I'm at one of the top 5 law schools in the US. As part of our studies, we are allowed to take up to 5 non-law courses and receive credit toward our degree.

I've dabbled in programming (back in high school circa 1998-2002), and was hoping to take an undergrad programming course because I believe that having some familiarity with computer programming is an increasingly important skill to develop. I recently registered for an undergraduate computer programming course, only to be told by the registrar that the only undergraduate courses law students are allowed to receive credit for are foreign languages. Computer languages, it turns out, do not fall into this exemption.

The graduate level CS courses are well above my level of aptitude in the subject matter, and many have prerequisite requirements that I do not meet. Therefore, sadly, my school's policy effectively prevented me from taking any CS courses at the university.

I'm graduating in June, so the opportunity has passed for me. However, I strongly believe that law school students (or any graduate students for that matter) would benefit from the ability to take computer programming classes. I'd like to write a letter to the dean requesting a change in this policy, given the increasing importance of a foundational knowledge of computer programming.

What is the strongest argument to be made for allowing law school students to take introductory (undergraduate-level) computer programming courses for credit?

HN, I would truly appreciate your input and any relevant sources of reference.