Ways to Learn
Quick Facts
- 3 Years Full-Time
- 4 Years Part-Time
- 82 Units
This Program is Now Available at NCU
The Juris Doctor Online program has been relocated to JFK School of Law at NCU. To learn more, visit the new program page.
Overview
Introducing an accredited JD program that is fully online!
Since 1965, John F. Kennedy University’s College of Law has been providing highly motivated students of all ages and life circumstances with the tools they need to succeed in the legal profession. By going fully online, the JD program just became even more accessible to busy adult students balancing work, life—and the drive to make change in their communities.
At its heart the program emphasizes clinical and practical skills training in the realm of public interest law and social justice. Hands-on training experience is embedded into the curriculum allowing students to provide much-needed services to their local communities while learning practical, applied aspects of the legal profession that build off the solid theoretical foundation they are developing to pass the CA Bar Examination.
Highlights
- Online program with State Bar of California accreditation
- Hands-on training through clinical programs and internships
- Personalized faculty instruction
- BarBri-designed California Bar exam prep program included in tuition
For the last 55 years, JFKU’s College of Law has focused on delivering quality legal education to students who were not otherwise able to attend due to work, family, and other commitments which prohibited them from traditional law schools. Offering our JD Program in a fully online format is a continuation of this mission, making it even more accessible for students outside our local area, and for those busy adult students balancing work, family, and other life commitments. The desire to become a legal professional should be available to all who put in the effort and have the drive to make lasting change in their communities.
By offering students from across the country the opportunity to attain a legal education, the JFKU online JD program aligns with both JFKU’s and the California State Bar’s mission of making a law degree flexible, affordable, and accessible to all types of students. Our online program also provides students significantly more individualized faculty attention than the traditional law school model via highly interactive and personalized feedback on student learning throughout the curriculum.
In addition to receiving substantial individualized interaction with faculty, students in our program will continue to be part of a cohort and engage in student-to-student contact, in particular during annual onsite campus events. Start dates for the program are in fall and spring.
Program Relocation Information
The School of Law in its entirety is being relocated to Northcentral University (NCU). This means that the current dean of JFK School of Law, and all faculty, will be relocating to NCU along with our School of Law programs (JD and BA Legal Studies/Paralegal Cert Programs). The School of Law will remain the John F. Kennedy School of Law at Northcentral University, bringing with it the legacy, vision and mission, and values of the law school.
NCU is an accredited, not-for-profit, fully online institution, with over 11,000 students in 6 different schools. The JFK School of Law will be its 7th. Both the President and Provost of NCU are attorneys and committed to quality, affordable, and accessible legal education. Given NCU’s expertise in online education and fiscal stability, this move will allow for much greater long-term security and growth for the law school.
We do not anticipate any accreditation changes for the Cal Bar, and applications to accreditors have been filed for the accreditations to transfer to NCU along with the programs.
Here are the updated tuition discounts for students who choose to continue on at NCU:
- Students that are currently in the JFK Law School will maintain their current rates through spring term.
- Students currently enrolled in Summer and Fall at JFKU will receive a 20% discount.
- New students entering the JFK Law School in the fall will also receive a 20% discount.
- Students who transfer to NCU will receive a 31% tuition discount off JFKU’s current per unit rate.
If you students do not wish to continue with NCU, we are working to establish articulation agreements with the following local options.
Local Options:
- SF Law School
- Lincoln Law School, San Jose
- Golden Gate
Why JFKU

Individualized Learning Fostered by Intensive Faculty Interaction
Our online program allows for a level of individualized teacher-to-student interaction that is unique among law schools. On a regular basis, each student receives personalized assessments and feedback on written analyses and on their individual understanding of course material. As opposed to the traditional law school’s “sage on the stage” lecture style, this close facilitation enhances learning by emphasizing individual development and support.

Hands-on Training through Clinical Programs and Internships
To ensure that each student receives real-world practical experience in the course of their legal training and to further our goal of providing legal assistance to the local community, students are required to do 60 hours of service learning. Most satisfy this requirement by participating in an internship or clinical experience in their communities.


BarBri Bar Review Program
Access to BarBri Bar Review Program outlines and materials throughout the JD program is rolled into tuition for all students. Having BarBri embedded into your program allows you to access test prep materials right away and engage with your test prep journey seamlessly as you move through the curriculum.

Faculty that Practices What They Teach
The College of Law’s accomplished full-time faculty is supplemented by an adjunct faculty of successful current practitioners, including attorneys and judges, who bring an up-to-the-minute, on-the-ground perspective to classroom learning and who are uniquely situated to introduce our students to the elements of legal practice that go beyond casebooks and theory.