Northwestern’s New Accelerated J.D. Program

The 27 students in the first class of Northwestern University School of Law’s Accelerated J.D. program (A.J.D.) began summer semester the week of May 18, 2009, becoming the first students in a top-tier school to embark on a two-year J.D. program.  Northwestern Law took steps to create a condensed J.D. degree program following the American Bar Association’s 2004 decision to relax rules requiring that all J.D. programs be completed in six semesters, and is thus far just the third law school in the U.S. to do so.  The Northwestern Law A.J.D. program is designed to more efficiently deliver the J.D. than the traditional three-year program, effectively removing the 3L year during which most students explore various legal specialties they may want to practice as a career.

In the accelerated program, enrolled students complete the degree over the course of five semesters rather than the traditional six, but take the same number of credits as students in the traditional three-year J.D. program – or more.  To accomplish this, A.J.D. students start classes in May and take three foundation courses, such as Civil Procedure or Contracts, as well as two additional courses prior to the arrival of the traditional J.D. 1Ls.  During the Fall and Spring semesters of their first year, A.J.D. students take the remaining doctrinal courses with the traditional J.D. 1Ls and participate in the On-Campus Interview season alongside their traditional J.D. classmates.  The summer positions at law firms and legal organizations that A.J.D. students secure at this time constitute the only opportunity for practical employment available to A.J.D. students, unlike traditional J.D. students, who have two consecutive summers to work.

In the second year, A.J.D. students are free to take electives in both the fall and spring semesters, and then graduate in May with the J.D..  Despite the shorter duration of the program, A.J.D. students end up taking more credits than the traditional J.D. students because the A.J.D curriculum requires its students to take extra courses, such as Business Associations and other business-related disciplines, during the first three semesters.  A.J.D. students take five courses for at least three semesters to accommodate the additional curricular requirements, as opposed to the three or four courses taken by traditional J.D. students.

Given the limited exposure to practical legal experience relative to the three-year J.D. that A.J.D. students gain during their two years spent in law school, the accelerated program is aimed at prospective students who have a solid sense of their career goals and do not need the extra year to explore specialty areas.  As a result, Northwestern Law seeks students with several years of work experience for the A.J.D. – the members of the flagship class have a median of six years of experience coming into Northwestern – and particularly targets students who come from a business background.  To that end, Northwestern accepts both the LSAT and the GMAT for the Accelerated J.D. application.

Though some of the program details may seem similar, the Accelerated J.D. program at Northwestern Law should not be confused with the Two-Year J.D. for International Lawyers also offered there, which is designed for international students who already hold a law degree from another country and seek to take the bar exam in the U.S.