Some students interested in criminology and criminal justice may be interested in attending law school after earning their bachelor’s degree.
And the experience of learning about criminals and the causes of crime could be beneficial in many areas of law. But will it help you get admitted to a top law school? Or, as some suggest, could a criminology major actually work against you and be a negative?
How Important Is a Criminal Justice-related Major?
In general, the admissions committees will not make your undergraduate major a top priority, so you are generally free to major in whatever interests you the most.
The biggest two factors in their decision will be your undergraduate GPA and your score on the LSAT, so you’ll be much better off putting in extra time to study rather than becoming preoccupied about which are the “best” law school majors.
This also means, though, that majoring in criminology will not impress the admissions committee or give you an advantage in the admission decision.
Some people take it even further and say that a criminology or criminal justice major will actually serve as a detriment to their law school application process, which may sound counterintuitive.
The reason is that law school admissions committees want applicants to have a different experiences in their undergraduate years than a field directly related to law or the criminal justice system.
This is more of a rumor rather than an absolute fact shared by all admissions departments, however, although it is true that admissions committees in general like to see a variety of experiences. A major that improves your communication skills is usually regarded positively when applying to law school.
Criminology vs. Criminal Justice Major for Law School
And even if law school admissions committees are not highly keen on pre-law or criminal justice majors, would they count criminology the same way?
It’s impossible to predict exactly what an admissions committee would think, but since much criminology coursework is theoretical or sociological in scope, it is not be as directly related to the law as these other fields.
Therefore, it should be regarded more positively in law school applications. But this is assuming that pre-law majors are frowned upon, which is a much more anecdotal theory, and not an absolute fact.
All in all, you should not worry too much about what major you choose if you intend to apply to law school, as your GPA and LSAT scores are the most important part of your application.
Criminology should be a fine major, so if it interests you, go for it! The additional perspective on crime that you will gain should serve you well in many areas of law.
There are certainly more important qualifications in your law school application than this like the LSAT and GPA, for example, as well as your personal statement where you articulate all aspects of your candidate profile so as to make yourself as attractive as possible. So overall, do not give the question of your undergraduate major more weight than it is worth. Choosing a subject that you genuinely enjoy rather than checking off a box with something that you think may impress others is a better strategy anyway. If you are in law school or hoping to get there soon, what is your undergraduate major?