Pre-Law major

Pre-Law: courses, careers, and where to study

Pre-Law isn't a major itself but a track, students major in any field while taking the courses, building the GPA, and earning the LSAT score for law school admission.

Pre-Law is an advisory track, not a degree. Law schools admit applicants from every undergraduate major and explicitly value diversity of academic background. The strongest pre-law preparation focuses on three things: a high GPA in a rigorous major (top-10 majors for LSAT performance include History, Economics, Political Science, Math, Philosophy, English, and Mathematical Sciences), strong analytical writing, and a competitive LSAT score (national median 152; top-14 schools target 170+).

Undergraduate pre-law tracks usually layer on courses in constitutional law, legal writing, ethics, and logic. CampusPin's pre-law tag identifies schools that publish pre-law advising structure. Graduates apply to law school during senior year (or take a "K-JD" gap year or two before applying).

Academic classification (CIP)

In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Pre-Law maps to CIP 22.0001, Pre-Law Studies, within the LEGAL PROFESSIONS AND STUDIES family. The official definition:

A program that prepares individuals for the professional study of law at the post-baccalaureate level.

Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov

What you'll study

  • A rigorous undergraduate major (most often Political Science, History, Economics, English, or Philosophy)
  • Constitutional law fundamentals
  • Legal writing and reasoning
  • Logic
  • Ethics
  • LSAT preparation
  • A strong GPA
  • Pre-law advising and law-school application strategy

Typical careers

  • Lawyer (with JD)
  • Paralegal (no JD required)
  • Compliance Officer
  • Policy Analyst
  • Lobbyist
  • Federal Investigator (FBI/DEA)

Typical salary range: After JD: $58,000–$215,000 early-career (huge spread by firm tier)Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.

Related occupations

Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Pre-Law. Linked titles open a CampusPin career page with BLS pay and outlook data; others are listed for reference.

  • NO MATCH

Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Crosswalk: CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. A program of study does not guarantee any specific occupation.

Before you commit to a Pre-Law major

CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Pre-Law program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.

Ask the Pre-Law department

  • Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
  • What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
  • What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
  • Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?

Ask current students & check the curriculum

  • How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
  • What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
  • Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
  • How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Accreditation & licensure: Some public-service fields require programmatic accreditation for licensure (for example, social-work programs accredited by CSWE). Verify the accreditation and licensure rules that apply to Pre-Law in your state.
Degree level & graduate study: Many Pre-Lawcareers are open with a bachelor's degree, but some, such as research, advanced-practice, or licensure-track roles, require a master's or doctorate. Check the typical entry-level education on each linked career page above before assuming a bachelor's is enough.

Find a Pre-Law program

CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges that offer Pre-Law programs. Filter by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.

Search Pre-Law schools

Pre-Law by state

Related majors

How this guide is sourced

This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.