Chances of teaching undergrad w/o a PhD?

I want to tap into the collective wisdom out there once again. I'm halfway through an ALM in Gov. at Harvard---I first heard about the program via this forum. I'm currently an IB and AP History teacher at an International school in China, and I've taught for a while at other international schools and high schools in the states. I am thinking about trying to prepare myself (academically) to make the move to Community or (hopefully) four year college teaching in either History or Political Science.

Next year I'll likely finish the Harvard ALM in Gov. I'm also contemplating getting another MA in IR from either Chicago or Yale. With these degrees, I'd have enough credits to qualify to teach either History or PoliSCi at the college level. Moreover, I have a JD degree from a middle of the road ABA school although I've never practiced law.

My basic question, is there a decent chance that this this combination of fairly prestigious degrees ( 2 MA's and a JD) would be an adequate substitute for a PhD in obtaining a FT teaching job at a reputable undergraduate institution? I know that it would certainly exceed the minimum for CC teaching. Any guidance is SINCERELY appreciated!!
BTW---I'm not interested in a PhD because I can't see myself getting immersed in research. I'm much more of a generalist.

 

Technically you only need a master's to teach undergraduate but because of competition it is getting harder to get a full time position without a terminal degree. Some schools take the JD as a terminal degree so this might be the way to go in my opinion. I would focus on those schools willing to take the JD as the terminal degree for teaching.

 

I posted this on another thread…..

This is what the ABA has to say about the J.D. being an appropriate degree for academic employment. I don’t know how academic employers feel about it, though.

See http://www.abanet.org/legaled/standards/2006-2007StandardsBookMaster.PDF (PDF file, Pg 133).

 

Thanks guys. Casey, I wasn't aware that the ABA itself has said its piece on this issue. But I doubt that its rec is widely followed in academia. So I know that it's POSSIBLE to have my qualifications evaluated as equivalent. But I wonder, in the real world, how likely it might be that my particular set of qualifications might actually be deemed so for undergrad teaching?

 

Lawyers have a bad habit of thinking that a law degree prepares them for any profession for which they may choose to dabble.

The difference between the Ph.D. and a law degree is that a law degree does not qualify a person to perform original academic research. Legal research is NOT academic research. The ABA's argument that it's all about the number of credit hours demonstrates that they just don't get it.

 

The idea that someone needs a certain degree in order to be "qualified" to perform "academic" research is ridiculous. Need I name some of the people who have made groundbreaking contributions to their field without having any sort of terminal degree?

As long as research is properly conducted and supported, it is perfectly valid no matter who conducts it.