With the hope of improving reporters’ often muddled understanding of legal principles, the Georgetown University Law Center has created a new one-year master’s degree program for working journalists.
Albert Lauber, who was named director of the new program, said that the degree will be the only one of its kind in the country.
The program will allow journalists to continue to work while taking first-year J.D. courses, a course on legal research and courses relevant to the journalist’s specific beat.
“I think there’s a perception among journalists that legal training is useful,” Lauber said. “Our hope is that you go back into the journalism world with a more nuanced understanding of legal issues.”
Lauber emphasized that the program is not a “back door into the law school.” The program will begin next year and cost the same as a year at Georgetown Law Center.
Lauber estimated that the first class will include between two and five students, all of whom have at least two years of journalistic experience.
