Sociology Pre-Law Major B.A.

The Sociology Pre-Law B.A. is offered on OHIO’s campuses and online. It prepares students to work with diverse populations and understand the social and legal processes and institutions through which individuals, families, and communities receive justice in multicultural societies.

• Development of analytic skills, writing skills, and oral expression needed for law school
• Optional Law, Justice & Culture Certificate
• Preparation for legal careers such as paralegal, court administration and more

Faculty Contact: Dr. Bruce Hoffman

Why Study Pre-Law and Sociology?

The Sociology Prelaw Major provides a strong foundation for students who wish to attend law school or pursue careers in law-related fields.  Career opportunities include work in government, public service professions, non-governmental organizations, community justice navigation, mediation, social justice organizations, public policy institutes, criminal justice organizations, court administration, offender rehabilitation, prisoner reentry programs, and restorative justice. 

The curriculum prepares students to work with diverse populations and understand the social and legal processes and institutions through which individuals, families, and communities receive justice in multicultural societies. The program provides students with the necessary skills required for success in law and law-related fields, including research methods, critical thinking, analytical writing, public speaking, processing large texts, ethical decision-making, problem solving, and public service.

The pre-law major in the Sociology and Anthropology Department is designed to give students a solid foundation for successful careers in law and law-related fields. Coursework combines training in social inequality and working with diverse populations with the rigorous study of the processes and institutions through which individuals, families, and communities address problems and receive justice in multicultural societies. Students also develop skills in research methods, analytical reasoning and writing, ethical decision-making, problem solving, and public service.

How Is this Program Different from other Sociology Majors?

Focus

The Sociology-Prelaw degree and Sociology-Criminology degree share similarities in terms of the core courses in sociology, research methods, statistics, and a capstone, but they differ in their different specific focus and course requirements that reflect their respective career paths in law and law-related fields or criminal justice and related fields.

Coursework

The Sociology Pre-law degree includes a pre-law concentration, which includes coursework that instructs students about how law and legal institutions function in social contexts (including Access to Justice, Sociology of Courts, Law in Societies); areas of concern for students interested in working with specific groups and issues (including Violence Against Women, Veterans and Society, Sociology of Mental Illness); and situational ethics (Ethics in Law, Crime, and Justice). There is also a social inequality requirement, which gives students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of issues relating to class, race, gender, sexualities, and place.

Career Fields

This degree prepares students for law school or for a broad range of careers in law-related fields such as court administration, offender rehabilitation, public policy institutes, and restorative justice. The degree aims to provide students with the skills necessary for successful careers in law, such as research methodologies, critical thinking, analytical writing, public speaking, ethical decision-making, and problem-solving.  Students have access to the pre-law advisor as well as the sociology career advisor.

Learn more about OHIO’s three different undergraduate sociology degrees.

Careers and Graduate School Opportunities

The Sociology Pre-Law major provides a strong foundation for students who wish to attend law school or pursue careers in law-related fields. Career opportunities include work in government, public service professions, non-governmental organizations, community justice navigation, mediation, social justice organizations, public policy institutes, criminal justice organizations, court administration, offender rehabilitation, prisoner reentry programs, and restorative justice.

Preparation for Law: Pre-law coursework in the Sociology and Anthropology department trains students to work with diverse populations and to understand the social and legal processes and institutions through which individuals, families, and communities receive justice in multicultural societies. Students acquire skills required for successful careers in law and law-related fields, including the use of research methodologies, critical thinking, analytical writing, public speaking, processing large texts, ethical decision-making, problem solving, and public service. Law-related internship opportunities are available. Students who qualify also may apply for the Law, Justice & Culture Certificate program.

• More about sociology careers, internships and graduate study.

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