Editing Juris Doctor (section)

==In academia==
In the United States, the Juris Doctor is the degree that prepares the recipient to enter the law profession (as do the [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]] or [[Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine|DO]] in the medical profession and the [[Doctor of Dental Surgery|DDS]] or DMD in the dental profession). While the JD is the sole degree necessary to become a professor of law or to obtain a license to practice law, it (like the MD, DO, DDS, or DMD) is not a research degree.<ref>
{{cite book
 |editor1-first=Kenneth Kaoma |editor1-last=Mwenda
 |editor2-first=Gerry Nkombo  |editor2-last=Muuka
 |year=2009
 |chapter=The academic rank of a J.D.
 |title=The Challenge of Change in Africa's Higher Education in the 21st&nbsp;Century
 |pages=87–88
 |publisher=Cambria Press
 |isbn=978-1-60497-610-6
 |postscript=none
}} – see esp. Mwenda's comments on pp.&nbsp;87–88, in the section labeled "The Academic Rank of a JD" and the quoted material from Pappas immediately preceding it.
</ref>

Research degrees in the study of law include the [[Master of Laws]] (LLM), which ordinarily requires the JD as a prerequisite,<ref name="law.yale.edu">{{cite web
 |title=LL.M. admission
 |publisher=Yale Law School
 |website=Law.yale.edu
 |url=https://www.law.yale.edu/studying-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs/llm-program/llm-admission
 |access-date=17 April 2017
 |archive-date=10 January 2017
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110104317/https://www.law.yale.edu/studying-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs/llm-program/llm-admission
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> and the [[Doctor of Juridical Science]] (SJD/JSD), which ordinarily requires the LLM as a prerequisite.<ref name="law.yale.edu"/>

However, the [[American Bar Association]], which accredits US law schools, has issued a Council Statement stating:<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Council Statements
 |website=ABANet.org
 |department=Legal Education Accreditation
 |publisher=[[American Bar Association]]
 |url=http://www.abanet.org/legaled/accreditation/Council%20Statements.pdf
 |access-date=17 April 2017
 |archive-date=26 July 2010
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726103926/http://www.abanet.org/legaled/accreditation/Council%20Statements.pdf
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> <blockquote>''WHEREAS, the acquisition of a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree requires from 84 to 90 semester hours of post baccalaureate study and the Doctor of Philosophy degree usually requires 60 semester hours of post baccalaureate study along with the writing of a dissertation, the two degrees shall be considered as equivalent degrees for educational employment purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/Standards/2013_2014_council_statements.pdf |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=www.americanbar.org |title=Archived copy |archive-date=23 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923235252/https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/Standards/2013_2014_council_statements.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>''</blockquote>

Accordingly, while most law professors are required to conduct original writing and research in order to be awarded tenure, the majority have a JD as their highest degree and are qualified to teach and supervise LLM and JSD candidates. However, research in 2015 showed an increasing trend toward hiring professors with both a JD and PhD in a field that confers PhD degrees, particularly at more highly ranked schools.<ref>
{{cite news
 |first=Orin |last=Kerr
 |date=22 October 2015
|title=The rise of the Ph.D. law professor
 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]
}}
</ref>
Professor Kenneth K. Mwenda criticized the council's statement, pointing out that it compares the JD only to the taught component of the PhD degree in the United States, ignoring the research and dissertation components.<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Kenneth K. |last=Mwenda
 |year=2007
 |title=Comparing American and British Legal Education Systems: Lessons for Commonwealth African Law Schools
 |pages=21–22
 |publisher=Cambria Press
 |isbn=978-1-62196-959-4
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOyVvAPtTcwC&pg=PA21
}}
</ref>

The United States [[Department of Education]] Center for Education Statistics classifies the JD and other professional doctorates as "doctor's degree-professional practice". It classifies the PhD and other research doctorates as "doctor's degree-research/scholarship".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/data-tip-sheet-reporting-graduate-awards |title=The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System |publisher=Nces.ed.gov |date= |accessdate=2022-05-05 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516000443/https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/data-tip-sheet-reporting-graduate-awards |url-status=live }}</ref> Among legal degrees, it accords the latter status only to the Doctor of Juridical Science degree.

In Europe, the [[European Research Council]] follows a similar policy, stating that a professional degree carrying the title "doctor" is not considered equivalent to a research degree, such as a PhD.<ref>
{{cite report
 |title=PhD and Equivalent Doctoral Degrees: The ERC Policy
 |publisher=European Research Council
 |url=http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/erc_policy_phd_and_equivalent_degrees.pdf
 |access-date=25 May 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106105821/http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/erc_policy_phd_and_equivalent_degrees.pdf
 |archive-date=6 November 2013
|quote=First-professional degrees will not be considered in themselves as Ph.D.-equivalent, even if recipients carry the title "doctor".
}}
</ref> The Dutch and Portuguese [[National Academic Recognition Information Centre]]s both classify the JD granted in the United States (along with other professional doctorate degrees) as equivalent to a master's degree,<ref>
{{cite report
 |title=Recognition of Qualifications
 |page=49
 |publisher=NARIC Portugal
 |url=http://internacional.ipvc.pt/sites/default/files/Reconhecimento%2520de%2520qualifica%25C3%25A7oes_EN.pdf
 |access-date=18 September 2016 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711103735/http://internacional.ipvc.pt/sites/default/files/Reconhecimento%20de%20qualifica%C3%A7oes_EN.pdf
 |archive-date=11 July 2018
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite report
 |title=The American education system described and compared with the Dutch system
 |page=3
 |publisher=NUFFIC
 |url=https://www.epnuffic.nl/en/publications/find-a-publication/education-system-united-states.pdf
 |access-date=18 September 2016
 |archive-date=9 April 2023
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145311/https://www.nuffic.nl/
 |url-status=dead
 }}</ref> while the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland states with respect to United States practice that: "The '1st professional degree' is a first degree, not a graduate degree, even though it incorporates the word 'doctor' in the title"<ref>
{{cite report
 |title=Review of Professional Doctorates |page=3
 |date=October 2006
 |publisher=National Qualifications Authority of Ireland
 |place=Dublin, IE
 |url=https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/12998/
 |access-date=28 March 2025 
}}
</ref>

[[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries also often consider the JD granted in the United States equivalent to a bachelor's degree,<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Kenneth K. |last=Mwenda
 |year=2007
 |title=Comparing American and British legal education systems: Lessons for Commonwealth African law schools
 |page=27
 |publisher=Cambria Press
 |isbn=978-1-62196-959-4
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOyVvAPtTcwC&pg=PA27  |via=Google Books
}}
</ref> even though the [[U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services|United States Citizenship and Immigration Services]] has advised that "while neither degree is likely equivalent to a PhD, a JD, or MD degree would be considered to be equivalent to, if not higher than, a masters degree".<ref>{{cite web
 |first=Michael
 |last=Aytes
 |date=2 May 2006
 |title=Chapter&nbsp;31: H-1B&nbsp;cap exemption for aliens holding a master's or higher degree from a U.S. institution
 |id=AD06-24
 |series=AFM Update
 |publisher=U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
 |url=https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives%201998-2008/2006/ac21_050206.pdf
 |access-date=13 February 2017
 |archive-date=12 February 2017
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212070205/https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives%201998-2008/2006/ac21_050206.pdf
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref>