S.J.D. Admission Requirements
Admission to the S.J.D. Program is determined by the law school's S.J.D. Graduate Committee. Please be aware that our Program is small and highly selective. Only applicants with exceptionally strong credentials, dissertation proposals and English language proficiency are admitted. To be eligible for admission as an S.J.D. candidate, an applicant must:
- hold the first degree in law (J.D. or LL.B);
- hold the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from I.U. Law-Indianapolis or another ABA accredited law school;
- demonstrate exceptional promise as a legal scholar, through submission of academic transcripts that reveal outstanding performance in prior academic programs, prior written work (such as an LL.M. thesis) of high quality, and letters of recommendation attesting to the applicant's academic/professional achievements and ability to complete the degree;
- submit a dissertation proposal that is sufficiently detailed and comprehensive to demonstrate that the dissertation will constitute an original and substantial contribution, of publishable quality, to legal scholarship, and that the applicant will be able to successfully complete the proposed dissertation; and
- identify a tenured member of the law faculty who has agreed to serve as Dissertation Advisor, if the applicant is admitted.
Applicants for whom English is a second language must demonstrate English language proficiency sufficient to successfully undertake the research and writing required for the S.J.D. dissertation. Evidence of English language proficiency will include performance in prior academic degree programs for which English was the language of instruction and prior writings produced in English.
In the discretion of the S.J.D. Graduate Committee, admission may be conditioned on the applicant's completion of one or more courses in research methodologies or scholarly writing. Ordinarily, coursework in law will have been completed as part of the first law degree and the Master of Laws degree.
