Contrary to popular misconception, students planning to attend law school need not major in pre-law as an undergraduate student. In fact, many law schools look for a wide variety of undergraduate majors in order to foster diversity within their own school. Other popular majors that students often pursue en route to law school include history, political science, psychology, sociology and general studies (liberal arts). It is important to note that the American Bar Association (ABA) does not make any specific recommendations as to which undergraduate degree students should pursue. Students need a wide range of skills and knowledge upon entry into law school, and many undergraduate majors provide these. The ABA lists several essential skills on its website as necessary for successful completion of law school: problem solving and analytic skills, oral and listening communication skills, organization and management skills, critical reading and writing abilities, research skills and experience in public service. In any case, a bachelor's degree in conjunction with Law School Admission Test scores (and any other requirements of the school) in any field will qualify a student for entry into law school.
Law school usually takes about three years to complete. The standard degree to practice law in the United States is the Juris Doctor (J.D.). The J.D. degree is considered to be a professional degree that qualifies students for a number of career options. While the most common usage of the degree is the practice of law, some law school graduates will go on to pursue careers in government, post-secondary education, research and even organizational leadership. The J.D. degree covers a wide range of topics within the legal profession; many J.D. programs offer students opportunities to focus or specialize in particular aspects of law such as corporate, civil or criminal law. Sometimes these specializations are offered as post-graduate certificates as well.
While no other degrees are required beyond the J.D. degree, many of the top law schools such as Harvard, Yale and Stanford (as well as many others) offer joint-degree opportunities. Specializing in one area of law as part of the J.D. program sometimes does not provide law school students with the necessary knowledge of the field necessary to be successful. For this reason, many law students will take advantage of joint-degree opportunities to further hone their knowledge and skills in a secondary field. For instance, students specializing in business law may wish to pursue the Master of Business Administration in addition to the J.D. Other popular degree choices include the Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Policy, Master of Urban Planning and the Ph.D. in various fields. Students wanting to teach law are generally required to have obtained the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D.).