Pre-Law Minor ~ Degree Requirements

Credits Required

Total credits in the minor: 16

Credits at CSUMB: Please see an HCOM advisor.

Prerequisites

None

Outcomes, Courses, and Assessment

Any course currently available to HCOM majors for the Pre-Law concentration is also available to students seeking a Pre-Law minor.  Students choose one course that meets each learning outcome and one additional Pre-Law course of their own choosing.  Students may NOT use one course to meet TWO of the minor’s learning outcomes.  

To complete the minor, students will have learned the following outcomes:

LO 1: Ethical and Effective Decision-Making ~ Students will be able to identify and describe complex issues involving decision-making processes in a variety of contexts—at the interpersonal, community and global levels.  Students will also demonstrate the ability to self-reflexively identify and describe their own and other people’s relevant beliefs, attitudes, values and ethical frameworks in their socio-historical context without imposing their own onto others.

  • Complete one of the following:
    HCOM 304 Relational Ethics
    HCOM 310 Free Speech and Responsibility
    HCOM 403 Ethical Issues in the Professions
    HCOM 412 Multicultural Conflict Resolution

LO 2: Deeper Understanding of Law in Society ~ Students will develop a deeper understanding of how law and legal systems intersect with everyday lives of ordinary people, especially in terms of race, class, ethnicity, gender, age and sexual orientation.  Students will also develop a deeper awareness of how law and legal systems intersect with systems of power and privilege.  In the process, students will develop the skill to analyze how law and legal institutions articulate with historically specific multicultural communities in the United States and/or across national boundaries.

  • Complete one of the following:
    HCOM 310 Free Speech and Responsibility
    HCOM 340S Topics in Social Movements
    HCOM 343 Race and Gender Justice
    HCOM 357 Constitutional Law
    HCOM 358 Law in U.S. Societies
    HCOM 359 Sexuality, Law and Cultural Histories

LO3: Critical Thinking, Communication and Advocacy Skills ~ Students will become aware of the impact of interpersonal, intercultural, small group, and/or institutional contexts on communication dynamics, and develop the ability to understand how and why beliefs, values, assumptions and communication practices interact to shape ways of being and knowing.  In the process, students will demonstrate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills that enable empathic and critical communication and advocacy.  Such skills will include the ability to ask relevant questions, critically identify and explore significant information, and the ability to address, analyze, and assess divergent points of view with mutual respect. 

  • Complete one of the following:
    HCOM 301 Ways of Knowing
    HCOM 312 Cooperative Argumentation
    HCOM 404 Restorative Justice
    HCOM 412 Multicultural Conflict Resolution

Students may choose one upper division course from another academic unit at CSUMB to meet one of the minor learning outcomes or as their elective, subject to the approval of the Pre-Law advisor. At present, the following courses outside of HCOM have been approved to satisfy the following minor learning outcomes.   Other courses will be added periodically. Students may petition the Pre-Law advisor for a course not listed here to be added to the list.  

Additional Choices for LO 1: Ethical and Effective Decision-Making
· ESSP 383 - Environmental Ethics and Environmental Policy - 4 credits
· CHHS 350 - Personal and Professional Ethics - 4 credits
· BUS 331 - Organizational Behavior - 4 credits
· BUS 371S - Ethics and Social Justice Service Learning - 4 credits

Additional Choices for LO 2: Deeper Understanding of Law in Society
· ESSP 387 - Water Resources Assessment, Law and Policy - 4 credits

Additional Choices for LO 3: Communication and Advocacy Skills
· ESSP 386 - Science, the Environment, and the Political Process - 4 credits
· CHHS 330 - Collaborative Community Leadership - 4 credits
· CHHS 340 - Conflict Resolution and Collaborative Negotiation - 4 credits