Yale University has just announced that it is opening a new doctoral program in law. Unsurprisingly, it will be offered through the law school - in addition to the existing JSD program. Why in the world would you want a doctorate in law?
It seems like this might be designed to appeal to people who, in the past, might have obtained a Yale LLM to supplement a JD from a non-top 10 institution. I imagine that this degree will make these same people more marketable. The problem is that the law faculty hiring market is very much segmented. Different schools seek different attributes and hiring for different teaching areas can diverge radically.
The following considerations are commonly-used factors in hiring:
1. Quality of JD institution
2. Success in law school, including grades, law review, research assistantships, etc.
3. Quality of references
4. Publications - quality, quantity, and placement
5. Legal practice experience, including clerkships
6. Post JD academic experiences other than a Ph.D including fellowships, VAP's, and LLM's
7. Ph.D, with different cognate fields and different empirical methodologies having differing values and appealing to different institutions
8. Field of teaching, and depending on field, degree to which experience and publications suggest a genuine interest rather than strategic selection of soft teaching areas
How does this new three year, zero tuition Ph.D in law make it easier to get a job? According to the Yale press release:
To secure entry-level appointments at law schools, candidates are now expected to present a relatively mature scholarly profile; they need a defined research agenda and a substantial portfolio of writing. Students who do not pursue a Ph.D. in an allied discipline increasingly obtain these qualifications by completing post-J.D. fellowships, which afford the time and opportunity to write, but such fellowships do not provide in-depth scholarly training. By contrast, students completing the new Ph.D. in Law will be required to take coursework, pass qualifying examinations, and write a dissertation. Students will also learn how to teach, and will have the full support of Yale Law School’s Law Teaching Program, which has had remarkable success in placing graduates in tenure-track positions at law schools. The Ph.D. in Law will ensure that students have the necessary background and skills to launch them on successful scholarly careers.
Yale Law School’s Ph.D. in Law will offer a new, alternative route into a career in law teaching and legal scholarship,” said Dean Post. “Some students will no doubt seek advanced degrees in cognate disciplines, but for those who wish to concentrate on law, we expect that the Ph.D. in Law will provide an attractive option.”
I'm guessing that the three main virtues of the program are: getting a Yale degree on your cv (relevant particularly for non-superelite JD candidates); getting Yale references to make calls for you (if indeed they will do so for their Ph.D candidates); and getting a several publications on your AALS form.
I think that the Bigelow, and other similar fellowships, will be more valuable than this Ph.D. And a Ph.D from a comparable institution in a cognate field will also be more valuable - even after four years, before the dissertation is complete. The upside here, I think, is for people who are leaving practice after several years, have a non-elite JD, and would otherwise be looking at JSD programs. Most of these folks aren't able to get fellowships or VAP's and might not be able to get into a top 5 political science, economics, sociology, or history department either. The Yale Ph.D in Law won't promise most of these candidates jobs at elite schools - but it might do the lifting that the Yale LLM once did a generation ago.
Update: Brian Leiter has comments on the degree here and here. Jeff Harrison's comments are here. Kevin Jon Heller comments here. Jason Mazzone comments here.
I think your paragraph on the three virtues covers it. It is ultimately about institutional authority and references. I would add that if I am comparing candidates from a program designed to allow them to write in order to present a more attractive resume as opposed to someone slaving away in a law firm who manages to squeeze out an article, I would select the latter. My own far less benign analysis is herehttp://classbias.blogspot.com/2012/07/yale-tries-to-lock-up-law-professor.html#links
Posted by: Jeffrey Harrison | July 12, 2012 at 02:36 PM
Christopher Zorn has a post over at ELS Blog here: http://www.elsblog.org/the_empirical_legal_studi/
Posted by: Michelle Meyer | July 12, 2012 at 05:02 PM
I think there are benefits to having a bit more diversity on one's resumes than this would provide.
Posted by: Margaret Ryznar | July 12, 2012 at 06:05 PM
As an aspiring law prof, I'm glad to read others' reactions to the Yale law Ph.D news. It's a departure from the world of VAPs, fellowships, etc. - and one that I'm sincerely trying to understand and learn more about.
As an initial reaction, I wonder how the program compares with VAPs and the Bigelow as far as providing a collegial footing with tenure-track law professors (in terms of teaching, publishing, and overall engagement with the academic life of the institution) as compared to the more student-oriented mindset - a perhaps important question for those entering the academy and presenting themselves as one who can move smoothly into that world with a short ramp-up time. This may be something that will become clearer as details about the program are revealed.
It is also interesting to consider the impact on traditional hiring mindsets when, from what I understand, a primary concern is delving into the publishing/scholarship realm. Will there be a positive/negative response to a candidate who spent time working on methodology and examinations? It may be that there is room for a shift in expectations as the program becomes more established. It may also be that institutions ask more questions as to how the candidate spent that time and the value that he or she believes it added. I don't have the answers - and can't speculate - but I am very curious to learn more about the Yale degree over the coming months to see how it impacts me and other young scholars in my position.
Posted by: Rita_Trivedi | July 12, 2012 at 07:33 PM
Your articles are more than wow!
Posted by: growth hormone | July 13, 2012 at 09:09 AM
It is worth noting that PhD programmes in Law is already firmly established at British universities.
Posted by: Thom Brooks | July 13, 2012 at 09:10 AM
I agree with growth hormone!
Posted by: Eric Muller | July 13, 2012 at 04:42 PM
I wonder if Med Schools will soon put out a PhD in med. I understand that many MDs do get a PhD in a closely related field such as microbiology but I have yet to learn of a PhD in med. Somehow I rather doubt it will ever happen.
Posted by: Bill Turnier | July 14, 2012 at 08:52 AM
Doesn't Yale already have an LLM program focused on teacher training? And if so, does the PhD program have any real purpose other than creating a credentials arms race?
Posted by: Michael Lewyn | July 15, 2012 at 10:30 AM
Yale's Ph.D. in Law is only open for those holding a J.D. from an American law school. Other than that, however, I find it difficult to see any substantial differences between the Ph.D. and the J.S.D. Am I missing something?
Posted by: Bill Cusack | July 16, 2012 at 04:08 AM