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Pre-law Scholars Program

The Pre-law Scholars program is an accelerated program that provides a select group of students with conditional admission to the Marquette University Law School. The Pre-law Scholars program allows students to reduce from seven years to six years the total time needed to complete the bachelor’s and law degrees. Pre-law Scholars enroll in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business Administration or the College of Communication, choose from a variety of approved majors and complete the undergraduate portion of their studies in three years. They are awarded a bachelor’s degree upon successful completion of the first year in Law School, or at the end of the term in which they earn at least 128 credits and all other undergraduate requirements are fulfilled.

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Admission to the Pre-law Scholar's Program (prior to freshman year)

The Pre-law Scholars Selection Committee, comprised of members of the undergraduate colleges and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, will give primary consideration to high school students who have followed a rigorous college preparatory curriculum and who have demonstrated a potential for success by fulfilling the criteria below:

• Application: Students will provide two applications for the program; the Application for Undergraduate Admission and a separate application for the Pre-law Scholars program.
• High school class rank (if available): Upper 10 percent
• Test Scores: SAT combined score of 1260 or ACT composite score of 28
• Essay: In 350 to 500 words, describe what personal and educational experiences you have had that have stimulated your interest in a law career.

Deadlines and Notification

This application process coincides with the university's other scholarship competition deadlines, which generally fall on or shortly after Feb. 1. Notification of winners would occur in early March, thereby allowing students ample time to weigh their options. Download Program Application.

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Undergraduate Curriculum

A typical bachelor’s degree program in each of these colleges consists of four parts: University Core of Common Studies (UCCS) requirements, college curriculum requirements, major requirements and electives. In the first three years of the Pre-law Scholars program, students will complete the University Core of Common Studies, college curriculum and major requirements. Courses taken in the fourth year (the first year of law school), count as electives for the bachelor’s degree and toward the completion of the law degree.

Approved Majors

Klinger College of Arts and Sciences: Anthropology, Biological Sciences, Classical Languages, Classical Studies, Computational Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, English, French, German, History, International Affairs, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Social Welfare and Justice, Sociology, Spanish, Theology, Writing Intensive English.

The Pre-law Scholars coordinator and selected faculty members will be responsible for the academic advising of Pre-law Scholars.

College of Business Administration: Accounting, Business Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Human Resource Management, Information Technology, International Business, Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain Management, Real Estate.

Note: Students majoring in accounting will need to take courses in summer school; also, depending on foreign language placement, international business majors may need to take summer school courses.

The assistant dean of the College of Business Administration and/or a designated business faculty member will be responsible for the academic advising of Pre-law Scholars.

Diederich College of Communication: Advertising, Broadcast and Electronic Communication, Communication Studies, Corporate Communication, Journalism, Public Relations, Theatre Arts.

Note: The minor that is normally required for the degree is waived for Pre-law Scholars. However, should a student decide to complete their undergraduate degree prior to entering Law School they will be required to complete the minor.

The Pre-law Scholars coordinator and selected faculty members will be responsible for the academic advising of Pre-law Scholars.

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Academic Standards for Pre-law Scholars

Admission to the Pre-law Scholars program is offered only to incoming first-year students, during the spring prior to the first year. Admission guarantees the Scholar a place in Marquette Law School, after completion of the third year of undergraduate studies (and having earned at least 100 credits) in their respective undergraduate college.

Students will maintain a place in the Law School by fulfilling the following requirements:

1. Enroll in spring semester Freshman Scholars Seminar (1 credit), “Lawyers in American Society.” (College of Arts and Sciences and Business Administration only)
2. Attain a minimum cumulative 3.400 GPA in the undergraduate program, by the time of application/entrance to the Marquette University Law School.
3. Earn a score on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) that is equal to or greater than the median score of the preceding year’s entering class. Students may take the LSAT as many times as needed to earn this score, but should bear in mind that the Law School relies on the average of all the LSATs a student has taken.
4. Meet the Law School’s standards for character and fitness.

Students may choose to complete the fourth year as an undergraduate; in such a case, the student will be guaranteed a place in the Law School entering class the following year, provided the academic standards of the program are met. While the Law School is bound to hold a place for scholars who meet all requirements, students are not obligated to attend Marquette’s Law School. Students may elect to complete the undergraduate degree in the major(s) chosen.

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Grades/Graduation/Graduation Honors

The undergraduate colleges will base their calculations for academic honors on all credits earned toward the bachelor’s degree, including all Law School credits completed through the term in which the students satisfies all undergraduate degree requirements, including the minimum 128 credits needed for the degree.

The undergraduate colleges will accept for credit all Law School classes in which the student earns at least a grade of "D," the minimum necessary to earn credit for a course in the Law School. If a student were to earn a grade lower than "D" in the first year of Law School, that student, in order to earn the bachelor's degree must make up those credits. This may be done by retaking the Law School course (as required by the Law School), or by taking an undergraduate course that fulfills credit requirements for the undergraduate college.

Normally, scholars will walk through the May graduation ceremony. However, because Law School grades are not posted until June, Pre-law Scholars will not receive their diploma for their bachelor’s degree until the summer of the fourth year. However, students may be eligible to graduate earlier if they complete the minimum course and credit requirements prior to this time.

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Financial Aid

Since pre-law scholars will be spending only three years as an undergraduate at Marquette, the financial aid and scholarships received will be applicable only to the first three years at Marquette. After completion of the first three years or undergraduate degree, scholars must apply for financial aid and scholarships as an Independent Graduate/Professional student, rather than as an undergraduate.

Since the criteria for admission to the Pre-law Scholars program match the criteria for many of the merit-based scholarships awarded by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, it is highly probable that scholars in the program will also receive merit-based scholarships to Marquette University.

It is important to note that these scholarships, while renewable for up to eight semesters at the university, are only for undergraduate study. As a result, scholars will only be able to apply these scholarships to the first three years at Marquette, because once classes begin in Marquette's Law School, scholars will no longer be considered undergraduates. The fourth year or earlier of the scholarship will be forfeited.

Pre-law Scholars would be eligible to apply in the third year for any Law School financial aid and scholarships available to any student in the first year of Law School.