Did you know 24% of international studies majors go to law school?
When I speak with IST alumni and students about what draws them to the legal field, they usually say they want to mediate conflicts and help people navigate complicated legal rules. I do not usually hear that people want to win in the courtroom, though some of our alumni really do enjoy presenting cases in court. More often, though, international studies alumni prefer negotiating contracts, providing legal advice, and resolving disputes.
What type of law do most IST alumni practice?
We looked through LinkedIn profiles of IST alumni who have law degrees and made a list of the most most common specializations that IST alumni have developed:Capital Markets
Contracts
Corporate Governance
Corporate Law
Criminal Law
Employment Law
Energy Law
Environmental Law
Estate Law
Estate Planning
Health Law
Human Rights Law
Immigration Law
Intellectual Property Law
International Law
International Negotiations
International Trade Specialist
International Transactions
Mediation
Natural Resources Law
Real Estate Law
Veterans Appeals
Many of our alumni work as in-house lawyers for government agencies or large multinational firms. Others are managing partners at law firms. Still others are policy advisors.
We have interviewed a number of IST alumni about their work. You can find their stories using these tags:
Where do IST majors go to law school?
The law program that the most IST alumni have attended is University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Our students appreciate the opportunities to study international and comparative law, the Institute for Transnational Law, opportunities to study abroad and learn about other countries’ legal systems, and the LLM program’s specializations available in cybersecurity, human rights, global energy, and Latin America. Other law programs that our alumni attended include these:
- American University Washington College of Law
- Baylor University School of Law
- Northeastern University
- Singapore Management University
- Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
- Syracuse University College of Law
- Texas A&M University School of Law
- Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law
- University of Houston Law Center
- University of Illinois College of Law
- University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
- University of Miami School of Law
- University of Michigan Law School
- University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law
- University of Nevada-Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law
- University of North Texas (UNT) Dallas College of Law
- University of Richmond School of Law
- University of Texas at Austin School of Law
- University of Tulsa College of Law
- University of Virginia School of Law
- William and Mary Law School
How to prepare for law school with an international studies major
Take classes that require you to read challenging texts, conduct research, use logical reasoning, and build persuasive arguments. You can develop these skills while taking classes that match your interests! International studies includes classes from history, political science, and philosophy that will require close reading and research. The IST major includes classes in statistics, comparative politics, and philosophy that will teach logical reasoning skills. We have professional writing courses that can help you learn how to write more clearly and effectively.
If there is a certain type of problem you really want to work on as a lawyer, you can take classes that help you learn more about it. The IST major includes classes focused on migration, families, international trade, human rights, intelligence, and more.
Find the full list of classes on Baylor’s Undergraduate Catalog.