For Immediate Release
October 16, 2006

Contact:

Elissa Free
Kara Tershel, (202) 662-9500

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Georgetown University Law Center is pleased to announce the establishment of a Masters of Studies in Law (M.S.L.) degree program for professional journalists.

"It is our hope that the education offered to journalists at Georgetown will provide them with a better understanding of the legal system and enhance their ability to report on legal issues," said T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Georgetown Law Dean. "Our location in the heart of the nation’s capital is an ideal setting for journalists to study legal reasoning and legal institutions."

The program, which will begin in the 2007-2008 academic year, will include several first-year J.D. courses, a course designed specifically for journalists on legal research, and classes in areas relevant to the journalist’s beat.

Candidates will be expected to complete the degree requirements in one to two years, and classes will be offered on a flexible basis so journalists may continue to work while enrolled. The program is open to members of the press who have at least two years of professional experience and do not have a J.D. degree.

Several prominent members of the journalism community, including alumni of the Law Center, serve on the program’s board of advisors and offered valuable advice in designing the program.

"As a journalist, I have found few experiences as interesting and useful as the time I spent studying law at Georgetown. This has made me a strong advocate of mid-career education, particularly in the law, which forces you into new ways of analyzing events," noted Walter Pincus of the Washington Post, an alumnus of Georgetown Law’s class of 2001.

Other board members include: Wolf Blitzer of CNN, Greta Van Susteren (J.D.’79, LL.M.’83) of FOX News Channel, Ann McDaniel of the Washington Post, and David Willman of the Los Angeles Times.

"Having received my J.D. and LL.M. from Georgetown, I speak with confidence when I say that the Law Center is superbly positioned to offer this valuable program to the journalism community," said Van Susteren.

"As the Internet continues to facilitate instant, popular access to judicial and regulatory decisions, journalists must be better equipped to provide interpretation and analysis that is sound and timely. The Georgetown M.S.L. Program will both enhance journalists' skills and enrich our public discourse," added Willman.

Georgetown will begin accepting applications for this new program on January 18. The online application will be available on the Georgetown Law admissions webpage after December 18. (http://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions/)

 

 

About Georgetown University Law Center 

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's premier law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, Georgetown Law has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body.

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