48 Best Social Sciences Juris Doctor (JD) Degree Programs for 2025

Your goal is to become a licensed attorney: to represent clients in court, provide legal counsel, prepare and deliver trial statements, take depositions, negotiate settlements, and perform other traditional attorney functions. Concord Law School is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California. The Juris Doctor (JD) degree program focuses on the knowledge and skills necessary for you to become an effective member of the legal profession.

At SJCL, the study of law is an intense endeavor, but the skills and doctrines learned will benefit you professionally on a daily basis. Our small class sizes allow students to receive individual attention from faculty. At SJCL, the competition is against one’s self and high professional standards – not other students. The staff at SJCL understands that many students have responsibilities that extend beyond law school. Every effort is made to facilitate each student’s personal academic success through our Academic Support Program. Dedicated faculty members regularly hold study and review sessions. Students are encouraged to organize study groups – building camaraderie that translates into professional contacts after graduation. San Joaquin College of Law is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California, as well as by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.

First-year full-time students are automatically registered for only the required courses offered in the first-year full-time curriculum. After the first year, full-time students are expected to enroll in no fewer than 12 units and no more than 17 units. Full-time students usually enroll in day courses but, space permitting, may elect evening offerings. To be eligible for federal financial aid, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 units. For purposes of student loans and loan repayment, students taking 12 or more units per semester are considered full-time students.

The real estate world had been rocked for several years. Millions of home owners were “under water,” owing more on their mortgages than their homes were worth. Foreclosures were up and home sales were down. Commercial real estate also suffered. The real estate industry has rebounded, and we are again experiencing construction of new homes and office buildings.

The School of Law's required and core courses provide the substantive and procedural knowledge that all attorneys must-have. A comprehensive writing program, beginning the first year with the Introduction to Lawyering Skills courses and continuing throughout the The largely elective upper-class curriculum provides one of the most comprehensive sequences of lawyering-skills courses of any law school in the country. Simulation courses help students develop the full range of skills, including trial and appellate advocacy; pretrial litigation; interviewing, negotiating, and counseling; mediation and alternative dispute resolution; and planning and drafting. You will then have opportunities to test your abilities in the "real world" by participating in the School of Law's award-winning clinics or externships. Interested in focusing on certain areas of law? Our curriculum is designed to provide for nine upper-class concentrations that encourage students to explore an area of the law in depth before choosing a career path. This in-depth study, while not intended to produce a "specialist" in a particular area of the law, provides students with a sophisticated understanding of the area and with the complex lawyering skills that cannot be gained through a more general legal education.

The Business Law area of concentration provides students with the background necessary to succeed as business lawyers in the global financial world. UC Davis law graduates with a Business Law concentration work in law firms, corporations, consulting and accounting companies, and nonprofit organizations throughout the world.

The Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree is a graduate, professional doctorate degree that is conferred upon those who complete the school's J.D. program.

The Health Law & Policy Program at the Southern Illinois University School of Law was developed in the early 1980s to advance education and research regarding critical issues in health law and public policy, and medical ethics.

The JD - Juris Doctor is a professional law degree. It is the degree that most law students must attain to entitle them to take a bar examination and, upon passing, become a licensed attorney.

Established in 1924, the school prepares students for success through a challenging curriculum taught by nationally recognized faculty. The program has alumni in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, two territories, and 20 countries with successful careers in the legal profession and other fields.

The College of Law combines traditional and innovative teaching methods to provide a dynamic professional program. The three-year Juris Doctor curriculum is designed to develop students’ analytical ability, practical knowledge, communications skills, and an understanding of the codes of responsibility and ethics central to the practice of law. Students also may enroll in certificate programs offered in several popular practice areas.

The Juris Doctor is conferred upon the successful completion of the three-year, full-time legal study program at Georgia Law. On average, greater than 95 percent of the members of each entering class graduate. The J.D. graduate must complete the 1L Curriculum, earn a minimum of 88 semester credit hours, satisfy our upper-level writing requirements, and complete the required course in The Law and Ethics of Lawyering, as well as a Practical Skills offering.

SULC’s Juris Doctor (JD) program offers professional training in the areas of civil (specific to Louisiana) and common law. The program aims to prepare its graduates with the skills and knowledge to be highly effective, competent, and ethical professionals who possess a deep sense of community.

While law schools have traditionally taught all students in the same way for all three years, at W&L Law, you will encounter a sequence of learning experiences rooted in the basic assumption that each year of law school should present new and different challenges while pushing you further along the continuum from beginning law student to lawyer-to-be. This allows the School to produce lawyers who are better positioned to provide valuable service to their clients and employers from the outset of their careers.

At the University of Washington (UW) Law, you will learn in a real-world environment that offers the programs and partnerships crucial to a successful legal career. Your course of study is open to whatever stimulates your intellect and fuels your passion. You will leave here with the skills you need to make an impact in Washington and the world.

At the University of Wisconsin (UW) Law, innovation is nothing new. Our hallmark law-in-action approach to teaching makes UW Law a different kind of law school.

Rutgers Law School’s curriculum ensures professional skills and values within a theoretical framework that promotes intellectual growth and a commitment to social justice.

Campbell Law’s historically strong competitive advocacy program has reaped numerous awards in recent years, including six national titles in 2019 alone. Since 2012, Campbell Law student advocates have amassed one international championship, 10 national championships, five national runners-up, nine national semifinalists, nine regional championships, and at least 20 national individual best advocate awards. preLaw Magazine once again ranked Campbell Law among its Top Law Schools for Trial Advocacy in its Spring 2019 issue.

Barry University combines traditional and innovative teaching methods to provide a dynamic, professional program. The JD curriculum is designed to develop student's analytical ability, communication skills, and understanding of the codes of professional responsibility and ethics that are central to law practice.

The J.D. program at Penn State Law is a three-year, six-semester course of study offered in University Park, Pennsylvania. The first-year curriculum and certain upper-level courses are required; all other courses are elective.