On Aug. 12, 2019, Syracuse University College of Law welcomed 50 new students into JDinteractive (JDi), the College’s ABA-accredited, fully interactive online law degree program. This is the second group of students to matriculate into the first-of-its-kind program, which combines intensive on-campus courses with online courses that contain both self-paced and live class sessions.
The new JDi students began their law degree studies with a weeklong residency in Syracuse, NY, where they took an immersive course designed to introduce them to the American legal system. The students also took part in other academic and social activities—along with new residential juris doctor, JDi Class of 2022, and masters of laws students—including meeting with distinguished alumni and attending a baseball game on August 14 between the Syracuse Mets and Durham Bulls at NBT Stadium.
“JDinteractive once again has attracted a talented and ambitious group of students. I could not be more pleased to welcome them into the College of Law community and to a law degree program that is reimagining how legal education is delivered in the 21st century,” says College of Law Dean Craig M. Boise. “I strongly believe their diversity of background and perspectives will broaden and deepen the student’s law school experience. I have no doubt this cohort will represent the College strongly and leverage their legal knowledge for the benefit of the profession and of society.”
The JDi Class of 2023 gathers a diverse group of individuals from across the United States:
- The cohort’s average age is 35.
- One-third identify as students of color.
- The students represent 29 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.
- Thirty percent were the first in their families to attend college.
- Approximately a quarter are members of the military or military-affiliated, including graduates of the US Naval Academy and US Coast Guard Academy, a retired US Army sergeant, a Lieutenant in the US Navy, and a US Marine Corps Master Sergeant.
JDinteractive is designed to work with the schedules of students who are currently employed or have other commitments. Looking at students’ occupations, among the members of the Class of 2023 are an environmental supervisor for a multinational packaged foods company, a law firm chief operating officer, a police officer, a political media consultant, a vice president of sales in the telecommunications industry, a professor of musicology, a preventive case worker, an attending emergency physician, a pastor, a structural designer, a legislative analyst, and the founder of an insurance consulting firm.
“We designed JDinteractive to deliver Syracuse University College of Law’s J.D. program to well-qualified students who cannot relocate for a residential program, but who nevertheless desire a high-caliber legal education,” says Associate Dean of Online Education and David M. Levy Professor of Law Nina Kohn. “The students themselves are proof that the program has the ingredients to entice highly motivated, deeply experienced, and academically strong individuals. Indeed, among the Class of 2023 are the holders of a Ph.D. in Computer Science, an M.B.A. in Accounting, a D.O. in Osteopathic Medicine, an M.S.L. in Business Law, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, to name a few.”
