Pre-Law Certificate

Please follow the instructions below very carefully to ENROLL for the Pre-Law Skills and Professional Values Certificate:

• You must have completed 60 credits at any college/university prior to enrolling for this certificate. You may take or have taken courses towards the certificate before then, but wait until you have completed 60 credits to enroll for the certificate. You must be enrolled in the certificate to register for POS 3652 Law and the Legal Profession.
• Students who have 90 credits or more will need dean’s designee approval. This approval is based on whether or not the certificate will delay graduation or cause the student to go over the Excess Credit Surcharge threshold. Meet with your assigned advisor in your major to check your information and have them complete the PDC/RDX hold box on the form. The advisor will then seek the dean's designee approval.
• You must be a degree seeking student at FIU.
• There is no minimum GPA requirement.

All certificate courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better. Requests to apply for transfer credit must be made in writing and approved by the certificate director.

Recommended Prerequisites

Students are encouraged, but not required, to complete the following two courses prior to enrolling in the certificate program.

POS 2042— American Government
SPC 2608—Public Speaking

Core Courses (6 credits)

1. POS 3652—Law and the Legal Profession
2. Students can choose one of the following:
   CJL 3512—The Courts
   POS 3283—The Judicial Process

1. Analytical Skills (3 credits)—students can choose one of the following:
   PHI 2100 —Introduction to Logic
   PHI 2103 —Critical Thinking
   PHI 4130 —Symbolic Logic
2. Writing Skills (6 credits)—students can choose two of the following:
   ENC 3311 —Advanced Writing and Research
   ENC 3354 —Writing as Social Action
   ENC 3371 —Rhetorical Theory and Practice
   ENC 4331 —Writing, Rhetoric and Community
   ENC 3465—Legal Writing
   POS 4784 —Analytic Writing in Political Science
3. Verbal Skills (3 credits)—students can choose one of the following:
   COM 4462 —Conflict Management
   SPC 3230 —Rhetorical Communication: A Theory of Civil Discourse
   SPC 3513 —Argumentation and Debate
   SPC 3602 —Advanced Public Speaking
   SPC 3540 —Persuasion
4. Legal Skills (3 credits)—students can choose one of the following:
   CJL 4064 —Criminal Justice and the Constitution
   POS 3603 —Constitutional Law: Powers*
   POS 3604 —Constitutional Law: Limitations*
   
   Note: Legal Skills courses may not be completed online and must be taken in a traditional classroom environment.

This certificate will not be awarded automatically. Please follow the instructions below very carefully to be AWARDED the certificate:

1. After you have applied for graduation, email prelaw@fiu.edu and provide your graduation date. (You must have earned a "C" or better in all certificate courses.)
2. Please check your transcripts to ensure that you are "awarded" the Pre-Law Skills and Professional Value Certificate about 4 - 6 weeks after your graduation. If not, please contact the PLATO Director.