Northeastern University Doctor of Law & Policy (LP.D)

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by sjujeff, Dec 2, 2009.

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  1. sjujeff

    sjujeff New Member

    Does anyone know anything about NEU's LP.D program?
     
  2. BruceP

    BruceP Member

    It helps to supply a web link... this is what I found...

    http://www.lps.neu.edu/graduate/phd/

    "Another unique aspect of the program is that students design their own interdisciplinary curriculum. After taking core courses in theory, research methodology and economics, students develop their own plan of study in their chosen policy field. Students take courses in the School of Law and other colleges at Northeastern. The law courses in the curriculum provide students with the foundation to conduct legal research, understand the legal aspects of their policy focus area and to understand how the courts make policy."

    This program really looks interesting to me... however a quick glance through their online literature did not reveal a distance learning mode of delivery.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 3, 2009
  3. ITJD

    ITJD Guest

    Hi -

    Seeing as how the other thread got deleted, the correct link to the program is offered below:

    http://www.cps.neu.edu/law/

    The link suggested in the above post is for the Ph.D program in the policy center.

    Notes:

    1. It is not a distance program.

    2. It is a two-year doctorate with special schedule to allow those who are working in the field to continue to do so.

    3. You must have an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree before getting admitted. (another doctorate or masters.)

    4. The program is slanted admissions wise towards people that already have a JD. This is important as the program is competitive, it's preparing you for legal research and government work (law professorship or policy development through the legal system.)

    5. Everyone I know that's been admitted to the program without a JD has been someone holding or who has held public office or has published something (significant or not) in another field. There are no doubt people in the program with neither of these, but I don't know them. (Had to take a quick look at the alum site to figure out if I knew anyone. I've been looking at this program too.)

    The above statements are limited by my perspective. Therefore your mileage may vary.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 3, 2009
  4. lhaynes79

    lhaynes79 New Member

    3rd cohort

    I happen to be a student in the third cohort 2009-2011. The cohort(class) 35 members has a wide and far-reaching group of individuals who make up the body. We have probably 4 JD's, 2 or 3 PHd's some have JD/MBA combos and JD/Phd Combos...an MD, a Pharm D., and a physicist. Several have multiple master's and all have at least one, we even have a Fulbright Scholar. We have a wide range of ethnic and geo backgrounds: Eastern Europe, Asia, South America, Caribbean and Africa. Their professions range from policy analysts to educators, to lawyers and doctors to businessmen and even a member of Homeland Security. I can tell you that they are all very intelligent, savvy and well versed in their own right...and our backgrounds and experiences lend itself to a very unique and exciting program...the program is competitive and an excellent essay coupled with a strong work background is a prerequisite... It is a cutting edge program for a doctorate in two years--the pace is hectic and yet we seem to get through it. There is an overwhelming amount of legal, economic and statistical reading to comb through for each and every class meeting..which is once a month Fri- Sun in Boston...all n' all a fantastic program......
     
  5. nwankwo_e

    nwankwo_e New Member

    Agreed! However is there any other similar program in US other than Northeastern?
     
  6. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I must have missed this on its first go-around.

    Anyone considering this program, keep in mind that it's fiercely expensive.
     
  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    If you look hard enough you can usually find a shady place that buys plasma and allows you to do it twice a week.

    Also, you have two kidneys when you only really need one...

    I guess it depends upon how badly you want the degree.
     
  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I imagine that the great majority of DLP students have tuition remission through their employers, or they're already very successful, so the cost isn't of great concern.
     
  9. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    The only person I know with the DLP is Dominica's current Ambassador to the UN. Interestingly that makes him an appointee of the Dominica Labour Party, so he's a double DLP. :smile:
     
  10. jonlevy

    jonlevy Active Member

    Sounds like a vanity degree to me.
     
  11. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    You're a regular ray of sunshine, aren't you?
     
  12. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Of course.

    The program is expensive. Many programs are. If you can afford them then why not? If you can get it paid for through an employer then why wouldn't a person?

    Though I do wonder if a person with an LP.D. could compete with a person with a DJS. Perhaps they would be going after a different sort of job. And, I imagine, at this level you're dealing with many other variables at play in a hiring decision that go well beyond which three letter combination you use as a post-nominal.
     
  13. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    It doesn't sound like it is a breeze. There are far easier ways to get yourself a little piece of vanity. A certain CA based NA school offering "honorary doctorates" after you give them an unspecified donation, for example, seems much more of a vanity move than engaging in serious research at a respected university. And, considering that this isn't a PhD, I would imagine the "vanity" aspect is fairly diminished by the fact that few people have even heard of an LP.D.

    But hey, different strokes...
     
  14. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Sounds like a cynic to me... no, wait a minute - cynics usually have some logic behind their disparagements. Convoluted and/or faulty it might often be, but some kind of reasoning, nevertheless.

    Yesterday, I made a serious attempt to find other schools offering the degree (because the OP asked) and didn't find even ONE. Some British schools had doctoral programs in policy OR law. To enter either, one needed a masters in either law or policy - didn't matter which. But no doctoral programs (other than Northeastern) could I find - anywhere - of this exact description. I found the DLP degree correctly defined, somewhere, and the definition ended with a remark that very few schools offer this degree. No kidding!

    In a search for online CVs that included the DLP degree, I found several - ALL Northeastern - all high achievers, apparently. Obviously, vanity not an issue.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 23, 2016
  15. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    perhaps the term you're looking for is troll.
     
  16. jonlevy

    jonlevy Active Member

    By vanity, I mean that degree is not going to do much to boost one's career except prestige wise. It is of course a real degree but of little utility to a job seeker. The demand for the odd SJD or foreign LLD is really bleak too. It is not a law degree that entitles one to take a bar exam. One could I suppose talk about the law but I doubt anyone would pay much attention.
     
  17. jonlevy

    jonlevy Active Member

    UNISA offers an online LLD as does Leiden but you would need to have at least a LLM to get accepted.
     
  18. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Different lawyers approach their fields of practice in different ways. I would agree with you that most lawyers have little use for an SJD or LLD, the rarity of such programs shows that. But some lawyers advance their practices by becoming known experts in their fields, and writing a doctoral thesis can be a very good way for them both to refine that expertise and to demonstrate it in a way that most people find noteworthy.
     
  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    LLD is an honorary, not earned, degree in some parts of the world - including the US. SJD is an earned degree. There are a few types of doctoral-level law degrees, depending on country. Some discussion and references here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legum_Doctor

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 24, 2016
  20. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

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