Top Law Schools

I'm wondering if there is anyone on TLS who has information about the PhD program that Yale established a few years ago. Is is a solid alternative to VAP positions? How large are the entering cohorts? Thanks.

I'd do a VAP over the Yale PhD. The Yale PhD is the equivalent of taking three years off work to write three law review articles. It doesn't even give you a substantive skill set like a PhD in an actual discipline. Doing a Yale Law PhD isn't going to convince a faculty looking for a sociologist/mathematician/economist for their law school faculty that you can do any of those things. And, quite frankly, if you attempt to do those things, your scholarship will likely have glaring weaknesses, because, believe it or not, people who spend 5+yrs in actual PhD programs are likely a whole lot better at [insert type of analysis] than you are with your B.A. in Econ/Math/Sociology. Meanwhile, the VAP gets you exposed the the responsibilities of a professor, let's the school you're working at get a taste of what you'd be like on their faculty (I know some VAP programs are good at offering their VAPs interviews), and you'll have plenty of time to research/write.

Would a PhD in Philosophy from a top program like NYU be better for getting a position in jurisprudence or constitutional law?

Does anyone know how the Yale PhDs have placed? I know it's a new program, but there should be a couple years of placement records by now, right?

Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone know how the Yale PhDs have placed? I know it's a new program, but there should be a couple years of placement records by now, right?

Contact them and ask. If they're not willing to tell you, it's a bad sign (but it's Yale, so I figure they're probably doing okay).