Master of Studies in Law programs typically last one academic year and put students through a similar regimen as first-year Juris Doctor students but may allow for further specialization.
Master of Studies in Law students may study such staples as constitutional law, torts, contracts, civil procedure, and other requirements alongside regular law students, writing the same papers and taking the same exams.
Some Master of Studies in Law programs are designed for academics who hold doctorates in a discipline related to the law, and who want to add a legal dimension to scholarship.
Other programs aim to provide fundamental legal education to professionals who are not lawyers, but whose careers involve legal or regulatory issues.
Responding to this need, Master of Studies in Law degrees are increasingly offered to working professionals on an online or part-time basis, and allow professionals to tailor elective law courses to their particular career fields.