Organizations & Associations

The Department of Political Science has two longstanding clubs: The Political Science Club, and the Pi Beta Lambda Law Club.

If you want to learn more about politics outside the classroom, and have fun discussing it in a social setting, then the Political Science Club is for you!  The Political Science Club is open to students of all majors who are interested in discussing and learning more about politics.  The Political Science Club is also non-partisan, welcoming people across the political spectrum.  Regular meetings have guest speakers such as local government officials, political candidates, and party officials.  Other regular meetings have informative discussions of timely political issues.  It's also a great chance for you as a student to meet and network with student leaders and community leaders.

If you're considering a career in law, then the Law Club is for you!  The Law Club is open to students of all majors who are thinking about pursuing a career in law.  The Law Club's regular meetings have frequent guest speakers such as attorneys,  judges, law students, and law professors.  These guest speakers present information and advice about deciding whether to go to law school, maximizing your chances of getting into law school, and what various careers in law are like.  The Law Club also gives advice on doing well on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and how to write a high-quality personal statement when you apply to law school.  The Law Club also has other events, such as performing volunteer service by helping clean trash from parks, streets, and neighborhoods in the local community.

Moot Court Team: students from the University compete in moot court as part of the American Moot Court Association. Moot court is a competitive co-curricular activity, where students engage in simulations of Supreme Court oral arguments.  Students learn how to make oral and written arguments using constitutional legal analysis.  Students compete and are judged by attorneys acting as Supreme Court justices. We practice twice a week and attend at least one competition a year.  Moot court is an activity that law schools typically require so this organization provides students a unique opportunity to familiarize themselves with the process as undergraduates.  Competitions are usually held at law schools, so students can tour the law school and learn more about it as part of their experience at the competition.  Moot court is valuable even for students who have no interest in going to law school.  In moot court, students use a variety of advocacy and research skills.  Students learn to make logical arguments using analytical reasoning, which comes in handy outside of law school.  If you are interested in learning more about moot court or would like to try out for the team, contact Dr. Kinzie Hall (kinziehall@louisiana.edu).