Philosophy and Law Major

Issues you care about. Skills you can use.

The new Philosophy and Law major gives you the opportunity to sharpen your reasoning ability while studying the legal, ethical, social, and political issues that drive you.

Explore questions such as:

How does law relate to morality?
Should the government regulate private behavior?
Why allow free speech?
Should political calculations ever override human rights?
Is there a good solution to the Trolley Problem?
Where is the line between order and oppression?

Why Philosophy and Law?

The Philosophy and Law major is designed to prepare students for careers related to law but will appeal to anyone who wants deep, rational debate about ethical, social, and political issues. Philosophy majors work in politics, non-profits, businesses, cultural institutions, journalism, and technology in addition to academia and law. The study of philosophy has traditionally been the basis for careers in public service that require sound judgment in pursuit of justice.

The content of the philosophy courses you will take relates to the kinds of issues you will work on as a lawyer and in related fields. At the core are two courses in Philosophy of Law where you look at law as a balance between power and justice and tackle particular philosophical topics arising from penal law, constitutional law, international law, law and religion, civil rights, and other areas. Survey courses in ethics and political philosophy and philosophical traditions are required to provide context. The other courses you will take focus on specific kinds of social, political, and ethical issues in areas such as health care, the environment, gender issues, and international justice.

Conquer the LSAT
Prepare for the Rigors of Law School

The methods of philosophical reasoning are the most effective way to learn to think like a lawyer. Weighing reasons, seeking consensus, finding solutions to vexing issues, fashioning arguments, persuading others: All this is done in every philosophy class. There is a reason that philosophy majors on average outscore all other majors on the LSAT (Prinzing and Vazquez 2025; analysis of 1990–2019 data).

The content of the philosophy courses you will take relates to the kinds of issues you will work on as a lawyer. At the core are two courses in Philosophy of Law that tackle philosophical topics in areas like penal law, constitutional law, international law, law and religion, and civil rights The other courses you will take focus on specific kinds of social, political, and ethical issues in areas such as health care, the environment, gender issues, and international justice.

Law School Admissions Council on choosing a major as a pre-law student:
“While no single curricular path is the ideal preparation for law school, you should choose courses that sharpen analytical reasoning and writing skills. Law schools prefer students who can think, read, and write well, and who have some understanding of what shapes human experience”

Majoring in Philosophy and Law

Majoring in Philosophy and Law:
The Philosophy major has a flexible structure that allows students to complete it in as little as two years. Students usually begin by taking any of several introductory or survey courses. Courses in philosophical traditions, reasoning, and other survey courses provide the foundation for higher-level work in history of philosophy, value theory, theoretical areas such as metaphysics and philosophy of science. The final semester includes a capstone course that pulls together these strands with an intense look at a particular issue.

Current Philosophy Majors with the Concentration in Philosophy and Law may but are not required to switch to the new Philosophy and Law major in fall 2026. The requirements are nearly identical. As a Philosophy major with the Philosophy and Law concentration, your diploma will read “Philosophy” as the major and your transcript will note that you have the concentration in Philosophy and Law. With the new major your diploma and transcript will both read “Philosophy and Law” as the major.

Comparing PreLaw options in the College of Arts and Letters:
The Law School Admissions Council recommends “courses that sharpen analytical reasoning and writing skills” as ideal preparation for law school. The Philosophy and Law major and Humanities Prelaw major are the two programs in the College of Arts and Letters specifically designed for law school preparation. Students most interested in an intense focus on social, legal, ethical, and political issues approached using a rigorous methodology should consider Philosophy and Law. Students who want a more flexible interdisciplinary learning experience, drawing in other areas of interest that might relate to their career plans in addition to core work on the nature of law, should consider Humanities Prelaw. Both majors provide experience in writing, reading, discussing, and assessing that come with a humanities degree.

Careers for Philosophy and Law

Law
Public policy
Government and NGOs

Administration
Cultural institutions
Non profit

Professor
Data Analyst
Marketing Consultant

Join These Famous Jurists and Politicians Who Studied Philosophy

Stephen Breyer, US Supreme Court Justice

John Lewis, US House of Representatives and Civil Rights leader

Beverly McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canadian Supreme Court

Paul Martin, Canadian Prime Minister

David Souter, US Supreme Court Justice

J.D. Vance, US Vice-President

“Studying philosophy has been invaluable to my policy and political work. It has trained me to analyze arguments with precision, identify the strengths and weaknesses in competing positions, and articulate clear, persuasive recommendations. These abilities are essential in policymaking, which involves understanding how interest groups take different positions and how they advocate for those positions in legislation.”

“My studies in philosophy … instilled in me the importance of clear, logical thinking and expression. And that is exactly what you need in law. The techniques are very similar. If you’re hired by someone to argue a case, you work out your propositions, you convince the judge why you should win. That's exactly what you do in the philosophy debate or class. And you have to learn how to think and write clearly, concisely and to express yourself in a clear and logical way. That helped me enormously. Before I started studying philosophy, my mind was a bit of a mess. It was very muddy, and I felt that that discipline and all that constructive criticism that I got from people in the philosophy department really helped me to learn how to better marshal arguments, and to think through problems in a substantive sense as well. These things are never just formalistic; there are always two sides. The second thing is that for any lawyer and particularly a judge, it’s really, really valuable to have had acquaintance with some of the great thinkers of our particular western civilization, and other civilizations to the extent that you master them. You realize the wisdom and the values that have been preserved over thousands of years, and that background informs how you understand the problems before you.”

“The ABA does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education. Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline. You may choose to major in subjects that are considered to be traditional preparation for law school, such as history, English, philosophy, political science, economics or business. . . . Taking a broad range of difficult courses from demanding instructors is excellent preparation for legal education.”

“ Law school will teach you the law. Use your undergraduate major to learn how to think. Philosophy has always been an ideal preparation for law because of its intense focus on reasoning, comprehension, persuasion, creative thinking, and clear writing – skills needed for the LSAT, in law school, and as a practicing lawyer. This major allows you to focus on the controversial moral, social, and political issues you will face in your careers from a philosophical perspective. ”