The Juris Doctor degree is a graduate degree that prepares students for sitting for a state bar exam and becoming licensed as a practicing attorney. The law student's first year typically focuses on doctrinal courses such as torts, contract law, constitutional law, civil procedure and property law. During the second and third year of law school, students take courses focusing on their intended areas of practice and courses that are heavily tested on the bar exam.
A Master of Laws, or LL.M., degree is a graduate degree designed for two different student populations. The most common student enrolling in an LL.M. program is a person who has a law degree from a country other than the United States who is training to sit for the bar in the United States. Most state bars require applicants for admission to possess a law degree from an accredited institution in the United States or to have earned an LL.M. to supplement their foreign training. The second group of students who earn an LL.M. are those with U.S. law degrees who want to focus their legal careers on specialized areas of law, such as tax law or labor law.
A bachelor's study in Criminal Justice focuses on the fundamentals of criminology, penology and policing. Much of this course of study is on the systems of justice, including Constitutional rights of criminal defendants prior to arrest, during trial and after conviction. Although the coursework may involve aspects of sociology and criminal psychology, the predominant focus is on prison operations and policing.
Although similar to an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice, a bachelor's degree in Law and Society focuses on sociology and psychology in the study of the American legal system. Coursework in Law and Society can include abnormal psychology, gender studies, political philosophy, international human rights and economics.