Pre-professional Study

Students who wish to prepare for professional study in engineering and the natural sciences, as well as the fields of law, librarianship, or medicine and health sciences, will find specialized counseling and advisement at Cal State L.A. Such pre-professional advisement is separate from and in addition to major program advisement. Students are urged to consult current catalogs of professional schools available in the Reference Room of the Library for specific requirements or to contact the advisement offices named below.

Health-Related Programs

Cal State L.A. offers a wide range of programs in health and health-related fields. These programs have a strong clinical and field placement component at several leading health care facilities and clinics in the metropolitan area to prepare graduates to enter the health field as professionals. Additional information is available from the Coordinator of Health-Related Programs, Biological Sciences 125, (323) 343-2035. Programs and the departments, divisions, and schools that offer them include:

Law

Students considering a career in law may select from a broad range of majors. Law schools are interested in students’ knowledge of human institutions and values and their critical thinking, analytical writing, and communication skills. There is no preferred major or course of study at the baccalaureate level. The major should be chosen based on the student’s interest since a good academic record in a rigorous course of study is more important for admission to law school than the major. Students should be mindful that not everyone is accepted to an accredited law school. Thus, a consideration in selecting a major should be alternative career paths in the event that one is not admitted or changes career goals.

As part of the range of majors offered at Cal State L.A., most of which are acceptable for law school admission, there are four options which are specified as prelegal. They are the Prelegal option in the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, the Business Arts-Prelegal option in the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, the Prelaw option in the Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, and the Law and Society option in the Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Three additional choices are the Prelaw minors offered by the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Political Science, and the Law and Society Minor offered by the Department of Sociology.

Prelegal advisement is available in the Departments of Finance and Law, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology. Students interested in a career in law, regardless of major, are encouraged to consult with any of these departments on the choice of major and expectations of law schools.

Prelaw students are expected to take the Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT) in the fall semester of the year preceding their anticipated admission to law school. Application forms may be obtained during the Spring Semester in the Political Science department office.

Librarianship

The field of librarianship provides careers with diverse opportunities and room for personal and professional growth. The information field is growing, and the work of librarians is expanding to keep pace. Every day librarians sift through clues, uncover facts, and help people weave knowledge from threads of information. A variety of majors across all the colleges of the university can prepare students to pursue a graduate program in Library Science.

Many libraries also have support and paraprofessional positions that do not require a library science degree but offer valuable experience for someone interested in pursuing work in libraries. For more information, write to Library Careers, ALA/OLPR, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

Physical Therapy

The School of Kinesiology and Nutritional Science (schoolkns@calstatela.edu, 323-343-4650) may be contacted for advisement about undergraduate course work and other requirements for admission to graduate degree programs in physical therapy. Physical therapists evaluate, treat and educate people with the goal of restoring, maintaining, and improving their muscular strength, musculoskeletal flexibility, and neuromuscular coordination. They work in medical, health, and educational settings. Admission criteria usually include specified undergraduate course work completed with an acceptable grade point average, and a specified number of hours of paid or volunteer work in physical therapy settings. Students are urged to look closely at the particular admissions requirements of the colleges to which they plan to apply.

A complete listing of colleges and universities offering graduate degrees in physical therapy is available at the website of the American Physical Therapy Association www.apta.org, or write the organization at 111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone (703)-684-APTA.