¶ … student with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications, minors in both Psychology and Sociology, and a desire to attend law school, my request to enter a Biochemistry program may be unusual. After all, people who focus on the hard sciences usually do so because of plans to work in a particular industry or to pursue additional field-specific education via Masters or PhD programs. Because I have no intention of pursuing a graduate degree in Biochemistry or a related field, I may, in fact, seem to be a flawed candidate for the Biochemistry program, who would be taking up space in a highly competitive program that might be better used for someone who intends to pursue Biochemistry. However, my goal in attending law school is to pursue patent law. To become eligible to sit for the Patent Bar, a candidate must have a demonstrable science or technical background. Therefore, the Biochemistry program would be crucial to helping me attain my life goals, as it would provide me with the technical experience I need to meet my educational and professional goals.
In addition, while enrolled in the Biochemistry program, I would also like to take courses focusing on financial accounting. Finances are an inescapable aspect of the legal field. An attorney must be able to value things in order to examine whether there has been any damage to a client, and, if so, what type of remuneration to seek. However, law schools do not provide the opportunities for students to hone their financial skills. Even if I were to seek...
Moreover, the degree requirements for my current degree did not focus on accounting-level math. While I feel that my math skills are more than sufficient for daily living and for most careers, I do not feel that they would be adequate for my desires to pursue a career in patent law. Instead, I feel like my future ability to zealously represent clients, the ultimate goals of all attorneys, would be greatly enhanced by having the opportunity to learn accounting skills.
Up until this point, I have focused on why entry into the Biochemistry program would benefit me, as an individual. However, I understand that an educational institution needs to examine how the people it admits to an academic program will benefit that chosen field, and, ultimately, prove to be a benefit to society. The traditional route to patent law is for a person to pursue an undergraduate degree in engineering and then attend law school. The result of this traditional route is that most patent attorneys have a very well-developed understanding of the scientific method and of engineering principles. However, many of them may not have the backgrounds in biology and chemistry that are critical to evaluations of developing medical or pharmaceutical patents. Healthcare and innovation are two of the most critical area in scientific innovation.…
