Philosophy (Pre-law), Bachelor of Arts
Program Overview
The Pre-law Concentration Program in the Department of Philosophy extends the Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy by providing the infrastructure and personalized advising to assist students in developing skills, values, knowledge and experiences constituting a solid foundation for their aspiring future legal education. Starting with the philosophy core, students develop important skills such as problem solving, critical reading, writing and editing, plus oral communication and listening. Continuing with specific courses in the philosophy of law, the program invites students to reflect on the nature of law, legal reasoning, legal decision making, and the philosophical foundations of specific legal institutions such as punishment, rights, and legal liability.
Encouraging students to acquire relevant background knowledge for their envisioned legal education, the program ultimately aims to produce students who not only know what the practice of law is but can pursue it with a strong sense of justice. The law is deeply imbricated with politics, society, and ethics; one advantage of pursuing philosophy and the law in tandem is the development of a broad and strong critical viewpoint of the role that the law and lawyers play in daily life. Equally important, the Pre-law Concentration Program helps students to gain a more realistic view of the actual practice of law, to increase their professional networking, and even to help students to build research experience.
In furtherance of students’ practical knowledge, the Pre-law Concentration Program promotes different types of internships and student assistantships, gives access to workshops and seminars locally and outside of the Rio Grande Valley, and encourages opportunities in service, both public and professional, connected to legal areas and the law.
Core Curriculum - 42 hours
The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculum as outlined below.
The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once.
Major Requirements - 60 hours
Required Courses - 12 hours
Philosophy Core:
Prescribed Electives - 12 hours
Metaphysics or Epistemology - 3 hours
Diversity and Pluralism in Philosophy - 3 hours
Choose from:
Philosophy Electives - 6 hours
Choose from additional Philosophy (PHIL) courses not used to fulfill other requirements.
Pre-Law Concentration - 36 hours
Philosophy on the Law & Justice - 9 hours
Ethics - 6 hours
Internship - 3 hours
Jurisprudence - 6 hours
Choose from:
| PHIL 4304 | Special Topics on the Philosophy of Law | 3 |
| PHIL 4311 | Legal Reasoning and Argumentation | 3 |
Legal Context - 6 hours
Choose from:
Social Justice - 6 hours
Choose from:
Free Electives - 18 hours
Free elective credit hours at the advanced level may be needed to achieve the institutional minimum of 42 advanced hours.
Total Credit Hours: 42
Total Credit Hours: 120
View this program’s recommended roadmap to graduation.
UTRGV Roadmaps are a suggested sequence of courses designed to assist students in completing their undergraduate degree requirements. This is a term-by-term sample roadmap of courses required to complete the degree. Students must satisfy all requirements in their catalog including, but not limited to course prerequisites, grade point average and course grade benchmarks, progression requirements, and graduation requirements.
Students should meet with their academic advisor every semester to discuss their individualized path toward completion. Degree progress within this roadmap depends upon such factors as course availability, individual student academic preparation and readiness, student time management, work and personal responsibilities, and financial considerations. Students may choose to take courses during summer terms to reduce course loads during long semesters.