<p>I always thought of law school has a graduate, rather professional degree. Someone told me that law is, in fact, a bachelors degree. She is Canadian and the Canadian degree is LLB, Bachelor of Laws. She says law is a professional degree and is not a graduate program, but rather an undergrad. Please note that Canadian law schools require an undergrad degree for admission. Whats the dilly here? Is this just a difference in terminology between the two countries or is law actually an undergrad/bachelors program?</p>
<p>in the states, law is a professional school. you can undergrad major in pre-law if youre absolutely sure you want to go to law school though.</p>
<p>yeah i thought that too but now i have my doubts. The canadian system is almost identical so now im wondering about this. She went on to say that the LLM is the master of laws so a law degree is undergrad. Perhaps shes mistaken and law is a professional school and the LLM is a graduate program?</p>
<p>okay well - like 50-60 years ago, and further back, you could get in the united states an LL.B., which was a bachelors in law. Law is one of the original course of studies in western higher education. Infact, if you look at some firm websites, and you look at the really really really old partners, (in their 70s) you might see some of the with LL.B. after their name instead of J.D. </p>
<p>However, it has changed now. First, you can't "major" in pre-law. You can take a pre-law track, but theres no such thing as a bachelors in "pre-law" - just as theres not "pre-med" major...its just a track. However, there are no prerequisites for law school, as opposed for med school.</p>
<p>A law degree in the united states is a doctorate. you receive a Juris Doctor degree, or J.D. It is about an additional (depending on school) 90 credits of law school classes after you finish your undergraduate degree. While law school is a professional school, you receive a bonafied doctorate, as opposed to business school, where you receive a masters. This degree (or an old school LL.B.), and a passing grade on your states bar exam is all you need to practice law in the U.S.</p>
<p>The J.D. isn't terminal however, you can get LL.M.'s Master of Laws in specialty areas, such as tax law or judicial process. For all intents and purposes, these are "add ons" to your doctorate degree (an LL.M. degree, though varying by school, is only about 24 credits). "Master of Laws" is simply the name of it. If you get one of these degrees, you are probably working or trying to work for a very presitigious firm as a specialist.</p>
<p>You can go even further beyond an LL.M. and receive an S.J.D. (or J.S.D.)which is called a "Doctor of Judicial Science." This is the terminal law degree. This degree is held mostly by professors who teach at the most prestigous law schools (harvard, yale, nyu, virginia, berkeley, chicago and a handful of others)</p>
<p>and there you have it :-).</p>
<p>A law degree in the U.S. is a first-professional doctorate, not a research doctorate, so lawyers are not called "Dr." The J.D. used to be called the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.).</p>
<p>Let me add emphasis to the statement that essentially, there is no such thing as a "pre-law" major. The American law degree is a graduate/professional school degree. All a law school admissions committee wants to know is whether or not you had solid grades and can think your way out of a paper bag. Essentially, any undergraduate major will do for Law School admission. So choose your undergraduate major based on your desires and intellectual interests. Really don't fritter away your valuable undergraduate days taking only government or constitutional law classes. Any field that requires writing and research is good. I know accountants and zoologists whom posess law degrees.</p>