Online Law degrees

[evanmonast]

Right off the bat I want to say that I have zero intentions of ever practicing law, ever. My girlfriend is a college professor and recently I’ve been envying her career choice more and more. When I get out of the military I would like to follow her path and become a professor at the community college I started at. Ideally I would want to be a criminal justice professor.

I plan on having my undergrad done at UMPI by July and my MBA from WGU done by Feb 2023.

Of course this gives me a resume solid enough to be considered but just a Pre-Law minor doesn’t exactly show that I have enough knowledge in criminal justice to be selected over other candidates.

By the time I finish my MBA I will have about 4 years left on my military contract, just enough time to fit a JD in there.

My question is would a JD from Concord Law (Purdue Global) or Northwestern Cali. University or any other online law school grant me a legitimate JD? I know I can only sit for the bar in Cali. But again I have no intentions of actually practicing law, I just want to pad my resume and have a doctorate level degree should I ever get an opportunity to teach at a 4 year University.

[carrythenothing]

ABA-approved law schools with approved distance education J.D. programs: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal...-programs/

University of Dayton School of Law
Loyola Law School (Los Angeles)
Mitchell Hamline College of Law
University of New Hampshire School of Law
St. Mary’s University School of Law
Seattle University School of Law
South Texas College of Law-Houston
Suffolk University Law School
Syracuse University College of Law
Vermont Law School

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I'd also recommend looking at postings through HigherEdJobs, nearby community colleges, etc. to find out whether you'd meet the requirements of criminal justice faculty with a JD.

[Jonathan Whatley]

The California Committee of Bar Examiners is not a USDOED or CHEA recognized accrediting agency. A law school approved or accredited only by Cal Bar is unlikely to be considered regionally, nationally, or institutionally accredited in the context of college instructor credentialing.

Northwestern California University, for example, holds no DOED or CHEA recognized accreditation. Some Cal Bar non-ABA schools do hold RA, including Concord through Purdue Global.

A huge part of a JD will have nothing to do with criminal justice, and a large part of college instruction in criminal justice won't be addressed in the core courses of a JD and might not be addressed in any elective courses in a given JD either.

If it were easy for a JD, and what's more a JD who might not have passed the bar or practiced law for a day, to get a college teaching job in another field related to law, would we have heard so much for the past ten or twenty years about an employment crisis among law school grads?

[evanmonast]

I do appreciate your list and I will check out those links but my question was if non ABA-Approved degrees were still legitimate doctorate level degrees regardless of their standing with the ABA.

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The California Committee of Bar Examiners is not a USDOED or CHEA recognized accrediting agency. A law school approved or accredited only by Cal Bar is unlikely to be considered regionally, nationally, or institutionally accredited in the context of college instructor credentialing.

Northwestern California University, for example, holds no DOED or CHEA recognized accreditation. Some Cal Bar non-ABA schools do hold RA, including Concord through Purdue Global.

A huge part of a JD will have nothing to do with criminal justice, and a large part of college instruction in criminal justice won't be addressed in the core courses of a JD and might not be addressed in any elective courses in a given JD either.

If it were easy for a JD, and what's more a JD who might not have passed the bar or practiced law for a day, to get a college teaching job in another field related to law, would we have heard so much for the past ten or twenty years about an employment crisis among law school grads?

So a degree from Concord Law through Purdue is a real degree regardless if I take the Cal Bar? 

I've looked through the course lists of many Law Schools and they seem to be right on par with the the courses of the school I want to teach at. At least on the surface, they have the same titles and similar descriptions. Criminal Justice is a double edged blade and can be related to police and policing or legal studies. Criminal Justice isn't just for those who want to go into law enforcement. 

I didn't say I was looking for an easy JD, I just don't want to take on a house sized debt if I don't have to. The listed qualifications for most CCs is just a masters degree, I would get a JD to go above and beyond.

[carrythenothing]

I do appreciate your list and I will check out those links but my question was if non ABA-Approved degrees were still legitimate doctorate level degrees regardless of their standing with the ABA.

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The California Committee of Bar Examiners is not a USDOED or CHEA recognized accrediting agency. A law school approved or accredited only by Cal Bar is unlikely to be considered regionally, nationally, or institutionally accredited in the context of college instructor credentialing.

Northwestern California University, for example, holds no DOED or CHEA recognized accreditation. Some Cal Bar non-ABA schools do hold RA, including Concord through Purdue Global.

A huge part of a JD will have nothing to do with criminal justice, and a large part of college instruction in criminal justice won't be addressed in the core courses of a JD and might not be addressed in any elective courses in a given JD either.

If it were easy for a JD, and what's more a JD who might not have passed the bar or practiced law for a day, to get a college teaching job in another field related to law, would we have heard so much for the past ten or twenty years about an employment crisis among law school grads?

So a degree from Concord Law through Purdue is a real degree regardless if I take the Cal Bar? 

I've looked through the course lists of many Law Schools and they seem to be right on par with the the courses of the school I want to teach at. At least on the surface, they have the same titles and similar descriptions. Criminal Justice is a double edged blade and can be related to police and policing or legal studies. Criminal Justice isn't just for those who want to go into law enforcement. 

I didn't say I was looking for an easy JD, I just don't want to take on a house sized debt if I don't have to. The listed qualifications for most CCs is just a masters degree, I would get a JD to go above and beyond.

Yes, it's a "real degree" in that it's from a regionally accredited school. For almost any faculty position, "above and beyond" would mean a PhD in Criminal Justice and not a JD. Positions that require a JD will most likely specify an ABA-approved program as preferred or required. That's why I suggested you look at position listings.

[bjcheung77]

@OP, I wouldn't spend that much cash on a JD degree from Concord, I would however look into getting a Masters in CJ/Law related subjects and then when you're working, see if you have tuition assistance/reimbursement. I think there are many online JD programs in California, you don't have to go for an RA, if NA would work, there's Taft Law School, or even a State Recognized program may do, but I usually recommend either NA or RA when you're at the doctorate level.

[evanmonast]

I do appreciate your list and I will check out those links but my question was if non ABA-Approved degrees were still legitimate doctorate level degrees regardless of their standing with the ABA.

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The California Committee of Bar Examiners is not a USDOED or CHEA recognized accrediting agency. A law school approved or accredited only by Cal Bar is unlikely to be considered regionally, nationally, or institutionally accredited in the context of college instructor credentialing.

Northwestern California University, for example, holds no DOED or CHEA recognized accreditation. Some Cal Bar non-ABA schools do hold RA, including Concord through Purdue Global.

A huge part of a JD will have nothing to do with criminal justice, and a large part of college instruction in criminal justice won't be addressed in the core courses of a JD and might not be addressed in any elective courses in a given JD either.

If it were easy for a JD, and what's more a JD who might not have passed the bar or practiced law for a day, to get a college teaching job in another field related to law, would we have heard so much for the past ten or twenty years about an employment crisis among law school grads?

So a degree from Concord Law through Purdue is a real degree regardless if I take the Cal Bar? 

I've looked through the course lists of many Law Schools and they seem to be right on par with the the courses of the school I want to teach at. At least on the surface, they have the same titles and similar descriptions. Criminal Justice is a double edged blade and can be related to police and policing or legal studies. Criminal Justice isn't just for those who want to go into law enforcement. 

I didn't say I was looking for an easy JD, I just don't want to take on a house sized debt if I don't have to. The listed qualifications for most CCs is just a masters degree, I would get a JD to go above and beyond.

Yes, it's a "real degree" in that it's from a regionally accredited school. For almost any faculty position, "above and beyond" would mean a PhD in Criminal Justice and not a JD. Positions that require a JD will most likely specify an ABA-approved program as preferred or required. That's why I suggested you look at position listings.

I went to the school over the course of 4 years and don’t think I ran into a single PhD holder in any of my courses Gen. Ed. or Criminal Justice. No positions require a JD.

Is it enough that the school is regionally accredited or does the specific program’s accreditation matter?

I failed to mention in my original post that I needed a completely online program and ideally under $1300/credit too. Unfortunately none of those options I could entertain due to the residency requirements anyway but again I thank you for the input.

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@OP, I wouldn't spend that much cash on a JD degree from Concord, I would however look into getting a Masters in CJ/Law related subjects and then when you're working, see if you have tuition assistance/reimbursement. I think there are many online JD programs in California, you don't have to go for an RA, if NA would work, there's Taft Law School, or even a State Recognized program may do, but I usually recommend either NA or RA when you're at the doctorate level.

I was thinking about going for a Master of Law and Public Policy but I was just afraid of it’s limited use vs an MBA. But that’s certainly something I’ll have to consider, the head of the CJ department actually holds a Master of Law degree or something with a similar title!

[Vle045]

If you want to teach Criminal Justice, this would be more appropriate.

https://info.waldenu.edu/walden-programs...lsrc=aw.ds

A law degree would not bring anything to the table.

[Alpha]

I do appreciate your list and I will check out those links but my question was if non ABA-Approved degrees were still legitimate doctorate level degrees regardless of their standing with the ABA.

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I know that I'm opening a small can of worms with this but, IMOHO, a JD is not a Doctoral degree.  I consider it to be a Masters-level degree.  I know that there are some who disagree and that's fine.  I'm bringing it up as I think it may not be seen as an adequate credential for full-time teaching in the Criminal Justice field at the university level.  I think there are a lot of people with PhDs in CJ competing for those jobs.  This is not to say the JD, as you've described it, is not a legitimate degree.  But in general, the JD is for those interested in practising law, not teaching CJ.  If you go forward with the JD I'd strongly suggest a program that allows you to take the bar exam (there are those that don't).  You may not want to practise law today but you don't know that you'll feel the same way in 20 years.  

[ss20ts]

JD = Juris Doctorate

How is that not a doctorate? It is NOT a master's degree. A master's in law is a LLM = Master of Law.

JD is 80+ credits.