school — the only prerequisite is selecting a field you’re passionate about and willing to work hard at.

“The law touches everything we interact with in the day to day, so we need people who understand a wide variety of things in life,” says Katya Valasek, director for prelaw advising at the Law School Admission Council. “What is important is that you do well in school.”

Passion Is More Important Than Major

Before working at LSAC, Valasek worked in law school admissions for almost a decade and “saw a wide range of applicants with different majors — everything from political science, philosophy, criminal justice,” she says. “But we also had opera majors, music majors, STEM majors and biochemistry majors come through and do well.”

Malak Tahaili, now a student at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in Michigan, majored in biology at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

“I definitely did not know I would be going to law school after I finished high school. It really wasn’t on my mind when I picked my major,” she says. “Originally, I wanted to go to dental school, so I started studying for the entrance exam. Then I realized I was not enjoying it and it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

At the time, Tahaili was volunteering with nonprofit organizations and realized that pursuing a legal education would help her do that more effectively.

“I’m very passionate about pro bono work and nonprofits,” she says. “I decided to take the LSAT and see how it goes. I took it during the summer of my third year of undergrad and applied for law school the following fall. It turned out great and here I am.”

Valasek says interest in a subject matter leads to undergrads being more engaged outside of the classroom, including attending lectures on campus or office hours with faculty. And that can lead to higher academic performance and letters of recommendation.

Tahaili, who is chair for the American Bar Association Law Student Division Assembly, advises undergrads to major in what they enjoy doing and do well. She has decided to combine her biology degree and legal education to pursue a career in patent law.

“In the U.S., you need a science background to take the patent bar and become a patent attorney,” she says. “Although my undergrad (major) wasn’t necessarily prerequisite to law school, it helped me.”

Law school is very expensive, she adds, “so the better grades you have, the higher chance you have of getting those scholarships. When you are enjoying what you are doing, you are more likely to do well.”

Skills Matter More Than Choice in Major

Benjamin Barros, dean and a professor at Stetson University College of Law in Florida, says most law schools are selective and look for strong candidates. And although they take a holistic approach to evaluating applicants, LSAT scores and undergraduate GPA matter a lot.

“I will say that some majors have lower GPAs, so law schools take that into consideration,” says Barros, who previously served as dean of the University of Toledo College of Law in Ohio. “If law students can look at the medians — GPAs and LSATs for any given law school — that gives them a sense of how competitive they will be. If they are above the median, they will be competitive. If they are below the median, they will be a little less competitive.”

Regardless of major, Barros adds, undergrads need strong skills in two areas to enhance their odds of getting into law school: analytical reasoning and communication, both written and oral.

“They need to write as much as they can,” Barros advises. “Law is largely a written profession. The more writing you can do, the better you will be in law school. The second thing is developing analytical skills. Taking a logical reasoning course or a persuasive writing course is important.”

[Read: How to Prepare to Apply to Law School During College.]

Dayna Bowen Matthew, dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., says a prospective law student’s undergraduate major should indicate “rigor and passion.” Her undergraduate degree was in economics.

“I was passionate about economics because I came from a poor underserved neighborhood,” she says. “I observed firsthand the historic ruptures that have produced an enormous income gap and wealth gap — haves and the have-nots.”

She saw that as a reason to study macroeconomics and microeconomics.

“Law is the most versatile educational tool of any discipline,” Matthew says, “and I recommend especially combining it with other disciplines like economics, sociology, music, engineering, patent and intellectual property law to solve artificial intelligence problems, and with science to solve the distribution of vaccines and the resolution of climate change and all of the pressing challenges of our time.”

Tamara Nash, a faculty member at Knudson School of Law at the University of South Dakota, where she received her law degree, says she knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a lawyer. As a college undergraduate, she chose social sciences as her major and prelaw as her minor.

“I chose social sciences because it’s a super well-rounded degree,” she says. “It contains history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, criminal justice, political science — the (subjects) I loved the most and that I gravitated to and enjoyed. I enjoyed the professors, the classes and I did well. I saw myself having a future and it spoke to my passions.”

After passing the bar in South Dakota in 2013 and practicing as a law clerk and state and federal prosecutor for 10 years, she returned to her law school to teach and serve as director of experiential learning. “It’s a full-circle moment,” she says.

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