Career Path

In this career, your responsibilities may include:

• Planning and teaching courses in a university law school.
• Working closely with students to help them achieve their academic and career goals.
• Staying informed about changes and innovations in the field of law.
• Researching, writing, and publishing scholarly articles on matters of the law.

Job Titles

In your job search, you may find job listings for this career under different titles. You can find some examples of these, as well as more information about this career, at Career One Stop.

Academic Requirements

Typically requires a U.S. Juris Doctor (JD), but many employers prefer a Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD) or a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD/JSD).

Both a PhD and an SJD/JSD are doctoral degrees, and considered equivalent in terms of being the highest level of law degree attainable. However, PhD in Law programs are designed specifically for graduates of U.S. JD programs.

If you received your law degree in another country, you must either obtain a JD degree from a U.S. program (possibly from an advanced standing program for internationally trained lawyers) in order to apply to PhD in Law programs, or else obtain an LLM instead, and then pursue an SJD/JSD as your doctoral degree.