Pre-Law Preparation
Pre-law Advisor
Adam Hoffman, J.D., Ph.D.; Political Science Department
In recent years SU graduates have been admitted to law schools at American University, University of Baltimore, Catholic University, University of Maryland, Georgetown, George Washington University, Washington University, William and Mary, Widener University and others.
SU supports student efforts to achieve careers in law in a variety of ways. As recommended by the American Bar Association (ABA), SU supports students to choose a major based on their interests and their abilities. The ABA also recommends that among the “core skills, values, knowledge, and experience” that prelaw students possess, prior to law school, are “public service and promotion of justice” as well as “exposure to the law.” To this end, SU has recently developed a new minor program, called Law, Justice and Advocacy. The Law, Justice and Advocacy minor is an interdisciplinary study that combines courses on politics, race, the legal system, morality, and social justice. Students choose courses in a number of departments including Political Science, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Work, History, Conflict and Dispute Resolution, Communications and Media and Psychology, learning about the law’s role in cultural, political and social life.
All students interested in law school should pursue a general program designed to promote skills in reading, writing, oral communication, organization and management, as well as analytic and problem solving skills. General knowledge about history, including U.S. history, the U.S. political system, mathematical or financial skills, and understanding of human behavior, including cross cultural behavior, is also helpful to law school. SU provides a variety of courses to help you gain these skills and this knowledge base.
In addition to courses that help pre-law students gain skills, students should take courses that intersect their areas of interest and introduce them to the law. These courses can be found in a variety of disciplines to suit student interests. Some examples include:
Detailed information on applying for admission to law school, the LSAT, and learning about and evaluating law schools is available from the prelaw handbook available on the prelaw website and from the pre-law advisor in the Political Science Department.
The University’s pre-law advisor also can help you design a program to you particular interests and needs.
Health Professions Advisory Program (HPAP)
HPAP@salisbury.edu
Students interested in pursuing careers in the health professions have several options.
Salisbury University has undergraduate majors and graduate programs that lead directly to health care employment.
Undergraduate Majors:
- Medical Laboratory Science
- Nursing
- Respiratory Therapy
Graduate Programs:
- Applied Health Physiology
- Athletic Training
Health-related undergraduate majors:
- Chemistry - Pre-Health Professional Track
- Community Health
- Exercise Science - Allied Health Track
- Exercise Science - Pre-Physical Therpay Track
- Social Work
Students who do not plan on going directly into health care but are interested in attending graduate schools for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, pharmacy, physician assistant, podiatry, optometry, chiropractic, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, et.al., can choose any major at SU and work with the Health Professions Advisory Program (HPAP) to select courses that will prepare them for healthcare graduate study. Students in undergraduate majors leading directly to healthcare employment but who also plan on attending graduate schools can complete their professional program requirements and graduate school prerequisites simultaneously and should seek counsel from the HPAP.
Admission to graduate health professions schools is highly competitive, and the HPAP structure is designed to help students plan ahead for required courses, choose electives that are beneficial to their career goals and prepare for entrance exams (such as MCAT, PCAT, DAT, etc.). Students who maintain high GPAs and show evidence of relevant extracurricular activities-such as clinical observation experiences, actual clinical hours, research, service learning, student clubs and organizations, and athletics-have been successful in being admitted to the graduate programs.
Students are responsible for determining the entrance requirements for the schools in which they are interested. The HPAP issues standard advice based on what is typical at most professional schools. The HPAP maintains the current best standard advice on its website for the most popular health professions and lists websites for accredited programs in various disciplines.
The active support structure exists at SU to help students make sound academic and personal plans that will allow those who achieve high academic standards to succeed in many health care professions or find alternatives that are equally rewarding.
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