Doctor of Juridical Science

Australia

The SJD is offered by the Australian National University, Bond University, La Trobe University, the University of Canberra, the University of New South Wales, the University of Technology Sydney, and the University of Western Australia.

The University of Sydney stopped accepting new applications for an SJD in 2018.

Canada

In Canada, the JSD or SJD is offered at University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. Other law schools in Canada still offer a PhD in law as the terminal degree.

Italy

In Italy, the title of Doctor of Juridical Science (dottore in scienze giuridiche) is awarded to holders of a Degree in Juridical Sciences (laurea in scienze giuridiche, EQF level 6), while Magistral Doctor of Juridical Sciences (dottore magistrale in scienze giuridiche) is awarded to holders of a Magistral Degree in Juridical Sciences (laurea magistrale in scienze giuridiche, EQF level 7).

Instead, the terminal degree for law, is the research doctorate (PhD, dottorato di ricerca), awarding the title of Research Doctor (dottore di ricerca).

United States

The JSD, or SJD, is a research doctorate, and as such, in contrast to the JD, it is equivalent to the more commonly awarded research doctorate, the PhD. It is the most advanced law degree.

Applicants for the program must have outstanding academic credentials. A professional degree in law (such as a JD) is required, as well as an LLM. Exceptions as to the latter condition (i.e., holding an LLM) are seldom—if ever—granted.

The JSD/SJD typically requires three to five years to complete. The program begins with a combination of required and elective coursework. Then, upon passage of the oral exam, the student advances to doctoral candidacy. Completion of the program requires a dissertation, which serves as an original contribution to the scholarly field of law.

The JSD/SJD is rarely earned by American scholars. The American Bar Association considers the JD a sufficient academic credential for the instruction of the law. This has been adopted by virtually all American law schools, though outstanding academic performance and an extensive record of legal publications are usually required for tenure-track employment at most universities. Most scholars who complete the JSD/SJD at American universities are either international students seeking academic employment in their home countries (where a research doctorate may be required) or American scholars already employed, and who wish to further their legal education at the highest level.

Notable recipients

Notable recipients of the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science include:

• Erwin Griswold (Harvard, 1929), United States Solicitor General
• Mastin Gentry White (Harvard, 1933), Judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims
• Francis Mading Deng (Yale, 1968), South Sudanese diplomat
• Sang-Hyun Song (Cornell Law School, 1970), President of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
• Miriam Defensor Santiago (Michigan, 1976), Senator of the Philippines and Judge of the International Criminal Court
• Lobsang Sangay (Harvard, 2004), former President of the Central Tibetan Administration and professor of law at Harvard University
• Charles Hamilton Houston (Harvard, 1923), prominent civil rights attorney
• Pauli Murray (Yale, 1965), prominent civil rights advocate
• Ayala Procaccia (University of Pennsylvania, 1972), Israel Supreme Court Justice
• Edward H. Levi (Yale, 1938) President of University of Chicago, US Attorney General
• Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou (Columbia, 2011), member of the Hellenic Parliament
• Christos Rozakis (University of Illinois, 1973) (President of the Administrative Tribunal of the Council of Europe and former vice-president of the European Court of Human Rights)
• Ma Ying-jeou (Harvard, 1980), former President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Theodor Meron (Harvard), professor of law (New York University School of Law) and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• Daniel Boorstin (Yale, 1940), American historian
• Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud (Harvard, 1986), The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Katherine Franke (Yale Law School, 1998), Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Columbia University; Director, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School; Faculty Director, The Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School
• Lucian Bebchuk (Harvard, 1984), William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance Director, Program on Corporate Governance, Harvard Law School.
• Xue Hanqin (Columbia, 1995), U.N. International Court of Justice judge

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