Abstract
This chapter examines the concept of a doctoral degree in law in the US, with analogies drawn from parallel developments in Australia, Canada, Singapore and other pertinent common law jurisdictions with a similar model of the American-styled JSD or SJD program. It also looks at other countries that have adopted the US-styled JD and JSD or SJD degree programs, arguing that while most Commonwealth countries have a common approach to the concept and structure of a doctoral degree in law, the practice in the US is somewhat different. This chapter then makes policy recommendations to improve the international standing of the American doctoral degree programs in law.
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Notes
- 1.
As can be seen from Ph.D. in Law programs at most established universities in the Commonwealth.
- 2.
See generally Manley (2019).
- 3.
See Kyvik and Tvede (1998), pp. 9–25.
- 4.
See Ibid., pp. 9–25.
- 5.
See Ibid., pp. 9–25.
- 6.
See Ibid., pp. 9–25.
- 7.
See S. Bogle (2017), “What is a terminal degree?”, where the author states that: “Terminal degrees are somewhat more complicated when it comes to professional degrees. Earning a professional degree means a person has completed their academic studies in preparation to enter a professional field… More often the terminal degree is a doctorate. Common examples of such professional degrees are the Doctor of Medicine (MD) for physicians and the Juris Doctor (JD) for lawyers. The MD and JD are currently and widely considered terminal degrees in the US, even though other post-doctoral degrees in these fields exist. For example, the Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) is a research doctorate in law”.
A rather unusual description of the SJD program by a US Law School is that found on the website of the University of Kansas School of Law, describing the SJD as a terminal degree. The University of Kansas (2021), “Degrees for International Students: Doctor of Juridical Sciences (SJD)” notes that: “The University of Kansas School of Law is one of the few law schools in the United States to offer a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD), the terminal degree in law”.
- 8.
See Manley (2019), pp. 392–394.
- 9.
The American Bar Association (Online), “Overview of Post-JD and Non-JD Programs: Overview of Other than J.D. Programs” posits that: “Standard 313 of the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools states that an ABA-approved law school may not establish a degree program other than its J.D. degree program unless the school is fully approved, and the additional degree program will not detract from a law school's ability to maintain a sound J.D. degree program. The school must obtain acquiescence prior to commencing such a program. The ABA does not formally approve any program other than the first degree in law (JD)”.
- 10.
See Leiter B (2017), “Paths to Law Teaching: Information and Advice for Persons Interested in Teaching Law”.
- 11.
See below. Also, as the University of Oxford (2011), “What is a DPhil?”, observes: “Both ‘Ph.D.’ and ‘DPhil’ are abbreviations for ‘Doctor of Philosophy’, which is an advanced research qualification usually involving independent research to write an original thesis. It usually takes three to four years of full-time study or six to eight years of part-time study to complete”.
Many universities in the UK and other Commonwealth countries use the acronym, ‘PhD’, though universities such as the University of Oxford and the University of Sussex use the acronym, ‘DPhil’.
- 12.
See below.
- 13.
See Stanford University Law School (2019), “Doctor of Science of Law (JSD)”.
- 14.
National Association for Law Placement (Online), “Working Glossary”.
- 15.
See Ibid.
- 16.
See Ibid.
- 17.
See Ibid.
- 18.
See below.
- 19.
See for example the Northeastern University School of Law Online LLM degree program, the University of Southern California Online LLM degree program, the Georgetown University Law Center Online LLM degree program, the Georgetown University Law Center Executive LLM degree program in Securities and Financial Regulation, the University of Arizona Online LLM degree program, the University of Dayton Law School Online LLM degree program, the Boston University Law School Online LLM degree program in tax law, the University of Pepperdine Law School Online LLM degree program in dispute resolution, the University of Delaware Online LLM degree programs, the University of Fordham Law School Online LLM degree program, the Columbia University Law School Executive LLM degree program, the Northwestern University Executive LLM degree program, the New York University Law School Executive LLM degree program in tax law, and many others.
- 20.
See below for the Ph.D. in Law degree programs at Yale University Law School and the University of Washington in Seattle. Also, see the Doctor of Comparative Law (D.Comp.L) degree program at the University of Chicago Law School.
- 21.
For example, a handyman or technician at a block of apartments is sometimes referred to as an ‘engineer’ while a carpet cleaner might advertise his services by referring to himself as a ‘carpet doctor’. Even the guy fixing bicycles at the street-corner might describe himself as a ‘bike doctor’.
- 22.
See Robinson N (2015), “The history of the advanced degree in law in the United States.” See also generally, Hupper (2015).
- 23.
See Staff Reporter (2016), “First Law PhDs Set to Graduate”.
- 24.
See generally Ibid.
- 25.
See Yale Law School (Online), “The Ph.D. in Law Program”.
- 26.
See Yale Law School (Online), “Why a Ph.D. in Law?”.
- 27.
See Ibid.
- 28.
Yale Law School (Online), “Ph.D. Common Questions: How is the Ph.D. in Law degree related to the J.S.D. degree?”
- 29.
See Ibid.
- 30.
See Ibid.
- 31.
See Ibid.
- 32.
Cornell Law School (Online), “JSD Admissions”.
- 33.
See above.
- 34.
See Cornell Law School, “JSD Admissions”, op. cit.
- 35.
See Ibid.
- 36.
See generally Robinson N (2015), “The history of the advanced degree in law in the United States.
- 37.
See Ibid. See also Hopkins (2016), pp. 3–12.
- 38.
See above.
- 39.
See above.
- 40.
See Case Western Reserve University School of Law (2021), “SJD Programs—Doctor of Juridical Sciences (SJD).
- 41.
See Ibid.
- 42.
See Georgetown University Law Center (Online), “SJD degree”.
- 43.
See Ibid.
- 44.
See University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Online), “Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) Program”.
- 45.
See Center on the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School (2015), “American Degree Goes Global: The transformation of the Doctorate of Science and Law”.
- 46.
See Ibid.
- 47.
- 48.
On its website, Georgetown University Law School, for example, postulates that: “The Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) is the highest degree offered by Georgetown. Our students come here from all over the world; what they have in common is a desire to teach and write when they return home”.
(See Georgetown University Law School (2021) SJD Degree. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/graduate-programs/degrees/s-j-d-degree/. Accessed 02 June 2021).
Also, the Case Western University School of Law, on its website, maintains a similar view, contending that: “The SJD…will prepare you to return to your home country to work in academia or law reform for your government at the highest level”.
(See Case Western University School of Law (2021) SJD Programs. https://case.edu/law/academics/sjd-programs. Accessed 02 June 2021).
- 49.
Mui S (2010), “Should Aspiring Law Profs Go for a JSD Degree?”
- 50.
See Ibid.
- 51.
See Ibid.
- 52.
See Ibid.
- 53.
See Ibid. Here, reference to ‘Ph.D. in Law’ relates to the JSD or SJD degrees in the US, not the PhD in Law offered elsewhere outside the US.
- 54.
See the American Bar Association (ABA), “Overview of Post-JD and Non-JD Programs: Overview of Other than J.D. Programs,” op. cit.
- 55.
See Ibid.
- 56.
See above.
- 57.
For example, some US law schools permit the option of submitting three law review articles for the award of the JSD or SJD degree. This practice is akin to the PhD by Published Work that exists at most established universities in the Commonwealth. That said, other US Law Schools insist on the submission of a book-length dissertation. Also, the word limit of some SJD and JSD dissertations seems to vary across the board.
- 58.
See Harvard University Law School (2021), “Academics: SJD Candidates”.
- 59.
See Columbia University Law School (Online) “JSD Admissions.”.
- 60.
See University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (Online), “SJD Requirements”.
- 61.
See Phelan A.J. (2019), “Three articles written by Alexandra J. Phelan in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the S.J.D. degree”.
- 62.
See Yale University Law School, (Online) “PhD Program Details”.
- 63.
See generally Smith (2015).
- 64.
As evidenced by a survey conducted by this author over the last five years (2015–2020).
- 65.
As evidenced from several discussions, stretching over a period from 1995 to the present, with colleagues who hold combinations of these degrees.
- 66.
See Ibid.
- 67.
See Ibid.
- 68.
See Ibid.
- 69.
See University of Washington School of Law (Online), “Ph.D. in Law”.
- 70.
See below.
- 71.
See Vanderbilt University Law School (2016), “Ph.D. program in Law and Economics”.
- 72.
See Ibid.
- 73.
See George Mason University College of Humanities and the Social Sciences (Online), “Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society”.
- 74.
See American University School of Public Affairs (Online), “PhD in Justice, Law and Criminology.”
- 75.
See University of California at Berkeley Law School (Online), “Jurisprudence and Social Policy”.
- 76.
See University of California at Berkeley Law School (2021), “Jurisprudence and Social Policy”.
- 77.
See American University Washington College of Law (Online), “SJD Program”.
- 78.
See Drexel University College of Arts and Sciences (Online), “JD/PhD in Law and Psychology.”
- 79.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2018), “Political Science, PhD & Law, JD: for the joint degrees in Juris Doctor of Law and Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science”.
- 80.
See Ibid.
- 81.
See Ibid.
- 82.
Manley S (2019), p. 393.
- 83.
Ibid., p. 393.
- 84.
This is evident from the high number of JSD or SJD graduates who take up academic appointments at universities outside the USA. Foreign students intending to pursue an academic career hardly ever go for the JD degree when they come to the USA, especially that they understand the JD as a first professional law degree.
- 85.
See Ibid.
- 86.
Manley S (2019), p. 393.
- 87.
Ibid., p. 393.
- 88.
Ibid., p. 393.
- 89.
See Durrani A. (2020), “Why Foreign-Trained Lawyers Should Consider a 2-Year J.D”.
- 90.
See generally Robinson N (2015), “The history of the advanced degree in law in the United States”.
- 91.
See Ibid.
- 92.
See Ibid.
- 93.
See above.
- 94.
University of Sydney Law School (Online), “What is the difference between an LLB and a JD?”
- 95.
See above.
- 96.
See above.
- 97.
See above.
- 98.
University of Toronto Faculty of Law, “Earn your law degree”.
- 99.
See generally Dzedze (2017), pp. 107–119.
- 100.
See Ibid., pp. 107–119.
- 101.
See generally Maher K (2006), “Lawyers are Doctors, Too”.
- 102.
Manley S (2019), pp. 393–394.
- 103.
See above.
- 104.
See above.
- 105.
See Robinson N. (2015), “The history of the advanced degree in law in the United States”.
- 106.
See generally Ibid.
- 107.
See for example the admission requirements pertaining to Yale University’s JSD program at the following website: https://law.yale.edu/studying-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs/jsd-program, Accessed 14 Jan 2021. See also the admission requirements pertaining to Harvard University’s SJD program at the following website: https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/sjd-admissions/. Accessed 14 Jan 2021. However, Harvard, unlike Yale, indicates that it can accept an LLM from another top US law school.
- 108.
Indeed, in a 2020–21 survey conducted by this author, one student with a foreign LLB and a British LLM from the University of London had to obtain a second LLM degree from the University of Virginia School of Law before completing his SJD degree program at University Virginia. Another student with foreign LLB and LLM degrees had to obtain a second LLM from Yale University Law School before completing his JSD at Yale. A third student with a foreign LLB degree and an LLM degree from Queen’s University in Canada had to obtain a second LLM from Yale University Law School before completing his JSD at Yale. A fourth student with foreign LLB and LLM degrees and a British LLM degree from the University of London had to obtain a third masters degree, the Master of the Science of Law (JSM) from Stanford University Law School, before proceeding to Stanford’s JSD degree program. A fifth student with a foreign LLB and a British LLM from the University of Warwick had to obtain a second masters degree, the JSM from Stanford University Law School, before completing her JSD program at Stanford.
- 109.
See below.
- 110.
UCLA Law (2021), “LLM Degree Requirements”.
- 111.
The ABA website has been updated and no longer carries this statement. However, it had been published on the ABA website earlier. See for example, Mwenda K.K. (2007), pp. 21–22.
- 112.
See Murphy B. (2019), “Why is a JD degree equivalent to a PhD even though most law students do not publish original research?”
- 113.
See above.
- 114.
See above.
- 115.
See below.
- 116.
See Maher K. (2006), “Lawyers are Doctors, Too”.
- 117.
See Ibid., where Maher K. continues: “Less than a year later, however, the ethics committee reversed course in light of the newly adopted ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility. Disciplinary Rule 2–102 permitted a JD or LLM (master of law) recipient to use doctor with his or her name, the committee concluded in ABA Informal Opinion 1152 (1970). Several states concurred with the ABA’s new position, while others held to the prior rule. A Maine ethics opinion issued in 1979, for instance, advised lawyers that ‘the title doctor is almost exclusively confined to certain health professionals and, to some extent, academics with a PhD degree and clergymen,’ so a layperson who heard a lawyer referred to as doctor would assume that the lawyer was qualified in one of those professions”.
- 118.
See Bosch G.S. (2020), pp. 27–48.
- 119.
See, for example, generally Ziegler A.R. (2020), pp. 49–82.
- 120.
Scott P (2021) Review – M. Yudkevich, P.G. Altbach, L.E. Rumbley (eds) (2017).
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Mwenda, K.K. (2022). The Concept of the American-Styled Law Doctorate as It Obtains in the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Other Pertinent Jurisdictions. In: Doctoral Degree Programs in Law. SpringerBriefs in Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88421-5_2
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