Juris Doctor (abbreviate J.D. or JD, from the Latin, Teacher of Law) is a first professional graduate degree and professional doctorate in law. The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree (such as the dottore di giurisprudenza in Italy and the Juris Utriusque Doctor or J.U.D. in Germany) and the legal studies counterpart to the M.D. degree. Originating from the 19th century Harvard movement for the scientific study of law, it is the first and only law degree that has a goal of being the primary professional preparation for lawyers (and therefore a terminal professional degree). It is the only professional doctorate in law, and is unique among doctorate programs in being a three year program in most jurisdictions (many doctorates are four years or longer). Just like other professional doctorates (M.D., D.D.S., etc.), a research dissertation or thesis is not a part of the J.D. This degree primarily exists in the United States, but recently has appeared in universities in other countries for the first time, although it has a unique form in each country (please see the section of this article entitled modern variants).