Which graduate path to take?

juillet
Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:13:32 +0000

I do think you would need a JD. A PhD in sociology won’t prepare you to teach law at a law school. I went to the website of one of the unranked schools (Duquesne) and even all of their law professors had JDs. What’s more, academic law is SO competitive that you need a JD from a good law school, too. Duquesne is an unranked law school and they have professors who did their JDs at Penn, Chicago, Yale, Pittsburgh, BC, etc.

A lot of law professors get a JD + an LLM, or an MA, or a PhD. I have a friend who is doing her PhD in my program; she already has a JD (from Penn) but she wants to be a law professor so she’s doing this too.

It’s cool to have multiple interests but you have to choose one. Which one would you rather spend 5+ years of your life studying, sociology or philosophy? You also have to consider the possibility (very real) that you won’t get a job as a law professor and have to do something else. Personally, I think a PhD in sociology offers more job prospects (both inside academia and out) than a PhD in philosophy. I would aim for that JD/PhD and focus your studies around sexuality and gender law, but you can study multiple aspects of that - philosophy and theory as well as social science. A lot of sociologists pair theory with their social science research.

No need to get two degrees. Select a PhD program that has a strong focus in sexuality and gender, possibly one where you can concurrently complete a graduate certificate or MA in gender studies (Michigan has this opportunity). The JSP program at Berkeley law could also be good to pair with the JD there. But you’ll need a JD.