Overview
The degree has several variants, including a Master of Studies in Law degree (at Yale Law School, Northeastern University School of Law, The University of Iowa, [2] University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Toronto, and the University of Western Ontario), for example, or a Master in the Study of Law (at Ohio State) or Hamline University (www.hamline.edu), or a Master in Law (at the University of Pennsylvania Law School). [3] Cornell Law School launched the Master of Science in Legal Studies (MSLS) program in January 2021. This graduate program is designed to provide a unique educational experience, which can be compared to an executive MBA program, but with a specific focus on corporate law. Courses are taught by full-time professors affiliated with both the Cornell Law School and SC Johnson Business School.
In June 2015, Fordham University School of Law launched an M.S.L. with specializations in Corporate Compliance [4] and Fashion Law. [5] In March 2007 The Ohio Board of Regents approved M.S.L. Degree for the University of Dayton School of Law, and beginning in the Fall of 2014, Washburn University School of Law offers M.S.L. classes to individuals engaged in a wide range of parallel professions. Drexel University offers a Master of Legal Studies program as of 2013. West Virginia University offers a Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) completely online as part of its nationally ranked Division of Public Administration. University of Washington School of Law offers a Masters of Jurisprudence in Employment and Human Resources, Environmental Regulation, Health Law, Indigenous Rights, Intellectual Property Law and Policy, Sustainable International Development Law, Tax Law, and Technology Law. Arizona State University also offers an M.L.S. Seattle University School of Law offers a Master of Legal Studies degree as of 2016. The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, and the Albany Law School in New York, both offer M.S. degrees in several concentrations. The Vermont Law School offers a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) degree (formally known as the Master of Studies in Environmental Law (MSEL) degree). As of 2011, UC Hastings will be offering a Master of Studies in Law (MSL) and LLM in Law, Science and Health Policy programs together with the University of California, San Francisco. Since 2004, Friends University has offered a Master of Studies in Business Law (MSBL). Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law introduced their Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) program entirely online in 2012, and can be completed in under two years. Willamette University College of Law in Oregon offers a one-year Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program designed for professionals whose job involves working within a legal or regulatory framework. [6] Trinity Law School recently introduced an online MLS program that can be taken as a general degree or with one of five emphases, most of which focus on Christian topics such as bioethics, Church and Ministry Management, and Human Rights. [7] Loyola University Chicago School of Law offers M.J. degrees in Children's Law & Policy (online), Compliance & Enterprise Risk Management (online), Health Law (online), and Rule of Law for Development. [8]
From the mid-1970s until 2004, there was also a unique M.S.L. program at Yale Law School for journalists. The program was a competitive fellowship offered to three or four applicants a year, chosen by the university. Yale provided free tuition, and the fellows also received a living stipend provided originally by the Ford Foundation and later by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. A number of reporters who currently cover the Supreme Court or other law-related issues for major mainstream media organizations are former fellows, including Barbara Bradley of NPR (1994), Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times (1978), Charles Lane (journalist) of the Washington Post (1997), Neil A. Lewis of the New York Times (1979), Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe (2003), and Viveca Novak of Time Magazine (1986). The program lost its funding after the 2003–04 academic year when the Knight Foundation declined to renew its grant, but is still offered to doctoral students and graduates and journalists on a tuition basis. M.L.S programs offered through Stanford Law School and the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law provide the opportunity for interdisciplinary research as well as a foundational legal education in U.S. law. The University of Colorado Boulder offers an MSL degree in Ethics and Compliance, with the opportunity for a variety of specializations including: cyber-security/information privacy, health care, marijuana, and finance among some others.
Appalachian School of Law also offers a Juris Masters (J.M.) to students who complete their first full semester of full letter-graded course work (Typically after the completion of their second year of law school). Covering Contracts, Professional Responsibility, Property, Civil Procedure, All legal writing courses, Wills and Estates, Business Association or Agency/Corporations, Evidence, Constitutional Law, and Torts.
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree in law. The JD is the standard degree obtained to practice law in the United States, where there is no undergraduate professional law degree. Some jurisdictions, such as Australia, Canada and Hong Kong, offer both the JD and undergraduate qualifying law degrees.
Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL continues to be the primary postgraduate taught course in law. It is also taught as an undergraduate degree in other countries. The reference to civil law was not originally in contradistinction to common law, but to canon law, although it is true that common law was not taught in the civil law faculties in either university until at least the second half of the 18th century. However, some universities in English-speaking countries use the degree in the former sense.
Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular jurisdiction, to provide a greater breadth of knowledge to those working in other professions such as politics or business, to provide current lawyers with advanced training or greater specialisation, or to update lawyers on recent developments in the law.
The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Toronto. The Faculty's admissions process is the most selective of law schools in Canada and is one of the most selective in North America. The Faculty has consistently been ranked as the top law school for Common Law in Canada by Maclean's since it began to publish law school rankings. The Faculty offers the JD, LLM, SJD, MSL, and GPLLM degrees in law.
Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom, Europe and most common law jurisdictions. It is awarded by universities in Europe, Australia, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Macau S.A.R., Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Botswana, Israel, Brazil, Tanzania, Zambia, and other jurisdictions.
A Master of Laws is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In most jurisdictions, the LL.M. is the advanced professional degree for those usually already admitted into legal practice.
Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy (MFALP), Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL), and dual degrees with a diverse range of institutions. According to the school's 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 61.5% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
Roger Williams University School of Law is the law school of Roger Williams University, a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island. It is the only law school in Rhode Island. It was the first graduate degree program established by the university, then Roger Williams College, in 1993. The School of Law has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1997 and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 2006. It is one of a handful of law schools within the United States that offer a focus in Maritime Law. Roger Williams University School of law offers guaranteed clinical hands-on experience. It is also the lowest priced ABA accredited private law school in the Northeast, at a tuition of $44,834 for the 2023-2034 year. RWU Law also offers a second experiential campus in the heart of Providence, Rhode Island. There were 179 students enrolled as first-year students in 2022.
The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), also referred to as the Master of Library and Information Studies, is the master's degree that is required for most professional librarian positions in the United States. The MLIS is a relatively recent degree; an older and still common degree designation for librarians to acquire is the Master of Library Science (MLS), or Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) degree. According to the American Library Association (ALA), "The master’s degree in library and information studies is frequently referred to as the MLS; however, ALA-accredited degrees have various names such as Master of Information Studies, Master of Arts, Master of Librarianship, Master of Library and Information Studies, or Master of Science. The degree name is determined by the program. The [ALA] Committee for Accreditation evaluates programs based on their adherence to the Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies, not based on the name of the degree."
A law school is an institution or professional school specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a judge, lawyer, or other legal professional within a given jurisdiction.
DePaul University College of Law is the professional graduate law school of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 125 full- and part-time faculty members and enrolls more than 500 students in its Juris Doctor program. The school is recognized for its health law and intellectual property law programs, its experiential learning opportunities, and for its multiple joint degree programs offered in conjunction with other DePaul University colleges and schools, including the BA/JD 3+3.
The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law is a private law school in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. It is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission and approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California.
The Faculty of Law and Justice of the University of New South Wales is a law school situated in Sydney, Australia. It is widely regarded as one of Australia's top law schools. The 2021 QS World University Rankings rank the UNSW Law Faculty 13th in the world, first for undergraduate law in Australia, 2nd overall in Australia and 3rd in the Asia-Pacific region, and the 2021 Times Higher Education subject rankings also rank it second in Australia, making it the top ranked law school in New South Wales according to both tables, as well as being the top undergraduate Law school in the country.
The Willamette University College of Law is the law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Willamette is the oldest law school in the Pacific Northwest. It has approximately 24 full-time law professors and enrolls about 300 students, with about 100 of those enrolled in their first year of law school. The campus is located across the street from the Oregon State Capitol and the Oregon Supreme Court Building; the College is located in the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center.
Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test takers passed the bar exam, placing the law schools' graduates as fifth-best at passing the New York bar exam among New York's 15 law schools.
Legal education in the Philippines is developed and offered by Philippine law schools, supervised by the Legal Education Board. Previously, the Commission on Higher Education supervises the legal education in the Philippines but was replaced by the Legal Education Board since 1993 after the enactment of Republic Act No. 7662 or the Legal Education Reform Act of 1993.
The University of Dayton School of Law (UDSL) is a private law school located in Dayton, Ohio at Keller Hall. It is affiliated with the University of Dayton, which is a Catholic university of the Society of Mary. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
California Southern University is a private, for-profit, university in Costa Mesa, California. California Southern University is currently a member of the American InterContinental University System. It offers associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs online in psychology, business and management, risk management and regulatory compliance, criminal justice, nursing, and education.
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science, Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL.D.).
Mitchell Hamline School of Law is a private law school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and offers full and part-time legal education for its Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.
