Student working on computer

Pre-Law


Why Pre-Law at Coe College?

The liberal arts education and extra-curricular activities available at Coe provide excellent preparation for students seeking to enter law school.

Several members of Coe's faculty teach courses across many different disciplines, allowing an interested student the opportunity to explore a diverse and broad curriculum of law based courses.

Pre-law students at Coe benefit from Coe's Writing Across the Curriculum program, which prepares our graduates for the rigorous writing expectations of law school. Students may also take advantage of the multiple internship opportunities available in the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area. Recent students have interned with laws firms, the federal public defender's office, and compliance offices of large corporations.

Students are free to design a course of study within their area of personal interest. As early as possible in their undergraduate years, students should coordinate a four-year academic program with the entrance requirements of the law schools in which they are interested. The college's pre-law advisor is available to help students select courses that provide the rigorous academic experience that will not only help students gain admission to law school but to also equip them with the analytical and communication skills (both written and verbal) necessary to successfully matriculate from some of the finest law schools in the country.

Coe College, Iowa College of Law partner with 3+3 program

Coe College students have the opportunity to earn both a bachelor's degree and a law degree in six years thanks to a new partnership with the University of Iowa College of Law.

The cooperative 3+3 program allows qualified undergraduates from Coe admission to the College of Law after the conclusion of their junior year. Credits earned during the first year of law school at Iowa, which would have been their senior year at Coe, will also apply to their undergraduate degrees. At the end of their fourth year of study, the students in the program will receive their bachelor's degrees along with their classmates from Coe, while also having a year of law school completed.

Under the innovative program, Coe students can earn their undergraduate and law degrees faster than the normal seven years, thereby saving a year of tuition and associated costs. As an additional benefit, program graduates will have a one-year head start on their law careers.