<P> On the Australian Qualifications Framework, the Juris Doctor is classified as a "Masters degree (Extended)", with an exception having been granted to use the title Juris Doctor (other such exceptions include Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Dentistry and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). It may not be described as a doctoral degree, and holders may not use the title "Doctor". Along with other extended master's degrees, the JD takes 3 - 4 years following a minimum of a 3 - year bachelor's degree . </P> <P> The J.D. degree is the dominant law degree in Canada, replacing the traditional LL. B. degree prominent in Commonwealth countries . The University of Toronto became the first to rename its law degree from LL. B. to J.D. in 2001 . As with the second - entry LL. B., in order to be admitted to a Juris Doctor program, applicants must have completed a minimum of 2 or 3 years of study toward a bachelor's degree and scored high on the North American Law School Admission Test . As a practical matter, nearly all successful applicants have completed one or more degrees before admission to a Canadian common law school, although despite this it is, along with other first professional degrees, considered to be a bachelor's degree - level qualification . All Canadian Juris Doctor programs consist of three years, and have similar content in their mandatory first year courses . The mandatory first year courses in Canadian law schools outside Quebec include public law (i.e. provincial law, constitutional law, and administrative law), property law, tort law, contract law, criminal law, and legal research and writing . Beyond first year and other courses required for graduation, course selection is elective with various concentrations such as commercial and corporate law, taxation, international law, natural resources law, real estate transactions, employment law, criminal law, and Aboriginal law . After graduation from an accredited law school, each province's or territory's law society requires completion of a bar admission course or examination, and a period of supervised "articling" prior to independent practice . </P> <P> Use of the "J.D." designation by Canadian law schools is not intended to indicate an emphasis on American law, but rather to distinguish Canadian law degrees from English law degrees, which do not require prior undergraduate study . The Canadian J.D. is a degree in Canadian Law . Accordingly, United States jurisdictions other than New York and Massachusetts do not recognize Canadian Juris Doctor degrees automatically . This is equivalent to the manner in which United States J.D. graduates are treated in Canadian jurisdictions such as Ontario . To prepare graduates to practise in jurisdictions on both sides of the border, some pairs of law schools, such as the New York University (NYU) Law School and Osgoode Hall Law School, the University of Ottawa Law School and the Michigan State University Law School or American University, and the University of Windsor Law School and the University of Detroit Mercy Law School, have developed joint American - Canadian J.D programs . </P> <P> Two notable exceptions are Université de Montréal and Université de Sherbrooke, which both offer a one - year J.D. program aimed at Quebec civil law graduates in order to practice law either elsewhere in Canada or in the state of New York . </P>

What does it mean to study international law