J.S.D. Program
The Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.S.D.) is the Law School’s most advanced law degree. Designed for exceptional aspiring legal academics who wish to pursue advanced independent study, research and writing, the Law School’s J.S.D. program offers candidates the opportunity to become active members of a vibrant legal community.
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JSD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:
Study toward this postdoctoral degree is open only to exceptionally well-qualified students who hold an LL.M. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law or the equivalent at the discretion of the Associate Dean with advice from the Director of the Center for International Legal Education (CILE). The School of Law will accept no more than two J.S.D. students per academic year.
The J.S.D. degree will be completed under the supervision of a faculty advisor, selected by the candidate with the consent of the faculty member. No student may apply for the J.S.D. program without first obtaining permission from the Center for International Legal Education and the approval of the faculty member who will be the advisor and the chair of the dissertation committee. Faculty advisors must be full-time tenured faculty members of the law school. J.S.D applicants are encouraged to contact the CILE program if they need assistance in contacting a law school faculty member.
DISSERTATION
The J.S.D. is a research degree. There is no formal requirement for candidates to pursue additional course work. However, during the first year of the J.S.D. program, a candidate may be required by his or her advisor to take or audit courses and participate in seminars and discussions which will further the student’s understanding of his or her field of knowledge and its relation to other fields.
The J.S.D. will not have any formal preliminary or comprehensive examinations. Each student must write a dissertation presenting his or her original and independent research. The dissertation must establish the historical context upon which the research is based and identify how the student’s work goes beyond reflecting existing secondary literature, and constitutes and original contribution to the field. The dissertation must analyze and synthesize a broad body of literature and present a clear explanation of the area of research. The work must be of publishable quality and must be of sufficient detail to allow other scholars to build upon this work.
The candidate will be required to publicly defend the proposal for the dissertation early in the research process and to defend the dissertation at the conclusion of the process. The J.S.D. candidate, with the approval of his or her faculty advisor, is responsible for selecting his or her dissertation committee. The dissertation committee’s composition ultimately must be approved by the CILE Director and the Dean of the School of Law.
The dissertation committee for each candidate will include a minimum of three and a maximum of four committee members, of whom the faculty advisor will serve as the committee’s chair. The candidate must meet in person with the dissertation committee at least once per year. Any other meetings may be by telephone. During these meetings, the committee will assess the student’s progress and discuss objectives and a timetable for completing degree requirements.
Each candidate will be allowed 2-4 years to complete the program, at least the first year of which must be spent in residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. The J.S.D. degree must be completed within four years.
EMPLOYMENT
J.S.D. students are limited to part-time on-campus employment in the first year, and part-time employment (on- or off- campus) in subsequent years. Upon a showing of need, the CILE Director may waive these limitations.
Link to J.S.D. admissions information.