Law School

Many philosophy students find law school to be a natural choice because they have spent years honing their abilities to craft and handle arguments both in writing and orally.

Unlike many other STEM-majors, philosophy majors have extensive experience crafting written arguments. Unlike many other humanities majors, philosophy majors focus on writing arguments for various positions.

Philosophy Majors Do Very Well on the LSAT

Philosophy majors tend to do better on the LSAT — which is the law school entrance exam — than students in many other popular majors. According to Andereas Teuber, in Philosophy Students Score High on LSAT, GMAT & GRE:

“Philosophy majors received higher scores on the LSAT than students in all other humanities areas, higher scores than all social and natural science majors except economics and mathematics, and higher scores than  all applied majors.” 

“Moreover, the differences are in most cases substantial: for example, philosophy majors scored 10% better than political science majors on the LSAT.” 


  Are you considering Law School next? Did you know that Philosophy Majors consistently score higher on the LSAT than students in almost any other major? 

More Data on LSAT Scores by Major

Set forth below is additional historical information about relative LSAT scores.

TABLE 1. Average 2007-2008 LSAT Scores with over 1,900 students taking the exam.

Economics    157.4 3,047
Philosophy 157.4 2,184
Engineering 156.2 2,197
History 155.9 4,166
English 154.7 5,120
Finance 153.4 2,267
Political Science 153.0 14,964
Psychology 152.5 4,355
Sociology 150.7 1,902
Communications 150.5 2,230
Business Administration 149.1 1,971
Criminal Justice 145.5 3,306

TABLE 2. Average 2007-2008 LSAT Scores with at least 450 students taking the exam.

Physics/Math 160.0 577
Economics 157.4 3,047
Philosophy/Theology 157.4 2,581
International Relations 156.5 1,520
Engineering 156.2 2,197
Government /Service 156.1 578
Chemistry 156.1 632
History 155.9 4,169
Interdisciplinary Studies 155.5 652
Foreign Languages 155.3 1,084
English 155.2 5,899
Biology/Natural Sciences   154.8 2,201
Arts 154.2 1,438
Computer Science 154.0 682
Finance 153.4 2,267
Political Science 153.1 15,181
Psychology 152.5 4,355
Liberal Arts    152.4 3,892
Anthropology/Geography 152.2 808
Accounting 151.7 1,439

Submitted to Journal of Economic Education, June 25, 2009

 

Strong Pre-Law Advising

So You May Be Interested in Law School?

Did you know that the current head of the Philosophy Department, Professor Kar, is also a Professor of Law at UIUC Law School? He holds sessions each semester to help philosophy majors learn about law school admissions and success — including tips for how to make sure that their philosophical training will prepare them to hit the ground running in law school.

In addition, Pre-Law Advising Services is part of the Illinois Campus Center for Advising and Academic Services.

This office provides advising and information to all undergraduates interested in pursuing a postgraduate legal education. Members of their team can help you to figure out:

  • how to explore your interest in legal careers
  • how to prepare for law school
  • how to figure out which is the best law school for you
  • how to apply to law school
  • how best to prepare for the LSAT
  • any other questions related to law school or legal education

For more information or to set up an appointment, please visit the Illinois Pre-Law resource site.