Pre-law program helps you navigate the admission process for law school, explore a range of legal careers, and guide you through course selection to ensure you build the skills and competencies required of competitive law school applicants.
Niagara University’s Pre-Law Advisement program prepares students interested in law to achieve their academic and professional goals at the highest levels. Open to students from all majors and classes, Niagara’s Pre-Law Advisement program is designed to help students successfully navigate the path to law school and legal careers. The program’s central goal is to ensure that each Niagara Pre-Law student gains the knowledge, skills, and practical experience needed to excel in law school and beyond.
Starting their first semester on campus, Niagara Pre-Law students have countless opportunities to learn about the various fields of law through courses, internships, moot court competitions, law school visits, academic research, and discussions with the Pre-Law Advisor and other legal practitioners.
For students who continue on the law school track, the Pre-Law Advisor serves as a resource and guide through every step of the process — from maximizing your score on the LSAT, to writing effective law school admissions essays, and, eventually, weighing competing offers from top law schools.
Niagara University has many distinguished alumni in law and related fields, including law firm partners, state and federal judges, and leaders in government, politics, and business. And Niagara’s Pre-Law Advisement Program has a proven track record of helping students gain admission to the nation’s top law schools — including Harvard, Columbia, Virginia, Georgetown, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Boston University, George Washington, Fordham, Illinois, William and Mary, Florida, Ohio State, Penn State, New Hampshire, St. John’s, Syracuse, and the University at Buffalo, among many others.
Pre-Law students at Niagara University have access to two accelerated pathways to a law degree. Specifically, under agreements with the University at Buffalo and St. John’s University, qualifying students can enter law school after just three years at Niagara. Students who meet the program’s requirements will thus have the chance to earn their bachelor’s degree from Niagara and their juris doctor degree from either UB Law School or St. John’s Law School in a total of six years instead of the usual seven.
The accelerated bachelor’s to J.D. (3+3) program is open to Pre-Law students majoring in Criminology & Criminal Justice, English, History, International Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, or Sociology. Each of these departments has established an accelerated curriculum for qualifying students.
Additionally, students must meet stringent criteria for admission to UB Law School or St. John’s Law School, including having a GPA of at least 3.5 and an LSAT or GRE score at or above the threshold set by the law school.
The centerpiece of Niagara's Pre-Law Advisement program is one-on-one advisement, which begins as soon as first-year students arrive on campus in the fall and continues through choosing a law school as seniors
Accelerated curriculum to receive bachelors and J.D in six years for qualifying students majoring in Criminology & Criminal Justice, English, History, International Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, or Sociology.
In recent years students have interned with state and federal judges; in District Attorney's offices and the New York State Attorney General's office; with Public Defender's offices and with criminal defense attorneys; and in law firms across New York.
Advocacy
Labor Relations
Paralegal
Private Investigator
Phi Beta Delta
