The American Bar Association (ABA) does not recommend any specific courses to prepare for law school.
Examples of UC Merced classes that may be related to law, politics, crime, public policy, forensic science, civil rights, ethics, social issues, or skills needed in law school or as a practicing attorney (oral presentations, research, written communication) are listed below.
NOTE: this list is NOT exhaustive! Many other UC Merced courses could assist you in preparing for law school or a legal career.
In the examples below:
- Some courses may satisfy GE, major, or minor requirements.
- Other courses may be electives based on your specific major or degree program.
- Elective units count toward total degree units but do not satisfy a specific requirement.
- First year students typically take courses numbered 001-099.
- Courses numbered 100-199 may have prerequisites or be restricted to students declared in that major.
- Some courses may be cross-listed in more than one department (for example, COGS 170 is the same class as ECON 153 or MGMT 153 or POLI 153). You may take a cross-listed course only once.
To read class descriptions and check prerequisites:
- Go to the current UC Merced Catalog
- Select Course Descriptions in the left column.
- Scroll down to filter by department abbreviation (ANTH, COGS, etc.)
Examples of possible UC Merced courses for pre-law students:
- ANTH 116 Indigenous Activism in the Americas
- ANTH 152 Dying, Death, and Dead Persons
- ANTH 177 Forensic Anthropology
- BIOE 108 Genetic Engineering
- COGS 160 Free Will in Philosophy and Cognitive Science
- COGS 170 Judgment and Decision Making
- Same course as ECON 153, MGMT 153, POLI 153
- COGS 172 Thinking & Reasoning
- COGS 173 Advanced Judgment and Decision Making
- Same course as MGMT 173
- COGS 182 Service Science
- Same course as MIST 150, MGMT 150
- CRES 001 Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
- CRES 020 Introduction to Asian American Studies
- CRES 040 Introduction to Black Studies
- CRES 101 Race and the Media
- CRES 102 Race, Gender, Sexuality
- CRES 120 Race, Law and Civil Rights
- CRES 121 Critical Refugee Studies
- CRES 122 Comparative Immigrations
- CRES 123 Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the United States
- Same course as HIST 123
- CRES 124BR African American History 1877 to Present: Research
- Same course as HIST 124BR
- CRES 174B Divas and Democracy
- ECON 115 Economics of Industrial Organization
- ECON 120 Economics of the Environment and Public Policy
- ECON 121 Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Institutions
- ECON 140 Labor Economics
- ECON 143 Economics of Crime and Policing
- ECON 144 Economics of Immigration
- ECON 149 Economics of Sports
- ECON 152 Law & Economics
- ECON 153 Judgment and Decision Making
- Same course as COGS 170, MGMT 153, POLI 153
- ECON 155 Political Economics
- ENG 018 Crime and Horror in Victorian Literature and Culture
- ENG 132 Human Rights and Literature
- ENG 133 Race, Law, and American Literature
- ENG 169 Theatre and Social Responsibility
- Same course as GASP 153
- ENG 187 Shakespeare and Social Justice
- ENGR 141 Environmental Science and Policy
- Same course as ESS 141, GEOG 141
- ENGR 192 Intellectual Property for Engineers and Scientists
- EC 001 Introduction to Environmental Communications
- ENVE 010 Environment in Crisis
- ESS 141 Environmental Science and Policy
- Same course as ENGR 141, GEOG 141
- GASP 041A Performative Storytelling
- GASP 141A Advanced Performative Storytelling
- GASP 153 Theater and Social Responsibility
- Same course as ENG 169
- GEOG 141 Environmental Science and Policy
- Same course as ENGR 141, ESS 141
- HIST 017 Twentieth-Century America
- HIST 021 History of the American West, 1850-2000
- HIST 123 Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the United States
- Same course as CRES 123
- HIST 124B African American History 1877 to Present
- HIST 124BR African American History 1877 to Present: Research
- Same course as CRES 124BR
- HIST 129 Introduction to Chicano History
- HIST 170R Law & Society in England: Research
- MGMT 118 Women in Executive Leadership
- MGMT 122 Teams and Organizations
- MGMT 123 Business Ethics
- MGMT 124 Organizational Behavior and Leadership
- MGMT 125 Entertainment Management
- MGMT 127 Public Sector and Non-Profit Management
- MGMT 135 Business Law
- MGMT 136 Advanced Business Law
- MGMT 150 Service Science
- Same course as COGS 182, MIST 150
- MGMT 153 Judgment and Decision Making
- Same course as COGS 170, ECON 153, POLI 153
- MGMT 173 Advanced Judgment and Decision Making
- Same course as COGS 173
- MIST 120 Park and Protected Area Management
- MIST 135 Technical Communication and Visualization Skills
- MIST 150 Service Science
- Same course as COGS 182, MGMT 150
- PHIL 002 Introduction to Ethics
- PHIL 003 Contemporary Moral Problems
- PHIL 004 Critical Reasoning
- PHIL 005 Introduction to Logic
- PHIL 109 Philosophy of Law
- PHIL 122 Bioethics
- PHIL 128 Human Rights
- POLI 001 Introduction to American Politics
- POLI 002 Controversies in American Politics
- POLI 003 Introduction to Comparative Politics
- POLI 005 Introduction to International Relations
- POLI 006 Global Issues
- POLI 100 Congressional Politics
- POLI 101 The Presidency
- POLI 102 Judicial Politics
- POLI 105 Interest Groups and Political Parties
- POLI 106 Urban Politics
- POLI 107 California Politics
- POLI 108 Direct Democracy
- POLI 109 Legislative Simulation
- POLI 110 Governmental Power and the Constitution
- POLI 111 Liberty, Equality and the Constitution
- POLI 112 Public Policy: Analysis, Strategy, and Impact
- POLI 120 Voting Behavior, Campaigns, and Elections
- POLI 123 Political Psychology
- POLI 125 Public Opinion
- POLI 127 Race, Gender, and Politics
- POLI 130 Institutions of Democracy
- POLI 131 Everyday Politics in Latin America
- POLI 138 Politics of Poverty and Prosperity
- POLI 140 Transitions to Democracy
- POLI 145 Political Violence
- POLI 150 Causes of International Conflict
- POLI 153: Judgment and Decision Making
- Same course as COGS 170, ECON 153, MGMT 153
- POLI 158 Politics of Human Rights
- POLI 160 U.S. Foreign Policy
- POLI 165 International Organizations & Regimes
- POLI 171 Politics and Film
- POLI 172 Games and Human Behavior
- POLI 175 Advanced Analysis of Political Data
- PSY 001 Introduction to Psychology
- PSY 142 Psychopathology
- PSY 151 The Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice
- PSY 152 Psychological Perspectives on Cultural, Racial and Ethnic Diversity
- PSY 156 Social Psychology
- PSY 171 Psychological Tests and Measurement
- PSY 172 Forensic Psychology
- PH 105 Introduction to U.S. Health Care System
- PH 106 Health Policy
- PH 185 Introduction to Health and Biomedical Ethics
- SOC 001 Introduction to Sociology
- SOC 009 Community Mobilization and Politics
- SOC 020 Social Problems
- SOC 030 Social Inequality
- SOC 035 Introduction to Political Sociology
- SOC 038 Sociology of Race and Racism
- SOC 070 Introduction to Crime and Deviance
- SOC 107 Law and Society
- SOC 108 Advanced Topics in Criminology
- SOC 110 Social Movements, Protest and Collective Action
- SOC 115 Political Sociology
- SOC 116 Inequality & Public Policy
- SOC 118 Hate Crime
- SOC 121 Latina/o/x Sociology
- SOC 130 Social Stratification
- SOC 131 Urban Inequality
- SOC 133 Higher Education in the U.S.
- SOC 134 Sports and Society
- SOC 160 Gender and Society
- SOC 183 Intersectionality
- SPAN 108 Spanish for Business and Management
- SPAN 177 Sociolinguistics and Latino Health
- WRI 022 Interpersonal Communication
- WRI 025 Introduction to Creative Writing
- WRI 030 Introduction to Professional Writing
- WRI 090 Intersections of Creative and Professional Writing
- WRI 100 Advanced Writing
- WRI 104 Personal Style and Formal Writing
- WRI 105 Grammar and Style
- WRI 118 Management Communication Theory and Practice
- WRI 120 Rhetorical Theory
- WRI 121 International Rhetoric
- WRI 122 Special Topics in Rhetoric
- WRI 130 Topics in Professional Writing
There may also be law-related classes available through UC Online.
- These online courses are offered through other UC campuses.
- First years are eligible to take a UC Online class AFTER you have completed at least one semester in the academic year (fall or spring) at UC Merced and are in good academic standing.
- See more at Office of the Registrar.
Examples of possible UC Online courses for UC Merced pre-law students:
- African American Studies (AF AMER) 1: Introduction to Black Studies (UCLA)
- Asian American Studies (ASAMST) 20AC: Asian American Communities and Race Relations (UC Berkeley)
- Biomedical Engineering (BIM) 088V: Introduction to Research (UC Davis)
- Communication (CMN) 003V: Interpersonal Communication Competence (UC Davis)
- Communication (COMM) W146: Deception Communication (UC Santa Barbara)
- COWL 52: Personal Finance and Investing (UC Santa Cruz)
- Education (EDUC) 023: Introduction to Education Policy (UC Riverside)
- Education (EDUC) 150: Policy and Legal Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics (UC Riverside)
- Education (EDUC) W164: Early Childhood Policy: Children, Contexts, and Politics in Diverse Societies (UC Berkeley)
- Global Health (GLBH) 171R: Global Mental Health (UC San Diego)
- Political Science (POL SCI) 60: Ethics and Governance (UCLA)
- Political Science (POL SCI) 115D: Diversity, Disagreement, and Democracy (UCLA)
- Political Science (POL) 165V: Mass Media and Politics (UC Davis)
- Public Policy (PBPL) 001: Introduction to Public Policy Analysis (UC Riverside)
- Theatre, Film, and Digital Production (TFDP) 0505: Public Speaking (UC Riverside)
- Writing 60: Argument and Research (UC Irvine)
