VAP Program & Academic Market
Duke Law School students and graduates increasingly seek careers in academia. In recognition of this fact, the Law School has put in place a number of programs aimed at current students, including a student scholarship colloquium and spaces for interested students at faculty workshops.
The School also offers assistance to Duke alumni seeking to enter the law school teaching market. It has created an Academic Careers Committee that offers candidates practice job talks, helps schedule them for workshops at other schools, organizes faculty recommendations, and centralizes the Law School's marketing of the candidate to other schools. The giving of advice is not limited to members of the committee, other members of the faculty also provide advice to applicants. The committee also is available as an organized resource that helps to make sure that applicants receive the guidance they need.
In addition, the School encourages Duke Law alumni to apply to our Visiting Assistant Professor program. For graduates of any law school who plan a career in legal academia but who have not yet entered the teaching market, we have established a program to bring aspiring law teachers into the Law School as visiting assistant professors. Visiting assistant professors spend two academic years at the Law School, giving them time to work on scholarship in anticipation of their entry on the law school teaching market. Each visiting assistant professor is provided with an office and is invited to participate in faculty activities open to visiting professors. Each has a very light teaching load - one course per year. Selection for participation in this program is competitive, based on potential for success in an academic career.
