Waist Deep in the Big Muddy: The JD/PhD Debate in Criminal Justice Education

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate in criminal justice departments as to whether a person with a JD degree has the education necessary to be a full‐time faculty member. Recently, several authors have argued that a JD should be sufficient and that a PhD should not be required. In this essay I argue otherwise. JD training is not equivalent to PhD training. PhD training provides a background in social science methods, statistical analysis, and theory that JD training does not. The discipline of criminal justice needs to assert control over its credential standards lest others do it for us.