International Law/ National Security Forum

[LSA2014]

Any graduates, or current students who are pursuing careers in international law and/or national security, I'd love your advice.

I am interested in working in international relations, either focusing in global governance/international law, or conflict resolution/national security. I've been accepted into Duke's public policy program, which is a terminal master's program for policy professionals and plan on enrolling there next fall (solid aid with a fellowship and assistanceship + it's a top school in policy)

Duke's MPP offers dual enrollment opportunities with both UNC and Duke's law schools. Students enroll in the policy program their first year, do their summer internship, and then do two years of law school, before finishing both degrees in their 4th year. It's an option I'm considering. Obviously policy interest me, but I also know that I work better as a "doer," rather than as a researcher, and so I don't think a PhD in political science or policy is in the cards for me. A JD seems like it would offer me more technical expertise in international law, which could be really useful in securing a job with State, the DoD, the UN, or a firm working in IR. Since I don't have military credentials or a critical language under my belt, I can definitely see developing a legal skill-set as a big plus in landing a job.

My questions are:

How much do law programs allow you to "specialize," in your interests? Duke or UNC allum would be especially helpful in answering this question. Will I be able to take a substantial course-load in international and constitutional law?

Anyone have any idea what job prospects are like for Duke/UNC graduates in international law? Is it a subfield of law where it's easy to find employment? I have this fear of taking two extra years in school and racking up a bit more debt just to develop a skill-set that it's hard to find takers for.

Finally, how much do law school adcomms weigh graduate GPAs and past policy/law related work experience in admissions? I just took my first diagnostic LSAT with no studying and got a 162. That's the median for UNC but 3 points below the lower end of Duke's interquartile range. Obviously my hope is that by studying I can get it 5-10 points higher, which would be within Duke's interquartile range, but I'm thinking that, worst case scenario and I don't improve, would a 3.8 undergrad GPA, solid grades in a graduate program very similar to law, and 4 years of professional experience help make up the gap in my LSAT score?

Then, best case scenario, I improve a lot and have a shot at bigger name schools like Columbia or Harvard; in the international law world would it really even be worth considering taking a whole extra year in school just to get the networking and brand name recognition those schools have?

Finally, will law schools even look at the GRE? I got a perfect score on the verbal section, which is remarkably similar to the reading parts of the LSAT.

I'm also a little worried about staying in Durham for so long since it's not exactly a policy hub, but there are a few big IR/Nat Security institutes and think tanks here.

Thanks in advance!