Pre-Law

About

Oklahoma State University offers excellent undergraduate preparation for pursuing a law degree. Many OSU alums hold Juris Doctorate degrees from law schools across the nation and have highly successful legal careers in a variety of settings. Law schools do not state a preference for undergraduate majors so students may choose a degree from any of OSU’s six undergraduate colleges.

Pre-Law Advising

The Pre-Professional office provides the university-wide workshops, communications and individual advising to assist all OSU’s pre-law-interested students with:

Major selection (if assistance is needed)
LSAT preparation options
Application process
Personal statement development

Pre-law advising does not replace major advising, but is supplemental to answer law-related questions. Through mediated communications regarding law-related activities across the campus, state, and region, the pre-law advisor keeps over 400 interested students abreast of the professional development opportunities available to undergraduate students.

Activities with campus and community attorneys provide students a stable network of advice, internships, and part-time job opportunities. Workshops and one-on-one appointments to prepare personal statements, discuss recommendation development and selection, and navigate the complex law school admission process are available to all interested students.

Legal Skills

Reading and Listening
Writing and Speaking
Analyzing and Synthesizing
Advocating and Counseling
Negotiating
Computer Research and Document Processing

Major Selection

Law schools accept all majors. It is important you study what fits your individual interests and strengths and have a solid skill preparation for law school. A few majors are designed with law school in mind:

Basic Law School Admission Requirements

Completion of bachelor's degree or OSU 3+3 Law Option
Undergraduate cumulative grade point average
Law School Admissions Test Score

Competitive grades and scores range widely across ABA-approved law schools.

Additional Considerations/Requirements

Personal statement briefly sharing defining expereiences
Letters of recommendation/evalutions from professors, employers, mentors
Resume revealing work experience, community/extracurricular involvement

3+3 Law Option for Early Admission to Law School

Oklahoma State University offers many options for students to complete an undergraduate degree (normally 4 years) and a law degree (normally 3 years) in just 6 years! Students who complete at least 90 semester credit hours in a designated pre-law preparatory program and are admitted to an accredited law school will be awarded the appropriate baccalaureate degree upon the successful completion and transfer back of up to 30 semester credit hours in law school courses applicable to the OSU degree.

This Option is Available to Students who Complete:

All General Education, College, and Major degree requirements specified on the approved 3+3 degree sheet
At least 30 semester credit hours of work at OSU, interests, alternative career, and law school goals
At OSU, at least half of the upper-division credits in the major or 15 of the last 30 prior to attending law school
At least 60 semester credit hours at baccalaureate-degree-granting-institutions (credits from accredited law schools that are a part of baccalaureate-degree-granting-institutions may count among the 60)

This Option Could be Pursued at Law Schools which Offer 3+3 Early Admissions, but Arrangements are Already in Place with All Three Law Schools in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City Univeristy, School of Law (90 hours. min)
The University of Oklahoma, College of Law (98 hours. min)
The University of Tulsa, College of Law (90 hours. min)

3+3 Works with Several CAS Degrees

Chemistry-Departmental Degree, BS
Chemistry - Pre-Health/ Pre-Law, BS
Computer Science, BS
Economics, BA, BS
Geography, BS
Multidisciplinary Studies, BS
Multidisciplinary Studies: Pre-Law, BS
Multidisciplinary Studies: Business Essentials, BS
Mathematics, BS
Mathematics: Pre-Law, BS
Philosophy, BA
Philosophy - Pre-Law, BS
Political Science, BS
Psychology, BS
Sociology, BS

Career Options

Approximately two-thirds of the lawyers in the U.S. are in private practice. Others work in:

National, State, and Local Governments
Legal Staff for politics, media, and financial services
In-House counsel for corporations
Corporate leadership positions for which legal training is an asset

Pre-Law Club

OSU’s undergraduate chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International (PAD), chartered in 1985, is Oklahoma’s most active pre-law student organization. Bi-weekly meetings introduce students to practicing attorneys and the wide variety of legal careers, and trips to law schools, law firms, and courts provide orientation to the study and practice of law.

Admissions

Each year approximately 100 OSU seniors and graduates apply to American Bar Association Law schools. Most OSU students follow one of two admission plans:

A large proportion choose to apply only within the region and make 5 or fewer law school applications spread among Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and Colorado.
A smaller number plan to apply nationally, submitting a larger number of applications to law schools across the nation, including many highly competitive admission programs.

Whether choosing a regional or national process, OSU students are competitive applicants.

Learn more about the program

University College
040 Student Union
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078

405-744-9965

preprofessional@okstate.edu