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   157.43,047
Philosophy157.42,184
Engineering156.22,197
History155.94,166
English154.75,120
Finance153.42,267
Political Science153.014,964
Psychology152.54,355
Sociology150.71,902
Communications150.52,230
Business Administration149.11,971
Criminal Justice145.53,306

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

Physics/Math160.0577
Economics157.43,047
Philosophy/Theology157.42,581
International Relations156.51,520
Engineering156.22,197
Government /Service156.1578
Chemistry156.1632
History155.94,169
Interdisciplinary Studies155.5652
Foreign Languages155.31,084
English155.25,899
Biology/Natural Sciences  154.82,201
Arts154.21,438
Computer Science154.0682
Finance153.42,267
Political Science153.115,181
Psychology152.54,355
Liberal Arts   152.43,892
Anthropology/Geography152.2808
Accounting151.71,439

Submitted to Journal of Economic Education, June 25, 2009

 

Pre-Law Advising

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.