The Certificate in Pre-Law Skills and Professional Values provides undergraduate students with foundational knowledge about the legal profession and its core values and helps them develop the academic skills and work ethic needed to be competitive in law school and the legal profession.
TO ENROLL FOR THE CERTIFICATE:
Please follow the instructions below very carefully to ENROLL for the Pre-Law Skills and Professional Values Certificate:
- You must have completed 60 credits at any college/university prior to enrolling for this certificate. You may take or have taken courses towards the certificate before then, but wait until you have completed 60 credits to enroll for the certificate. You must be enrolled in the certificate to register for POS 3652 Law and the Legal Profession.
- Students who have 90 credits or more will need dean’s designee approval. This approval is based on whether or not the certificate will delay graduation or cause the student to go over the Excess Credit Surcharge threshold. Meet with your assigned advisor in your major to check your information and have them complete the PDC/RDX hold box on the form. The advisor will then seek the dean's designee approval.
- You must be a degree seeking student at FIU.
- There is no minimum GPA requirement.
- To start the application process, reach out to one of our PreLaw academic advisors - Brigitte Fargas (PIR) and she will help you along the way of enrolling into the PreLaw Certificate.
- You can also meet with the pre-law academic advisors during virtual drop-in hours. https://sipa.fiu.edu/academics/advising/
TO BE AWARDED THE CERTIFICATE:
Please follow the instructions below very carefully to be AWARDED the certificate:
This certificate will not be awarded automatically.
- After you have applied for graduation, email prelaw@fiu.edu and provide your graduation date. (You must have earned a "C" or better in all certificate courses.)
- Please check your transcripts to ensure that you are "awarded" the Pre-Law Skills and Professional Value Certificate about 4 - 6 weeks after your graduation. If not, please contact the PLATO Director.
- The certificate is not automatically awarded. We must confirm that you have satisfied all of the requirements.
Required Credits (21 credits)
All certificate courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better. Requests to apply transfer credit must be made in writing and approved by the certificate director.
Recommended Prerequisites
Students are encouraged, BUT NOT REQUIRED, to complete the following two courses prior to enrolling in the certificate program.
POS 2041— American Government
SPC 2608—Public Speaking
Core Courses (6 credits)
POS 3652—Law and the Legal Profession (3 credits) [Must be taken in person]
- Students can CHOOSE ONE of the following:
CJL 3512—The Courts (3 credits) OR
POS 3283—The Judicial Process (3 credits)
Skills Courses (15 credits)
- Analytical Skills (3 credits)—students can choose one of the following:
PHI 2100 —Introduction to Logic
PHI 2103 —Critical Thinking
PHI 4130 —Symbolic Logic - Writing Skills (6 credits)—students can choose two of the following:
ENC 3311 —Advanced Writing and Research
ENC 3354 —Writing as Social Action
ENC 3371 —Rhetorical Theory and Practice
ENC 4331 —Writing, Rhetoric and Community
ENC 3465—Legal Writing
POS 4784 —Analytic Writing in Political Science - Verbal Skills (3 credits)—students can choose one of the following:
COM 4462 —Conflict Management
SPC 3230 —Rhetorical Communication: A Theory of Civil Discourse
SPC 3513 —Argumentation and Debate
SPC 3602 —Advanced Public Speaking
SPC 3540 —Persuasion - Legal Skills (3 credits)—students can choose one of the following:
CJL 4064 —Criminal Justice and the Constitution*
POS 3603 —Constitutional Law: Powers*
POS 3604 —Constitutional Law: Limitations*
*Note: Legal Skills courses may not be completed online and must be taken in a traditional classroom environment.