Degrees at Yale Law School

Yale Law School offers five degree-granting programs. Joint degrees are conferred by the Law School and other Yale graduate programs. In addition, a limited number of visiting researchers and visiting students are welcomed each year. Learn more about our programs.

Degree Programs

Juris Doctor

Yale Law School’s three-year J.D. program provides students with a legal education of outstanding breadth and depth.

LL.M. Degree

The Law School admits a limited number of graduate students each year to pursue one year of full-time study leading to the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M.)

J.S.D. Degree

The Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) program is a select program open only to graduates of the LL.M. program at Yale Law School.

M.S.L. Degree

The Law School offers a Master of Studies in Law (M.S.L.) degree program for a small number of non-lawyers who want to obtain a basic familiarity with legal thought and to explore the relation of law to their disciplines.

Ph.D. Program

The Doctor of Philosophy in Law (Ph.D.) is designed to prepare J.D. graduates for careers in legal scholarship through three years of coursework and the production of a substantial body of academic research and writing.

Joint Degree

In cooperation with other schools and departments of Yale University, the Law School offers programs leading to a master’s degree and a J.D. (Juris Doctor) or to a doctorate and a J.D.

Student Profiles

’20

Leanne Gale

A student perspective on international human rights law, immigrant rights, and the supportive community at Yale Law School.

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We, as lawyers, can be builders too. We can use our tools to build a society in which every member of the new generation can celebrate her graduation — not only with joy but with well-founded hope for the future.”

Professor Anne L. Alstott

Class of 1987, 2013 Commencement Address