BERNADETTE AGRESTI, Program Director
FACULTY: Hon. Stephanie Domitrovich, Atty. Brian Krowicki.
Aims and Objectives:
The Association of American Law Schools recommends that a Pre-Law Program should be
concerned with the development of basic skills and insights fundamental to the later
attainment of legal competence. The quality of education called for should include:
A. comprehension and expression in words;
B. critical understanding of the human institutions and values with which the law deals; and
C. creative power in thinking.
According the the Association: "The development of these fundamental capacities is not the
monopoly of any one subject-matter area, department or division. Rather, their development
is the result of a highly individualized process pursued with high purpose and intensive
intellectual effort by persons with at least a reasonable degree of native intelligence. Perhaps
the most important variable ingredient of a proper climate for this process is the quality of
undergraduate instruction. Certainly, it is not any particular course or combination of courses.
Shortly stated, what the law schools seek in the entering students is not accomplishment in
mere memorization but accomplishment in understanding, the capacity to think for
themselves, and the ability to express their thoughts with clarity and force."
At Gannon University individuals expressing an interest in Pre-Law are initially placed in a
sequence of courses in their Freshman and Sophomore years which introduce them to many
of the major fields within Gannon. During this period the student, in consultation with the
Director of the Pre-Law Program, is encouraged to select a field of concentration and to plan a
course of studies which seems best suited to his or her individual interests and attitudes and
to the fulfillment of the objectives of the Pre-Law Program.
Students from any major may elect to pursue a Minor in Pre-Law Studies consisting in 18
credit hours of approved courses selected from Pre-Law and Cognate fields. Students may
also choose to complete a Legal Studies Certificates.
GANNON UNIVERSITY - DUQUESNE SCHOOL OF LAW 3/3 EARLY ADMISSION
BERNADETTE AGRESTI, Program Director
ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Michael Agresti, Esq. Hon. Stephanie Domitrovich, Joseph
Martone, Esq.
Gannon University in collaboration with Duquesne University School of Law offers a
competitive, early admissions program for Pre Law students. This integrated partnership
provides special academic opportunities for qualified students to earn both an undergraduate
degree and a law degree in six years rather than seven. Under the early admissions program,
students may receive a Bachelors Degree from Gannon University after three years of
undergraduate work and the successful completion of the first year of full time study at
Duquesne University School of Law.
The early admissions program is only open to those applicants who enter the program as
freshmen and complete all three years of their undergraduate work at Gannon University.
Admissions is highly competitive and the program is limited to a maximum of twenty
students per year.
Students in the early admissions program will choose an undergraduate major in Arts and
Humanities, Business, Criminal Justice, English, General Science, History, Accounting, Legal
Studies Paralegal, Political Science, and Social Studies at the time of their acceptance into the
program and will be required to take several courses from the Pre Law curriculum. Core of
Discovery as well as all major and College requirements will be completed at Gannon
University except in cases where Duquesne Law School classes may be applied to such
requirements.
The Pre Law Adviser and a Pre Law Advisory Committee including a representative of
Duquesne University Law School and other members of the legal community, will provide
counseling, advisement, opportunities for internships, field trips to Duquesne and generally
help prepare those enrolled in the program with assistance in preparing for law school, the
law school admissions test and eventual entrance into the legal profession.
Students will take the Law School Admissions Test in their third year and will be interviewed
by a selection committee which will include the Dean of Duquesne University Law School or
a designate. Selection criteria will include a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5
for the three years at Gannon University and a minimum LSAT score in the 60th percentile on
the LSAT. Evidence of leadership potential and interest and commitment to the legal
profession and other qualitative factors will be considered in selection decisions.
Duquesne University will admit from five up to ten students who meet the above criteria and
who are recommended by the Selection Committee. At Duquesne's option, more than ten
students may be admitted.
The early admissions program is specifically designed for Gannon University undergraduate
students with outstanding academic credentials who will distinguish themselves at the
undergraduate level. By participating in this program, students may not only save the
expenses of the additional year of study normally required to complete both undergraduate
and law school degrees but they may also qualify for special scholarship and grant-in-aid
opportunities at both Gannon University and Duquesne Law School.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
PLAW 101: Pre-Law Orientation
NC - Fall
An introduction to Gannon University and the Pre-Law Program.
PLAW 260: Introduction to Law in Society
3 credits/Spring
Introduction to legal institutions and processes; evolution of the American legal system; major
substantive areas of law; legal reasoning and the adversarial process; and, the role of
attorneys and courts in American society.
PLAW 357: Legal Analysis and Persuasion
3 credits
Legal analysis and persuasion will introduce the student to the fundamentals of legal
thinking, including the critical examination of case law, statutory law and other written
materials. Applying this legal analysis, students will learn to persuade a targeted audience in
both written and oral forms. Classroom exercises include briefs, mock appellate arguments
and/or mock trial.
Pre-Law Curriculum
This is not the track for 3+3 students. This is the curriculum for pre-law students who have
not decided on a major in their freshmen and sophomore years.
(Numerals in front of courses indicate credits)
FRESHMAN
Fall
NC Pre-Law Orientation/PLAW 101/POLI 101 3
3 College Comp/LENG 111
3 Sacred Scriptures/LTHE 121
3 Modern Foreign Language
*3 Political Science/POLI 111
*3 Sociology/SOCI 110 or Psychology/PSYC 111 or Econom/BCOR 111
15
Spring
3 Crit Analysis & Comp/LENG 112
3 Hist of West & World/LHST 111
3 Modern Foreign Language
*3 Political Science/POLI 112
*3 PC Applications/CIS 170-173
3 Cognates
18
SOPHOMORE
3 Theology II Series/LTHE
3 Literature Series/LENG
3 Fine Art Series/LFIN
3 LS/Science
3 Math
3 Intro Law & Soc/PLAW 260
3 Fund of Speech/SPCH 111
6 Economics/BCOR 111, 112 or Psychology/PSYC 111 or Sociology/SOCI 110
3 Cognates
3 Elective
33
* This course may not be required in certain 3 + 3 program choices.
Beyond the Sophomore year Pre-Law students must select a major field of study. Additional
Pre-Law Cognates are recommended and a Pre-Law Minor may be earned through the
completion of 18 credit hours, including:
| 3 |
Intro Law & Society/PLAW 260 |
| 3 |
Legal Analysis and Persuasion/PLAW 357 |
| 3-6 |
Constitutional Law I & II/POLI 350, 351 |
|
Leadership Studies II/POLI 302 |
|
Administrative Law/POLI 355 |
|
Criminal Law & Proc/CRJS 320 |
|
Legal Environment of Business/BCOR 203 |
| 3-6 |
Logic/PHIL 210 |
|
Advanced Composition/ENGL 211 |
|
Financial Accounting/BCOR 201 |
|
Argumentation & Debate/SPCH 322 |
| 3-6 |
Philosophy & Law/PHIL 290 |
|
Intro to Criminal Justice/CRJS 110 |
|
History of U.S./HIST 221, 222 |
|
Social Psychology/SOCI 211 |
|
Congress & Legislative Process/POLI 315 |
|
Criminological Theory/CRJS 240 |
Law and Politics
Students pursuing this track will take most of the required courses in the Political Science
major, but will substitute 2 legal courses, Introduction to Law & Society and Legal Analysis &
Persuation, for 2 upper level Political Science courses.
Students who intend to go on to law school are encouraged to complete the Legal Studies
Certificate. The certificate can be completed within the four year program by using those
courses as the allowable cognates and electives offered in the Political Science Program. If the
pre law school student does not want to complete the certificate, they are encouraged to take
some of the Legal Studies courses so that they can learn skills that could enable them to find
summer employment and/or part-time employment in legal settings. Some helpful courses
would include Legal Research & Writing I and II, Public Records Research, Computers in
Law, and Trial Prep and Procedure.
| 