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LAW-JSD - Law (JSD)

Overview

Program Overview

The JSD (Doctor of the Science of Law), the most advanced law degree, is designed primarily for those interested in becoming scholars and teachers of law. Study toward this degree is open only to exceptionally well-qualified students who hold a JD or its equivalent and who have successfully completed the SPILS program or its equivalent. It is awarded to students who, under the personal supervision of a faculty member, successfully pursue a course of advanced research in a field in which they are already well grounded, and who produce an advanced dissertation that, in the opinion of the adviser, makes a substantial contribution to knowledge.

As of the coming academic year (2022-23), there will be two different tracks for admission into the JSD program.  A minimum of two students will be admitted from among students who have completed the Stanford Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS) at Stanford Law School.  In addition, students at Stanford and at other law schools in the United States who will have completed LLM degrees prior to the commencement of the JSD program are encouraged to apply for admission and will be seriously considered.  To be competitive, students applying from LLM programs must have completed (and must submit) a serious piece of independent, original research demonstrating their scholarly potential.

Admission to the JSD program is on a highly selective basis. Please note that admission to SPILS or to any Stanford LLM program does not imply a commitment by Stanford Law School to accept a student into the JSD program.  

Free Form Requisites

For details about the JSD graduation requirements, please refer to the SLS Student Handbook.

Overview of Degree Requirements

The requirements for the degree of Doctor of the Science of Law are: 

  • Three quarters in residency during the first JSD year; 

  • Successful completion of 9 - 12 approved quarter units during the first JSD year; including at least one methodological course; 

  • Successful completion of an oral exam at the end of the first JSD year, intended to determine the candidate’s readiness to embark on doctoral research, as determined by the candidate’s dissertation committee chair and at least one other Stanford faculty member; 

  • Filing of a Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee Form, signed by each member of the committee, as well as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies; 

  • Successful completion of an advanced dissertation, as determined by a faculty dissertation advisory committee; 

  • Successful completion of an oral defense of the dissertation, as determined by the same dissertation advisory committee; 

  • Successful participation in the JSD colloquium during the first year and all subsequent years in which the student is in residence; and 

  • Timely filing of an application for graduation

Unit Requirement 

To obtain a JSD degree, a student must successfully complete, under the personal supervision of a faculty member, an approved 44-unit course of study. Credits earned to meet the JSM requirements will count toward 35 of these quarter units. At least 26 of those 35 units must be in Law School courses; however, see the SLS Student Handbook for the policies and limitations on enrolling in courses from elsewhere in the University. 

Students must participate in a year-long research colloquium (0 units) designed especially for JSD students. In addition, JSD students in their first year must take 3 courses of at least 3 units each, for a minimum of 9 but no more than 15 units. No student may take more than 8 units in a single quarter. 

At least one of these additional courses must provide either advanced methodological training and the remaining courses must provide further study in a substantive field related to the student’s doctoral research and all three must be approved by the student’s dissertation chair or by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. Generally, directed research will not satisfy the coursework requirement units unless it is intended to provide the student with new or enhanced methodological, theoretical knowledge or substantive knowledge that is essential to carrying out that student’s dissertation research and that is not offered by any regularly scheduled courses or seminars at Stanford during the candidate’s first year in the JSD program. Candidates seeking credit for directed research while in residence must petition and receive the approval of their dissertation adviser and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies as well as the Petitions Committee. 

Students in the first year of the JSD program (i.e., who have completed the JSM degree and have been admitted to the JSD program) will be entitled to terminal graduate registration (“TGR”) status, which allows students to register at a reduced tuition rate and pay for additional units.

For details about the JSD graduation requirements, please refer to the SLS Student Handbook.

Residency Requirement

JSD candidates must complete a full academic year (three quarters) in residence at the Law School. This requirement is in addition to quarters in residence that may have been completed as part of the SPILS program. Thus, students who go through the SPILS program and then enter the JSD program must be in residence at Stanford Law School for six full quarters. For JSD candidates on TGR status, the term “in residence” means that a student is physically on campus and regularly meets with his or her adviser throughout the quarter


Program Policies

Advising Expectations

The Stanford Law School is committed to providing academic advising in support of graduate student scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by both the adviser and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the adviser and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity.

Faculty advisers guide students in key areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing of teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways.

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.

For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the "Graduate Advising" section of this bulletin.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Study toward the degree is open only to a small number of exceptionally well-qualified students who hold a JD or LL.B earned outside the United States.  Students in the program develop substantive expertise in one or more fields of law and have the opportunity to pursue substantive and methodological training in allied disciplines across the broader university, including but not limited to, the social sciences, humanities, and engineering.  The program culminates in the student producing a dissertation under the personal supervision of a Faculty committee comprised of law school professors as well as, where appropriate given the student’s interests, faculty from other departments of the university.

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