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What are all these law degrees other than a JD?

Is a Master of Jurisprudence the same as a Master of Law?
Tags: Masters, Doctorates, Academia
Apr 2, 2023

Table of Contents:

  1. Overview
  2. A deeper dive into the categories
  3. Academic masters degrees for non-lawyers
  4. Post-J.D. law degrees
  5. Research and academic-based doctorate level degrees

A lot of law schools offer programs that fall outside of the standard JD, and are usually called out with initialisms so it can get a bit confusing. There aren't many hard and fast rules when it comes to naming or categorizing these programs, so take this all with a grain of salt. This article is meant to provide a helping hand to understanding the options, but University websites and program alums are the best place to look for hard(er) facts.

There are 10 kinds of non-JD degrees separated into 3 categories:

Academic masters degrees for nonlawyers, such as:

  1. J.M. Juris Master
  2. M.J. Master of Jurisprudence
  3. M.S. Master of Science or Master of Studies
  4. M.P.S. Master of Professional Studies
  5. M.L.S. Master of Legal Studies

Post-J.D. law degrees for practicing lawyers and/or foreign lawyers seeking to practice in the U.S., such as:

  1. LL.M. Master of Laws
  2. M.C.L. Master of Comparative Law

Research and academic-based doctorate level degrees, such as:

  1. J.S.D. Doctor of Jurisprudence
  2. S.J.D. Doctor of Judicial Science
  3. D.C.L. Doctor of Comparative Law

A deeper dive into the categories:

Academic masters degrees for non-lawyers:

These degrees are designed for professionals who interact with lawyers and legal issues regularly in the course of their careers. These programs are designed to help people whose day-to-day work life would be better served with a broader understanding of the laws surrounding it? These programs are marketed to any non-lawyer in highly regulated industries who have completed their undergraduate education and are looking for a 1 year advanced degree. Some examples of people who attend these programs include HR professionals, law enforcement officers, and health administration professionals, among others. 

Although these degrees (Juris Master, Master of Jurisprudence, Master of Science or Master of Studies, Master of Professional Studies, and Master of Legal Studies) all have different names, they are generally just different names for the same thing. 

If you are considering a masters degree for nonlawyers. These programs can be helpful to some, but take your time in making the decision. These programs can be expensive and don’t qualify you for a specific job. You should consider them, but make sure you do your research.

Post-J.D. law degrees for US lawyers and foreign lawyers seeking to practice in the US:

These degrees allow qualified attorneys to specialize in a specific area of the law. For international lawyers this means focusing on a specific aspect of US law, and gaining the ability to take the Bar for a US State and practice as an attorney in the United States. 

These programs are predominantly composed of international students, with ~75% of the total LLM population in the United States coming from outside of the US.

While programs vary in quality, LLM programs at prestigious US law schools tend to be prestigious and are competitive to get into. 

Research and academic-based doctorate level degrees:

As the highest level of law degree, these doctorate level degrees (akin to a PhD) are suitable for law professionals who have already earned other advanced law degrees, such as the JD and the LLM. Doctorate degrees provide candidates with the rigorous knowledge they need to go onto careers as professors and scholars of law. 

Doctorate programs typically take two years to complete with a full-time course load, but they are usually followed by additional time to complete a dissertation. Doctoral program candidates typically already have JDs and LLMs so these doctoral programs usually don’t follow an in class curriculum consisting of required courses. Instead, candidates conduct their own legal research by working closely with professors while attending seminars. 

Law specific doctoral programs like the SJD are similar to PhDs, but focused on getting a job in the academic legal field. SJD programs’ goal is to prepare their students for a job in academic study or teaching of law. 

Windsor MIT '22, Harvard College Advisor

I am the half of LSD that didn't take the LSAT, or go to law school (Sorry about that). But I did go to MIT business school while surrounded by law students and lawyers, so I am somewhat qualified to talk about the intricacies of law school apps and finances.

Windsor (the dog) didn't write this but he WAS a Resident Tutor and career advisor at Harvard College with me, so deserves some credit.

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KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
18:47
@TruthTheX: praying for your gulc uprising
TruthTheX
19:15
Ty me too 🙏
TruthTheX
19:15
@Silver: if you want to practice in IL then there’s likely no better school than the in state schools
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:53
@SpectacularDefiantMouse: yeah, like condemnedpuffygnome, I'm not really preparing for law school by taking some courses or anything like that. The only way I'm going to be preparing is by getting myself into a rhythm schedule-wise, well enough in advance of the first day of classes, that I think will be necessary for me to do well 1L.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:54
I'm very much not in rhythm now. lol. But I've 3-ish months.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:55
I've got*
jb2028
19:55
@Silver: Cost of attendance is what matters. $37K in-state tuition = $47K sticker price with a $10K scholarship elsewhere, $70K sticker with a $40K scholarship is better than either, $40K sticker with a $0 scholarship worse than both.
jb2028
19:55
(Assuming placement etc. is comparable)
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:57
Congrats on Harvard, jb2028. Any reason you applied to A&M but not Texas at Austin? Seems odd.
jb2028
19:58
@BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool: Family connection, they gave me a CAS waiver so it was free
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:00
Ah, gotcha.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:04
Question for the chat about judicial internships (not externships). My understanding is that judicial internships (as opposed to externships) during the summer are unpaid. How, then, do people who get them pay living expenses during the summer? Do they just make loans stretch for 12 months when they're only meant for 9? I heard that some people supplement the internship with, e.g., a research assistant position with a law professor. But would such a person both do the internship and the RA position at the same time? And if so, is that too much work or feasible?
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:04
I don't know what the workload is really like for judicial internships and RA positions.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:05
Also curious what other things people might do to supplement an unpaid judicial internship over the summer with something paid.
jb2028
20:20
@BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool: Many schools will provide some type of stipend for unpaid summer roles with a public interest employer (defined broadly, often includes any gov or judicial job)
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:35
Right, I thought so. At BU, though, it appears that what's called BU's public interest project grant is not available to supplement judicial internships. And I think its public service summer funding is also limited. Oh well.
jb2028
21:13
@BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool: FWIW they allude to some type of funding ("BU Law has implemented separate funding sources for judicial interns") in this packet https://www.bu.edu/law/files/2023/11/Public-Service-Summer-Funding-Applicant-Packet-2024.pdf
jb2028
21:13
Although they don't give details, and as you note they don't guarantee funding to everyone (which is in line with other $ they offer, e.g. the LRAP)
TruthTheX
21:14
Anyone know how hard it is to do pro bono work as a 1L for judges or fed gov in general in the D.C. market
TruthTheX
21:14
Idk much about pro bono opportunities period but thinking I wanna try to get some work experience as soon as humanly possible
TruthTheX
21:14
When I begin law school I mean
jb2028
21:15
Lines up with BU's limited endowment: $81K per student a few years ago, i.e., enough to support a payout of about $3,250 per student per year at a 4% payout rate https://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leiter/2022/05/per-student-value-of-law-school-endowments-2021.html
jb2028
21:17
Seems like they're trying to compete with other schools on program headlines (we fund X, Y, and Z and we have an LRAP) but the endowment can't really support that, so they have all these programs but don't guarantee funding. Would not rely on that if you have alternatives.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
21:19
Thanks for those links. I'll give the public service summer funding information packet, in particular, a careful read. But yeah, your takeaway seems right.
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:33
i could really use some fried chicken right now
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:34
kfc or popeyes
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:34
or korean with gochujang
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:35
i might order some gochujang sauce on amazon and cook some air fried chicken breast filets, they’re really good
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:35
just letting you guys know :)
Mohammed
0:14
Where I can find the definition of the false-endowment?
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