JSD Program
The Law School offers two graduate degrees beyond the masters level: Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.S.D.), and Doctor of Comparative Law (D.Comp.L.). While most students elect to receive the J.S.D., the D.Comp.L. will be awarded at the student's option if the same degree requirements are met. Although most candidates in the J.S.D. Program first spend a year in the Law School's LL.M. Program, graduates of other LL.M. programs may be admitted to the Chicago J.S.D. Program.
Once students have been admitted to the J.S.D. Program, they may work on their dissertations in Chicago or anywhere else in the world but they must spend one year in residence at the Law School. They are expected to keep in close contact with their faculty sponsors. The J.S.D. degree will be awarded to students who have submitted a dissertation that is accepted by the faculty within five years of the start of the Program. Although there is no required coursework for the J.S.D. degree, candidates may take courses in the Law School and the University if they wish.
Degree Requirements
In order to earn the J.S.D. degree, a candidate must produce a dissertation which makes a creditable contribution to legal scholarship. The dissertation must be supervised by at least two members of the faculty and must be completed within five years of the candidate's first registration in the J.S.D. Program. The candidate must spend one year (three consecutive quarters) in residence at the Law School while working on the dissertation. During that year in residence the candidate will be expected to participate in academic activities at the Law School including regular attendance at one of the faculty workshops throughout the year. Near the end of this year in residence, or shortly thereafter, a candidate will be expected to make a presentation at the Law School on the progress of his or her dissertation preparation.
Waivers of the five year requirement may be granted by the Graduate Studies Committee but only upon demonstration that the candidate has made an active and good faith effort throughout the five years to complete the dissertation. It is the Committee's expectation that J.S.D. candidates will regularly consult with their dissertation advisors and, where appropriate, submit drafts of their work.
Application Process
In order to qualify for admission to the J.S.D. Program, candidates must ordinarily have maintained at least a 178 average in their LL.M. coursework at Chicago or have a comparable record in another LL.M. program, must identify two or more faculty members who are willing to supervise a dissertation, and must submit a dissertation proposal that in the opinion of the Graduate Studies Committee promises to result in a creditable contribution to legal scholarship.
The JSD application process has two phases. In the first phase - called the preliminary application - the Graduate Studies Committee will determine if a candidate is a good match for our J.S.D. Program by reviewing the candidate's background (including the academic record), the candidate's career plans and a description of the topic the candidate plans to develop in his or her dissertation. If the Graduate Studies Committee determines that the candidate is appropriate for our J.S.D. Program, the candidate will then begin the formal J.S.D. application phase by contacting several professors and asking them to guide the production of a detailed J.S.D. dissertation proposal. Once that proposal is complete and is approved by the faculty supervisors it will then be presented to the Graduate Studies Committee for a final admission decision.
Phase One - the preliminary J.S.D. application. Candidates interested in earning a J.S.D. degree will work with the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs in preparing their preliminary applications. Once they are ready to submit their preliminary applications to the Graduate Studies Committee they will submit to the Assistant Dean the following items: 1) a description of the topic the candidate would like to develop in the dissertation, 2) the names of the faculty members the candidate would like to supervise the dissertation, 3) a current resume describing the candidate's academic and professional background, 4) a statement describing why the candidate wishes to pursue the J.S.D. degree and how that degree will be useful in the candidate's future career and 5) transcripts for all prior legal education programs - candidates who did not attend the Chicago LL.M. Program must also submit two recommendation letters. All of this material may be submitted to the Assistant Dean in hard copy or via email.
Candidates may submit their preliminary applications any time after they have completed the first two quarters or the first semester of their LL.M study. The Graduate Studies Committee may defer a decision on the preliminary application until the grades for the full LL.M. year become available.
Phase Two - the formal JSD application. Once the Graduate Studies Committee has approved a candidate's preliminary application, the candidate will be free to contact the faculty supervisors to start substantive discussions about refining the dissertation proposal. When the dissertation proposal is complete, the candidate should submit the proposal to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs. At the same time, the faculty supervisors will send an email recommendation about the proposal to the Assistant. Once these two items have been received, the Graduate Studies Committee will select one or more faculty members to read the proposal and provide the Committee with an evaluation. After this evaluation has been done, the Graduate Studies Committee will make a final decision on admission to the J.S.D. Program.
Registration
Once a candidate has been admitted to the J.S.D. Program, the student must register with the University for three quarters - usually the Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters - each academic year until the J.S.D. is awarded or the student is no longer in the Program. The registration will be Advanced Residence. The University defines Advanced Residence as a full-time student status. Students are eligible for all the benefits associated with full-time registration: access to student housing, full library privileges, use of athletic facilities, quarterly computer time, access to student health insurance and the services of the University's Student Care Center, ability to borrow under federal student loan programs (so long as the student is otherwise eligible), and deferment of payment of past federal loans.
Students in the J.S.D. Program should contact the Law School Registrar (773.702.9485), each summer to make arrangements for the following academic year. Please provide the Registrar with a current address, telephone number, and e-mail address if available. J.S.D. candidates should also contact the Office of International Affairs (773.702.7752) to make any necessary visa arrangements.
Tuition and Fees
The tuition rate for the 2009-2010 academic year will be $1,520 per academic quarter. J.S.D. candidates who are living in Chicago are required to pay the Student Life Fee of $238 per quarter. Candidates living away are not required to pay the Student Life Fee. J.S.D. candidates are also eligible for individual and dependent health insurance. J.S.D. candidates may audit classes in the Law School and elsewhere in the University with permission of the instructor.
Since J.S.D. students do not have course requirements beyond the LL.M. Program and often are not conducting their dissertation research in Chicago, the Law School has been able to set its Advanced Residence tuition at 25% of the University's Advanced Residence tuition figure.
Degree Completion
Any student who expects to receive the J.S.D. degree at the end of a quarter must file a degree application with the Law School Registrar before the beginning of the quarter in which the degree is to be awarded.
The University has set up a central office to receive dissertations and to ensure that the final copy meets the minimum standards before the student is awarded a degree. This function includes informing students and departments about the University's minimum standards, helping students to understand them and comply with them, and certifying that the copy of the dissertation has been received and that it meets those requirements and has been approved formally by the department. Please go to the following web page maintained by the Dissertation Office for complete instructions on dissertation formats and submission deadlines: http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/phd/ The Dissertation Office is located in Room 100-B, Regenstein Library.
Candidates submit their dissertations electronically to the web site identified by the Dissertation Office. That Office then asks the Law School to complete an approval form indicating that the Law School accepts the dissertation. Once that approval form has been submitted the Dissertation Office checks that the dissertation meets University-wide requirements. If there are deficiencies, the office notifies the candidate and the Law School, detailing what must be corrected for the student to be eligible to receive the J.S.D. degree.
