Solving for Why
NYU prides itself on being at the forefront of interdisciplinary legal education and scholarship. The faculty includes leading legal economists, philosophers, historians, and sociologists, and the curriculum features distinctive opportunities for students to pursue interdisciplinary studies.
In particular, NYU’s unique colloquia bring together faculty and students to discuss cutting-edge research in law and related disciplines. The colloquium model originated with the now famous Colloquium on Legal, Political, and Social Philosophy, founded and run for many years by the great philosophers Ronald Dworkin and Thomas Nagel, and continuing under the leadership of Samuel Scheffler, Liam Murphy, and Jeremy Waldron.
Other interdisciplinary colloquia at NYU include the Law, Economics, and Politics Colloquium, run by the distinguished political scientist John Ferejohn and prominent legal economist Lewis Kornhauser, and the Legal History Colloquium, which is the longest running legal history workshop in the country.
For students interested in pursuing graduate studies in the arts and sciences alongside their law degrees, NYU offers coordinated JD/MA or PhD degree programs in economics, history, philosophy, and politics. In addition to these established programs, NYU Law students have pursued individually tailored dual degrees with other NYU departments and with other universities.
For students interested in academic careers, the Furman Academic Scholars Program is essentially a graduate program within a law school, offering intensive training, mentoring, and intellectual community. The Furman Program, along with the broader Academic Careers Program, has had tremendous success in placing NYU Law graduates in top-tier positions in the legal academy. The LLM in Legal Theory is particularly suited to those planning a career in legal academia.