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Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)
The SJD is designed to give you an opportunity to complete the highest research degree in law within a specialized field of study of your choice.
The program will prepare you to return to your home country to work in academia or law reform for your government at the highest level. Our program typically lasts three to five years and requires full-time residency on campus for at least the first two years of SJD coursework.
Degree Requirements
During the first two years of SJD coursework, your thesis advisor may require you to take courses applicable to your thesis topic. By the end of the first year of SJD coursework, you must submit a final thesis proposal, including the introduction, background, literature survey and preliminary annotated outline. Following approval of the thesis by a committee, you must appear before the committee to defend your thesis. The completed thesis must be of publishable quality.