With a law school acceptance rate nearly double the national average, it’s clear that Millsaps’ approach to preparing pre-law students is yielding strong results. Here, the pre-law pathway isn’t a single major or a prescribed checklist of courses; it’s a mindset. Rooted in the college’s tradition of providing personalized education, Millsaps’ approach to preparing future attorneys emphasizes critical thinking, ethical reasoning and analytical rigor.
Students who aspire to law school don’t follow a one-size-fits-all path. Instead, they immerse themselves in disciplines that sharpen their intellect, challenge their assumptions and strengthen their ability to reason through complexity, all essential skills for success on the LSAT, in law school and in their legal careers.
A Different Vision for Pre-Law Students
For Dr. Patrick Hopkins, Professor of Philosophy and visionary behind the Philosophy, Law & Society minor, that personal and intellectual approach is by design. When he set out to create the program, he had three key goals.
“One, I wanted to create an academic program that would give students a systematic option for thinking about and dealing with legal concepts,” he said. “I wanted prospective students to know they could get into studying law right away and not wait until later or just take a related class here and there.
“Two, I wanted to create an introductory class students could take early on to help them figure out if they were interested in law. That’s the foundation class, philosophy of law,” he said. “Law is chock full of logical puzzles, tricky classification problems and super-picky details of semantics, and I let students know up front that if they find all that boring, they’re not going to find law interesting.
“Three, I hoped having a foundational class would also give students a social way to meet each other and develop their sense of belonging to a group that shared interests,” he said.
Intentionally Designed
Interestingly, Millsaps chose not to create a traditional major tailored to pre-law students, like criminology for example. It’s not an omission, it’s intentional.
“I emphatically did not want to create a pre-law major,” he said. “The data shows those programs do very little to prepare students for law school or to improve their chances of admission. In fact, students majoring in areas like philosophy, math, physics and economics consistently score the highest on the LSAT.”
The Philosophy, Law & Society minor gives students just enough dedicated time to help them determine if they really find law interesting, while freeing them to pursue majors that broaden their skill sets and experiences. “That balance gives our students both focus and flexibility,” Hopkins said.
Critical Thinking as a Formal Discipline
Hopkins emphasizes that the most important skill any future lawyer can develop is critical thinking.
“People throw around ‘critical thinking’ as a buzzword,” he said. “But real critical thinking is formal, methodical and analytical. It’s not just asking questions or having an open mind. It’s understanding logical deduction, assessing the strength of arguments, recognizing hidden assumptions and interpreting evidence.”
That’s why his classes don’t simply discuss what students think about the law; they actively dissect legal arguments. “We apply logic and analysis to real cases,” he said. “Students quickly see that tiny distinctions in language can completely change the outcome of a case.”
Learning by Doing
Experiential learning is another key component of the Millsaps pre-law experience. Students can participate in moot court, take on independent research projects or pursue internships in the Capital City that give them firsthand exposure to legal environments.
And from the very beginning, students analyze real court cases. “Nothing helps students grasp how law actually works like diving into real judicial opinions,” Hopkins said.
For Nicholas Ughovwa, a 2025 Millsaps graduate now pursuing his dream of becoming a criminal defense attorney, the pre-law pathway made all the difference. “We read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in middle school, and I thought Atticus Finch was cooler than any superhero,” he said. “As I got older, the same question kept driving me: what do people do when their backs are against the wall? Criminal defense attorneys are often the underdogs, and that challenge drew me in.”
Ughovwa was a student athlete in college, balancing classwork, practice, workouts and games. Still, his studies came first and he says Millsaps gave him the academic preparation and the personal support he needed to chase his dreams. “Millsaps prepared me for law school by introducing me to a curriculum that required a lot of independent work outside the classroom,” he said. “You can’t just coast here. Professors expect you to engage deeply and come prepared to think critically. They don’t just want you to be present; they want you to push yourself.”
That close mentorship is what defines the Millsaps experience. “The professors know you personally and build a connection that helps you achieve your goals,” he said. Everyone wants you to succeed, and in that environment, greatness feels inevitable.”
Preparing for the Next Step
Ultimately, Millsaps’ personalized academic foundation prepares students to think, and that’s what law schools value most. The ability to reason through ambiguity, craft persuasive arguments and communicate clearly gives Millsaps graduates a distinct advantage in law school admissions.
Millsaps also partners with other educational institutions to help graduates realize their dream of becoming a lawyer. At Mississippi College School of Law, the top applicant from Millsaps College is awarded a full tuition scholarship, valued at over $100,000. This partnership opens the door to a rigorous law school education just 20 minutes away.
Millsaps also recently announced a 3+3 Pathway to Law School with Ole Miss, allowing students to complete an undergraduate and law degree in just six years.
With more partnerships in the works, Millsaps continues to knock down barriers to law school for our students. But expanding access is only part of the story. We’re equally committed to giving our students a rigorous, well-rounded education that equips them to thrive long before they ever set foot in a law school classroom.
“Being pre-law at Millsaps isn’t about memorizing legal facts,” Hopkins said. “It’s about learning how to think clearly and rigorously. That’s what makes our students so successful when they move on to law school and beyond.”