J.S.D. Program and Curriculum

During the fall term, the graduate committee assigns an advisory committee to each J.S.D. candidate. All candidates in residence participate in the J.S.D. Workshop and are encouraged to participate in the weekly Academic Fellows Workshop.

As a J.S.D. candidate, you typically do not register for other classroom work, though you are free to audit any law course or seminar pertinent to your area of study with the instructor’s consent.

In consultation with your advisory committee, you will undertake substantial preliminary research to determine the scope of your proposed dissertation. While you must take the initiative in consulting with your advisory committee chair, the committee holds two formal meetings each year (in December and April). At a later stage, the advisory committee may become your examination committee.

All J.S.D. degree requirements must be fulfilled within six years. 

After you complete the required academic year of full-time study and research in residence at the Law School, you may extend your residence for one additional year. Extended presence at Columbia without formal residence can also be arranged, although financial support is not generally provided for a period beyond two years of residence.

You may pursue other commitments while you are out of residence, but you will be expected to keep working on your J.S.D. research simultaneously. You must also submit an annual check-in report to your faculty supervisor and the Office of Graduate Legal Studies.

The J.S.D. degree is awarded to students who complete an approved program of study, research, and writing with distinction.

To earn the degree, you must, within six years of enrollment in the program:

• Submit a dissertation (either one unified work or a set of three articles with a unifying essay).
• Pass an oral defense of the dissertation.
• Complete one academic year of full-time study and research in residence at the Law School, where you will be provided with a workspace.

Dissertation Defense and Grading
Once your J.S.D. research and writing is complete, you will—in consultation with your faculty chair—establish a time for your J.S.D. defense with your full committee. Upon satisfactory defense of your dissertation, your faculty supervisor will notify the Office of Graduate Legal Studies, who will help you prepare your dissertation for deposit with the University’s Dissertation Office. You will then receive the degree upon the university’s next degree conferral date (degrees are awarded in February, May, and October of each year). 

You will not receive grades for academic work, only a transcript notation signifying whether or not your work was of doctoral caliber. 

Termination
J.S.D. candidates are subject to termination at any time by the graduate committee, who may act upon the advice of colleagues most familiar with their work. In case of termination, candidates may be permitted to continue in residence until the end of the academic year as either an LL.M. candidate or a Special Student (non-degree status).

If you submit a satisfactory research paper or master’s essay based on doctoral research by December 31 of the year following your first year in residence, you are eligible to earn an LL.M. degree (it does not revoke your doctoral candidacy). This deadline cannot be extended under any circumstances.

Essay Criteria
The essay may be an integral and verbatim portion of your dissertation. It must fulfill the criteria for the LL.M. by Writing (see the LL.M. Associate Program)—in other words, constitute a very substantial piece of original research and writing that is equivalent to a lead article in a law review (although the essay does not need to be published). This will be determined by a member of your advisory committee and a second faculty reader not previously involved in your research.

Essay Evaluation
The essay will be graded on a credit/fail basis.