University of New England

Pre-Law Concentration

The Political Science Department at the University of New England offers an elaborate pre-law concentration that provides numerous courses, internship opportunities, advising and a mock trial team. The following outlines these opportunities which are available for all interested students.
  
AMERICAN LAW AND SOCIETY
This course introduces students to the American legal system, including its history, the various types of law, basic legal analysis and numerous jurisprudential theories. 

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
This course introduces students to the inner workings of the United States Supreme Court. Students will learn the history of the United State Supreme Court, will investigate the process for nominating Supreme Court justices and will explore the major constitutional controversies by reading and discussing landmark Supreme Court cases. 
 
FIRST AMENDMENT LAW
This course examines the First Amendment of the United States Constitution with heavy emphasis on the speech and religion clauses. Students will explore the philosophical, political and historical foundation of free speech, free exercise of religion and the separation of church and state.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
The history and formation of the U.S. Constitution are explored along with how the Constitution empowers as well as limits the three branches of American government. Specific civil liberty issues such as the Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause and other constitutional provisions will also be covered. 

AMERICAN CONGRESS
This course will examine the development and current state of America's preeminent political institution: the U.S. Congress. We will talk about ways that congresspersons are elected and the institutional rules, habits and procedures by which they govern. We will talk about the institution of Congress as a product of the goals and motivations of the members - including the motivation of good policy, the goal of re-election and the pull of partisan struggle.

INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH LAW
This course examines the history of the American health care system and will consider the current political debate regarding universal health care. Other topics covered will be Medical Malpractice, access to care decisions, insurance fraud, Medicare, Medicaid and EMTALA. 

BUSINESS LAW
Students will study how the American Legal System and the business world interact. In addition, students will examine specific areas of the law that directly impact the business world such as employment law, the Uniform Commercial Code, intellectual property and contracts.

MOCK TRIAL
Supervised preparation for and participation in intercollegiate mock trial tournaments. Mock Trial is a competition among teams of students taking on the roles of attorneys and witnesses in a hypothetical case.

INTERNSHIP
Long-term participation in formal internships with governmental or nongovernmental organizations.

ADVISING
Advice on law school applications, taking the LSAT, legal careers and other legal or law school related questions is available to all interested students.