phd law and philosophy

J.D./M.A. or Ph.D. in Philosophy

Juris Doctor/Master of Arts or Doctorate in Philosophy

J.D./Philosophy students must satisfactorily complete the graduation requirements for both the J.D. degree and the M.A. or Ph.D. in Philosophy degree. Separate diplomas will be awarded, and upon satisfactory completion of the program, a Joint Degree Certificate will be awarded as well.

Curriculum Outline

J.D./Philosophy students are required to take the first year of law school and the first year of Philosophy coursework as intact blocks. The first year at the Law Center may be taken either immediately prior to or immediately after completing one year of Philosophy coursework, but no earlier or later.

J.D./M.A. in Philosophy

J.D./M.A. in Philosophy degree candidates must complete 100 academic credits (76 credits of Law Center courses and 24 credits (or 18 credits and a thesis) of Philosophy coursework). Nine credits of Philosophy coursework will count towards the J.D. degree requirements, and 6 credits of J.D. coursework will count towards the M.A. in Philosophy degree requirements. The program also requires J.D./M.A. in Philosophy students to:

• pass a comprehensive examination in Philosophy;
• a course in professional responsibility;
• the upperclass writing requirement;
• 6 credits of experiential coursework;
• For students matriculating in Fall 2022 or later:  a course that teaches students to think critically about the law’s claim to neutrality and the law’s differential effects on subordinated groups, including those identified by race, gender, indigeneity, and class; and
• maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00/4.00 in the Philosophy program and the required minimum cumulative grade point average for the J.D. program (see the Juris Doctor Program chapter of Georgetown Law Student Handbook of Academic Policies ).

J.D./Ph.D. in Philosophy

J.D./Ph.D. in Philosophy degree candidates must complete 112 academic credits (76 credits of Law Center courses and 36 credits of Philosophy coursework). Nine credits of Philosophy coursework will count towards the J.D. degree requirements, and 9 credits of J.D. coursework will count towards the Ph.D. in Philosophy degree requirements.

The program also requires J.D./Ph.D. students to:

• successfully complete three comprehensive examinations in Philosophy;
• successfully complete a dissertation;
• maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00/4.00 in the Philosophy program and the required minimum cumulative grade point average for the J.D. program (see the Juris Doctor Program chapter of the Georgetown Law Student Handbook of Academic Policies ).

Contact Info

Office of academic affairs.

[email protected]

J.D. ADMISSIONS INFO

Office of admissions.

[email protected]

The Department of Philosophy

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JD/Ph.D.Program

The UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Department of Philosophy offer a joint JD/PhD program for exceptionally talented and especially committed students who hope to dedicate their careers to research and teaching in law and philosophy. Admission is extremely competitive, and very few students are admitted. It would be highly unusual for more than one candidate to be admitted in a year, and it is possible for no candidates to be admitted in an admission cycle.

Steps for Admission

• Apply and be admitted to law school ( Law School Admission Information ). In the section of the application asking about interest in Joint Degree Programs, select “J.D./Ph.D. Philosophy.”
• Apply and be admitted to the Philosophy Ph.D. program ( Philosophy Department Graduate Admission Information ). On the “Plans for Graduate Study” page of the application, select “Philosophy PhD – Law JD” as your major.
• Submit with each application an essay of between two and five pages explaining your interest in law and philosophy and in the joint degree program.

Students already admitted to either the JD program or the PhD program who wish to pursue the joint degree may apply by completing the application steps listed above. The funding for students is generous and is aimed to ensure that graduates may choose to enter a full time teaching career in either a law school or a philosophy department without the encumbrance of a large debt.

Requirements

The J.D. normally takes three years and the Ph.D. normally takes six to seven years. Candidates for the joint program must complete all requirements for both degrees. A limited number of philosophy courses will be counted toward the J.D. requirements, and a limited number of law courses will be counted toward the Ph.D.

The standard program could follow one of many paths. In the typical case, the student would be expected to focus solely on philosophy for the first year of the philosophy graduate program and solely on law for the first year of the law program. Thereafter, the student could take courses in both schools during the same academic year. There are, however, various ways in which the program could be structured, depending on the student

For more information about the Law & Philosophy Program please refer to the Law School’s website.

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Law and Philosophy Program

About the program.

The Law and Philosophy Program at Columbia Law School cultivates the exploration of philosophical issues surrounding legal institutions. This includes general jurisprudence (on the nature of law) and special jurisprudence (on particular areas of law), as well as the many ways in which legal institutions implicate subdisciplines of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, and philosophy of mind and language. Programming includes a Law and Philosophy Workshop series during the academic year, an annual legal theory conference, and a cross-institutional, collaborative community of affiliated scholars.

Co-Directors

Fall 2024 Events Calendar

October 9, time and location TBA, Law and Philosophy Workshop with Rachel Bayefsky (UVA) 

November 13, time and location TBA, Law and Philosophy Workshop with Kristen Rundle (Melbourne)

December 4, time and location TBA, Law and Philosophy Workshop with Gabriel Mendlow (Michigan)

Spring 2024 Events Calendar

January 24, 5:30 PM–7:30 PM in Jerome Greene Hall 805: Law and Philosophy Workshop with Christopher Lewis (Harvard)

March 20, 5:30 PM–7:30 PM in Jerome Greene Hall 501: Law and Philosophy Workshop with Scott Hershovitz (Michigan)

April 10, 4:20 PM–6:20 PM in Jerome Greene Hall 501: Law and Philosophy Workshop with Rebecca Stone (UCLA)

April 17, 4:20 PM–6:20 PM in Jerome Greene Hall 501: Law and Philosophy Workshop with Samantha Besson (Collège de France)

Fall 2023 Events Calendar

September 22–24: Conference in Tribute to Joseph Raz 

November 8, 4:10 PM–6 PM in Jerome Greene Hall 805: Law and Philosophy Workshop with Daniel Viehoff (NYU)

November 15, 4:10 PM–6 PM in Jerome Greene Hall 805: Law and Philosophy Workshop with Felipe Jimenez (USC)

December 6, 4:10 PM–6 PM in Jerome Greene Hall 805: Law and Philosophy Workshop with Lily Hu (Yale)

Columbia Law School Faculty Affiliates

Shyamkrishna Balganesh, Katherine Franke, Jamal Greene, Bernard Harcourt, Jeremy Kessler, Madhav Khosla, Jody Kraus, Dave Pozen, Kendall Thomas

Affiliated Scholars

Lily Hu (Yale Philosophy), Jenny Judge (University of Melbourne Philosophy), Jed Lewinsohn (Pitt Philosophy), Ketan Ramakrishnan (Yale Law), Erick Sam (Utah Law), Daniel Viehoff (NYU Philosophy), Salome Viljoen (Michigan Law)

Law & Philosophy Fellow

The University of Chicago The Law School

Law and philosophy.

The Law School offers an extremely broad and deep program of interdisciplinary study in law and philosophy, with attention to both the major historical figures and contemporary problems. Whether you are coming to law study with an undergraduate or graduate degree in philosophy, or simply with an interest in philosophical questions without significant formal background in the field, you will find a wide array of opportunities to pursue those interests and develop your knowledge during your three years at the Law School. The Law School particularly welcomes students with philosophical interests who may be interested in careers in law teaching and legal scholarship; the Law School has long been one of the top producers of new law teachers in the U.S.

The faculty

Three full-time members of the law faculty have significant interests in law and philosophy: Brian Leiter, Martha Nussbaum, and David Strauss.

Brian Leiter is best-known for his philosophical reconstruction and defense of the jurisprudence of American Legal Realism and his exploration of the implications of the naturalistic turn in philosophy for the problems of general jurisprudence. Many of his important papers on these topics are collected in Naturalizing Jurisprudence (Oxford, 2007). He is also a leading Nietzsche scholar, with a particular interest in Nietzsche’s moral philosophy, and is responsible, with his Nietzsche on Morality (Routledge, 2002), for the renewed scholarly interest in the idea that Nietzsche is a philosophical naturalist. His other published papers treat such topics as the objectivity of morality, legal positivism, religious toleration, the epistemology of evidence law, the intersection of moral and empirical psychology, and aspects of the philosophies of Marx and Foucault.. He was editor for seven years of the journal Legal Theory and is now editor, with Mr. Green, of Oxford Studies in the Philosophy of Law .

Martha C. Nussbaum has made seminal contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy (especially Aristotle and the Stoics), central problems in political philosophy (especially developing the Capabilities Approach to human well-being and reassessing and expanding the Rawlsian theory of justice), the defense of cosmopolitanism as a moral, political, and pedagogical ideal, the philosophy of the emotions, and the study of literature as a source of moral knowledge. Her many books include Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership (Harvard, 2006), Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law (Princeton, 2004), Upheavals of Thoughts: The Intelligence of Emotions (Cambridge, 2001), Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach (Cambridge, 2000), Sex and Social Justice (Oxford, 1999), The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Greek Ethics (Princeton, 1994), Love’s Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature (Oxford, 1990), and The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy (Cambridge, 1986). All of her work has been deeply engaged with major figures in the history of philosophy, including not only the major Greek and Roman philosophers, but also, in the modern era, especially Kant and Mill. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

David A. Strauss has been a leading contributor to constitutional law and theory for more than twenty years, with a particular interest in philosophical problems that arise in interpreting and applying the U.S. Constitution. His many influential articles include “Legitimacy and Obedience” ( Harvard Law Review , 2005), “Common Law, Common Ground, and Jefferson’s Principles” ( Yale Law Journal , 2003), “Constitutions, Written and Unwritten” ( Law and Philosophy , 2001), “What Is Constitutional Theory?” ( California Law Review , 1999), “Principle and Its Perils” ( University of Chicago Law Review , 1997), “Common Law Constitutional Interpretation” ( University of Chicago Law Review , 1996), and “Persuasion, Autonomy, and Freedom of Expression” ( Columbia Law Review , 1991). He is, with Geoffrey Stone and Dennis Hutchinson, editor of the Supreme Court Review . He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Each year the Law School also hosts a “Law and Philosophy Fellow,” a recent Ph.D. in philosophy with legal interests, who is an active participant in the intellectual and curricular offerings related to law and philosophy at the Law School. The first Law and Philosophy Fellow was Scott Anderson (Ph.D., University of Chicago), Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. The Law and Philosophy Fellow for 2008-09 is James Staihar (J.D., Harvard University; Ph.D., University of Michigan), who works in philosophy of criminal law, general jurisprudence, and bioethics, among other areas.

Many other members of the law faculty have interests in philosophical aspects of law, including Richard A. Epstein , Lee Anne Fennell , Richard McAdams , Eric Posner , Richard Posner , and David Weisbach .

The curriculum

First Year: All 1L students take “Elements of the Law” in the Autumn Quarter. Unique to legal education at Chicago, “Elements of the Law” examines certain issues that occur in many different areas of the law and considers the relationship between these issues and comparable questions in other fields of thought, such as moral and political philosophy, economics, and political theory. In the Spring Quarter, 1L students may choose an elective; there are usually one or more philosophical offerings available.

Second and Third Year: There are a wide range of electives available to law students with philosophical interests during their second and third years of study.

“Jurisprudence I: The Nature of Law and Adjudication” is offered every year by Mr. Leiter, and, most years, he also offers “Jurisprudence II: Topics in Moral, Political, and Legal Theory.” Together, these courses cover the central issues in legal philosophy, including the relationship between law and morality, the duty to obey the law, and the nature of legal reasoning and judicial decision, as well as cognate topics such as the nature of meaning and interpretation (in law and elsewhere), the objectivity of law, free will and responsibility, liberty and its limits, conceptions of the just society and the good life, liberalism and illiberalism, and critical theories of society and law.

Mr. Green, Mr. Leiter, Ms. Nussbaum, Mr. Strauss, and Mr. Sunstein offer seminars on a regular basis on topics of interest to students of law and philosophy. Recent topics include “Constitutional Theory and Interpretation”; “Constitutionalism and Democracy”; “Education and Moral Psychology”; “Equality as a Political Value”; “Feminist Philosophy”; “Legal Reasoning”; “Legality and the Rule of Law”; “The Letters of Cicero and Seneca”; “Methodology in Jurisprudence”; “Mill”; “Nietzsche and Foucault: Morality, Self, and Society”; “Political Obligation and Civil Disobedience”; “Rawls and His Critics”; “Religion and the State”; and “Toleration: Its Justification and Limits.”

Law & Philosophy Workshop

The Law & Philosophy Workshop exposes students to cutting-edge work in "general jurisprudence," that part of philosophy of law concerned with the central questions about the nature of law, the relationship between law and morality, and the nature of legal reasoning.

Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values

The Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values sponsors speakers and conferences to support and encourage the reflective, critical and philosophical study of human values, with a particular emphasis on the conceptual, historical, and empirical foundations of the normative systems—moral, political, and legal—in which human being live.

• JD/MA and JD/PhD Philosophy

Department of Philosophy The JD/PhD Program is designed to train the next generation of legal philosophers, who will teach legal and political philosophy in law schools, philosophy departments, departments of government, specialized graduate and undergraduate jurisprudence programs, and legal studies departments. The JD/MA is available on an ad hoc basis with permission of the Graduate Program in Philosophy and can be completed in the three years that the student matriculates at Penn Carey Law.

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• JD/MBA (4 Year)
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• JD/MA or MS Criminology
• JD/MD Doctor of Medicine
• JD/MSE Engineering
• JD/MCP City & Regional Planning
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• JD/AM Islamic Studies
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About the JD/PhD Philosophy

Led by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Philosophy department, the JD/PhD Program is designed to train the next generation of legal philosophers. This program is designed for those who will teach legal and political philosophy in law schools, philosophy departments, departments of government, specialized graduate and undergraduate jurisprudence programs, and legal studies departments.

Students in this program have the opportunity to earn a combined JD/PhD in a condensed time frame while complementing their studies in each field with knowledge and research in the other.

Program Course Overview

Students can earn both degrees in six years. The Law School gives credit for up to four approved courses in the Department of Philosophy toward the JD (more if the courses are cross-listed with the Law School courses). The Philosophy Department requires that students complete all PhD coursework, which may include several courses from the Law School curriculum.

Most often, students spend their first two years in the Department of Philosophy and their third year at the Law School completing the traditional 1L curriculum. The next two years are spent in combined coursework in the two departments, followed by dissertation writing. On occasion, for the exceptional candidate, some other arrangement of coursework may be possible.

How to Apply

Students must apply and gain admission separately to each department. Applications to the Department of Philosophy are welcomed contemporaneously with the Law School application and vice versa.

For more information, admitted or current JD students should contact Amanda S. Aronoff. Applicants or prospective applicants to the Law School should contact [email protected] .

Interested in other humanities focused joint degrees?

JD/PhD American Legal History

JD/MA International Studies

Ph.D. Program

The ph.d. in law degree.

The Ph.D. in Law degree program is designed to prepare J.D. graduates for careers as legal scholars and teachers through a doctoral program aimed at the production of a substantial body of academic research and writing under the close supervision of a three-member faculty dissertation committee. Unlike programs designed for students who wish to learn about law from the disciplinary perspectives of the social sciences or the humanities, the Ph.D. in Law is directed at students who wish to pursue advanced studies in law from the perspective of the law. This program offers emerging scholars an opportunity to contribute to the development of law as an academic field, and it provides an alternate pathway into law teaching alongside existing routes such as fellowships, advanced degrees in cognate fields, legal practice, and clerkships.

Because our entering Ph.D. students will have already completed their J.D. degrees, the anticipated course of study toward the Ph.D. in Law degree is three academic years and two summers in residence. In their first two semesters, Ph.D. students will enroll in courses designed to help them acquire the background and research skills needed to complete a dissertation in their field of interest and to prepare them for qualifying examinations that test the depth and breadth of the literacies and skills they have acquired. During their second year, students will prepare a dissertation prospectus and begin work on a dissertation. The dissertation may take the form of either three law review articles or a book-length manuscript and will make up a portfolio of writing that will be essential for success in the job market. Ph.D. students will also gain experience in the classroom, and receive the full support of Yale Law School’s Law Teaching Program , which has had remarkable success in placing graduates in tenure-track positions at leading law schools.

Ph.D. students receive a full-tuition waiver, a health award for health insurance coverage, and a stipend to cover their year-round living expenses, as well as support for participation in national and international conferences.

Applications for admission to the Ph.D. in Law program are available starting on August 15. The deadline for submission of all materials is December 15. Applicants to the Ph.D. in Law program must complete a J.D. degree at a U.S. law school before they matriculate and begin the Ph.D. program. Any questions about the program may be directed to Gordon Silverstein, Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, at [email protected] .

Watch Gordon Silverstein, Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, describe the Ph.D. program at Yale Law School.

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Law and Philosophy J.D. Specialization

This specialization explores the philosophical foundations of law and often attracts students interested in graduate studies or careers in academia.

Students in the interdisciplinary Law and Philosophy Specialization delve deeply into material on the nature of law and legal systems, and on the theoretical underpinnings and justifications of particular doctrinal areas such as constitutional law, criminal law and contract. Students need not have any prior background in philosophy, but a strong interest in the subject is recommended.

Any student in good standing may apply to be admitted into the Specialization. Interested students should complete the Specialization Add/Drop Form . Please email Program Coordinator Ben Austin [email protected] once you have completed the form letting him know you have signed up for the Specialization.

The Specialization is not a separate degree program, but rather a specialization within UCLA School of Law. A student who completes the Specialization with a B or better in each qualifying course and a B+ in the writing requirement, will receive a transcript notation indicating successful completion of the Specialization.

Students enrolled in the specialization have priority enrollment for Core List courses but not for the courses on the qualifying list. The Registrar will provide pre-enrollment information for each semester.

Law & Philosophy Specialization for Philosophy Graduate Students

Subject to approval by the Graduate Advisor in Philosophy, the Faculty Director of the Program, and advance consultation with the law school Registrar, philosophy graduate students in their third year or beyond who have academic interests in law and philosophy will be permitted to take up to four law school courses, including courses in first year subjects. Enrollment in any law school course or seminar will require the consent of the instructor.

Graduate students taking law school courses may be permitted with instructor consent to write a paper in lieu of taking an exam and, in any case, would not be subject to the curve applied to law students. These courses will not, typically, be counted toward Ph.D. course requirements, although students may petition the Graduate Advisor for an exception.

Philosophy students who complete four law school courses (only one of which may be the legal theory workshop) each for a grade of B or higher, and who write a substantial research paper on law and philosophy will receive a notation on their departmental transcripts that they have completed the specialization in law and philosophy.

Graduate students interested in completing the specialization should review the law school’s offerings  and email  [email protected]  with a copy to Doug Myers at [email protected]  about getting permission to enroll.

Specialization Requirements for Law Students and Curriculum

To earn a specialization in Law and Philosophy, students must finish a course work requirement and a written work requirement in their second and third years as detailed below.

Please view the  schedule of Law and Philosophy courses that may be offered during the 2024-2025 academic year.

• Students must complete  four qualifying courses  (of at least two semester units each) with a grade of B or better in each course.
• At least two of the courses must come from the Core List. (These lists may be updated by the faculty affiliated with the Program as new courses are added.). Courses on the Core List will be frequently offered. They will usually be taught by members of the faculty who have special expertise in the area of Law and Philosophy, drawing on foundational materials and methodologies of the subject.
• The other two courses may come from the Core List from the Other Qualifying Courses List or students may petition the Faculty Director of the Program to have other relevant courses or independent studies counted toward the specialization.
• Courses from the Core List  need not  be taken before other qualifying courses. Coursework need not be complete before the student tackles the written work requirement.

Legal Philosophy

Philosophy of punishment, legal theory workshop, contemporary philosophy of law: the cutting edge, the philosophy of prisons and punishment, free speech theory, the foundations of legal and moral responsibility, philosophy 166 - philosophy of law .

(strongly recommended)

(This course is not part of the standard Law School curriculum and hence not subject to priority enrollment. Interested students should contact the instructor in the fall to request enrollment and notify the faculty Director. Be aware that the course runs on the quarter system and starts in January term, running for 10 weeks.)

Critical Race Theory

International human rights law, law and dissent, prison law and policy, ucla colloquium on tax policy and public finance, theories of international law, feminist legal theory, the law and political economy of debt, direct democracy, religious legal systems: jewish law, social media and the future of democracy, reproductive rights and justice, freedom of speech: theoretical and comparative perspectives, the 8th amendment punishments clause, religious liberty.

Philosophy M257 - The Ethics and Politics of Communication 

To earn the specialization, students must also complete a substantial research paper (20 to 35 pages) on a topic in law and philosophy with a grade of B+ or better.

To discuss the specialization, students may contact Faculty Director or the Law and Philosophy Program Manager.

For detailed information about the specialization including other courses and methods of fulfilling the specialization, please visit the  Law and Philosophy Specialization page  in MyLaw (login required).

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Philosophy (PhD)

Program description, dual degree.

Philosophy strives to answer the most fundamental questions about the world and our place in it. While people often implicitly assume answers to many of these questions, philosophy as a discipline seeks to identify and answer them through rigorous and informed inquiry and reasoning.

These questions have been pursued for thousands of years, in many different ways and in many different cultures, and the study of this rich history is itself part of the increasingly global discipline of philosophy. Its main branches include metaphysics (questions about the structure of reality); ethics (questions about the good, the right, and the virtuous); epistemology (questions about knowledge, truth, and inquiry); philosophy of mind (questions about cognition, consciousness, and emotion); philosophy of language (questions about meaning and its linguistic expression); and political philosophy (questions about justice, liberty, and the state). At the same time, no field of inquiry or endeavor is without its own most fundamental and therefore philosophical questions; hence, philosophy encompasses a wide range of interdisciplinary areas such as philosophy of science (including philosophies of physics, biology, cognitive science, and the social sciences); philosophy of mathematics; aesthetics; philosophy of law; and philosophy of religion. Many academic disciplines that are now well established as mature fields of inquiry in their own right began as branches of philosophy. Among philosophy’s most important tools is logic—another field of inquiry originated by philosophers.

Faculty in NYU’s internationally recognized Department of Philosophy are deeply engaged in developing new philosophical knowledge; in training graduate students to become the next generation of leaders in philosophy; and in preparing undergraduates for the many professional pursuits that benefit from critical thinking, analysis, and argumentation (including education, law, medicine, politics, business, computer science, and publishing) and for the kind of life deepened by awareness and reflection that is most worth living.

The Philosophy Department offers a dual degree with the NYU School of Law: Philosophy PhD/Law JD.

See Philosophy for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.

All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the  general application requirements , which include:

• Academic Transcripts
• Test Scores  (if required)
• Applicant Statements
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
• Letters of Recommendation , and
• A non-refundable  application fee .

See Philosophy for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program. 

Basic Course Work

Third-year review, logic requirement, thesis prospectus, prospectus defense, thesis and oral examination, departmental approval, program requirements.

The program requires the completion of 72 credits. 20 of the total 72 credits may be in dissertation research, although the student may include other courses toward that total as well. No more than 8 basic credits taken while enrolled in the program can be satisfied through courses taken outside of the NYU Department of Philosophy.

This seminar is open to first year Philosophy PhD. students only. It includes frequent short writing assignments, and the mode of instruction emphasizes discussion rather than lecture. The topics are determined by the instructors but include basic texts and ideas in analytic philosophy.

See "Basic Course Work" below.

See "Third-Year Review" below.

Students are required to take at least one semester of PHIL-GA 3601 Work in Progress Seminar (4 credits), with the obligation usually to be fulfilled by the end of the student’s fourth year. The Work-in-Progress Seminar is devoted to the discussion of students’ work-in-progress under the supervision of a faculty member.

See "Logic Requirement" below.

These nine courses are drawn from advanced introduction courses, intermediate-level courses, topics or advanced seminar courses, and research seminar courses. In special circumstances, students may earn 4 points (but no more than 4 points) of basic coursework by completing an Independent Study with a faculty member, in which they read up on an area of interest and write a paper with faculty guidance. There are three distribution categories: value theory (ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of law, and political philosophy), metaphysics and epistemology broadly conceived (metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of logic), and history of philosophy (ancient, medieval, modern, 19th century, and early 20th century). Of the nine basic courses, at least two courses each must fall into two of these three distribution categories, and one course must fall into the other distribution category.

In the Third Year Review Preparation Course, students work with a faculty member to develop and refine an already existing paper or project. Except in special circumstances, it is expected that the Third Year Review Preparation Course paper will serve as the student’s Third Year Review submission.

By the date one week prior to the first day of the fifth semester in the program, students must submit one paper written while enrolled in the NYU Ph.D. program. To satisfy the requirement, the paper should be a substantial and polished piece of work that demonstrates that the student is able to take his or her philosophical research and writing to the high level appropriate for writing a dissertation.

The department’s logic requirement can be satisfied in four ways. Two ways are to take a graduate-level logic course in the NYU philosophy department or a graduate-level course elsewhere, but in both cases the appropriateness of the course must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. A third way is to satisfy the department that some course or courses taken previously meets the required standard. A fourth way is to schedule an oral examination covering an appropriate range of topics. In deciding whether to approve courses under the second and third headings, and in determining the content of the oral examination under the fourth heading, the department will be looking for competence in the following topics: formalization of English sentences in first-order logic; derivations within a proof system for first-order logic; formal definitions of models, truth in a model, and validity for first-order logic; basic meta-logical tools, including proof by mathematical induction and recursive definition; the statement of, and the basic methods for proving, basic meta-logical results, including soundness and completeness for systems of first-order or modal logic, and results concerning the decidability of some formal systems.

Additional Program Requirements

During their third year in the program, students develop a prospectus for their dissertation. The prospectus document, between five and a strict maximum of fifteen pages long, should not be a philosophy paper, but rather a thesis plan that clearly articulates an interesting philosophical project, situates the project in the space of philosophical ideas, and gives an indication of the main relevant literature.

While the prospectus defense takes the form of an oral examination, its principal purpose is to reach an agreement with prospective future members of the student’s thesis committee as to the shape and substance of the project. The thesis prospectus examination should satisfy the committee that the candidate can write a passing thesis meeting the description in the candidate’s submitted prospectus.

The dissertation can consist of a monograph or, alternatively, of three outstanding papers. The department envisions that, in most cases, the dissertation will grow out of work done for the topics or advanced seminars or while in PHIL-GA 3600 Third Year Review Preparation Course , and continued in PHIL-GA 3601 Work in Progress Seminar . Thus, there will be no sharp distinction between years of course work and years of dissertation writing. Students are expected to complete all degree requirements, including the dissertation, within six years.

All Graduate School of Arts & Science doctoral candidates must be approved for graduation by their department for the degree to be awarded.

Sample Plan of Study

Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation ( MAINT-GA 4747 ) course.  All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will have:

• The ability to conduct independent philosophical research, with emphasis on the ability to identify questions of philosophical significance, to master the philosophical literature surrounding a given question, and to analyze and critically assess that literature.
• The ability to make significant, original contributions to the field, whether by advancing an ongoing contemporary debate or by enhancing our understanding of the history of philosophy.
• A proficiency in written communication, with emphasis on the ability to write research articles meeting the highest professional standards, such that students will be able to publish their work in the most selective peer-reviewed journals in the field.
• A proficiency in oral communication, with emphasis on the ability to present papers, comments, and ideas in professional conference, seminar, and colloquium settings.
• A proficiency in the teaching of philosophy, with emphasis on the ability to function as a clear, effective, and stimulating teacher of philosophy at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
• A familiarity with a broad range of areas in contemporary philosophy, including exposure to value theory and to metaphysics and epistemology, broadly construed.
• A familiarity with one or more topics in the history of philosophy, and an ability to read, interpret, and critically assess texts from different eras and traditions.
• A competence in formal logic, including the formalization of English sentences; derivations within a system of predicate logic; formal definition of truth and validity for a first-order language; basic metalogical tools, including the use-mention distinction, the concept of rigor, and proof and definition by mathematical induction; and statement and proof of basic metalogical results, including the deduction theorem, and soundness and completeness for sentential and predicate logic.

NYU Policies

Graduate school of arts and science policies.

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages .

Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page . 

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• JD/PhD (Philosophy)

Director: Assistant Dean Sara Faherty ( sara.faherty@utoronto.ca )

Requirements

The Combined JD/PhD (Philosophy) Program enables students to pursue a profound investigation of the complex issues that lie at the intersection between law and philosophy.

The program allows students to complete the two degrees one year faster than if they were pursued separately. At the end of that period, the student will have completed the JD degree and reached the dissertation stage of the PhD in philosophy.

Admission to the PhD program requires either a four-year bachelor's degree or a Master's degree in philosophy, from a recognized university. A student seeking admission on the basis of a four-year bachelor's degree must have completed at least six full courses in philosophy (twelve semester courses), with minimum average grades of B+ in the applicants' overall program and A- in the philosophy courses. A student seeking admission on the basis of a master's degree in philosophy must have an average grade of at least an A- in that program. 

• In the first year of the program students complete all the first year courses at the Faculty of Law.
• In the second and third years of the program, the Director must approve all courses* with the following minimum requirements.
• Successfully complete 48** credits at the Faculty of Law AND
• Successfully complete 4 half-courses in philosophy at 2 credits each AND
• Satisfy the compulsory requirements of the upper years of the JD including the moot, a perspective course, and an International/Comparative/Transnational Perspective (ICT) course - see JD Degree Requirements in the Academic Handbook for details.
• Courses taken during the second and third year count towards the credit requirement at the Faculty of Law.

 * In order to complete the requirements of the 3 year JD program, the student must have a minimum of 48 law credits in the second and third year of the program PLUS the 4 half-courses in Philosophy. ** Students who intend to complete their JD one year later (i.e. year 4) must do a minimum of 38 law credits in years 2 and 3 and the remaining 10 law credits in year 4. This may apply to students who decide to do more philosophy graduate courses in Year 2 and Year 3 than the required four half courses.

3.    In the fourth year of the program:

• Students must complete qualifying year requirements in philosophy and meet the research tool requirement. 
• Dissertation as required by the Department of Philosophy and the School of Graduate Studies.

Note: Notwithstanding the Department of Philosophy's course selection process, students must meet the Faculty of Law course selection deadline. Students must submit their proposed course selections for years two and three of the program to the Director prior to the applicable course selection deadlines in each year and in each Faculty. Any changes must also be approved by the Director.

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Those interested in the combined program must obtain separate admission to both the PhD program in philosophy and the JD program. The program is designed for students who are already qualified to enter the PhD in philosophy as well as the JD program, but in limited cases candidates who have completed a master's program in another discipline may be considered.

To apply to the JD Program at the Faculty of Law, see Application Procedure for the JD Program  on this Web site. For more information about this combined program, contact the: 

Admissions Office Faculty of Law University of Toronto 84 Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 2C5 Telephone: (416) 978-3716 E-mail: admissions.law@utoronto.ca  

Admission applications for the PhD program in philosophy may be obtained from:

Graduate Department of Philosophy Jackman Humanities Building 170 St. George Street, Room 410 University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario M5R 2M8 Tel: (416) 978-3312 Fax: (416) 978-8703 For more information: http://philosophy.utoronto.ca/st-george/graduate/admission/

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Juris Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy in Religion (JD/PhD)

The Juris Doctor/Doctor of Philosophy (JD/PhD) is administered by Emory Law and the Graduate Division of Religion, a unit of the Laney Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. A candidate must complete 79 hours of academic credit (five semesters) in the law school. A candidate must also complete 36 hours of academic credit (three semesters) in the Graduate School, followed by two additional semesters for PhD examinations and preparation and defense of the dissertation proposal. Beyond the basic course requirements, each JD/PhD candidate designs his or her own program of course work and writing which must be approved by the adviser in the graduate school. Emory Law students have pursued the JD/PhD degree with a number of graduate departments including Philosophy, Political Science, Economics, and Women's Studies. 

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Doctor of Philosophy in Law

The PhD is a research-intensive degree that prepares graduates for opportunities in law teaching, legal research, policy development, public and governmental service, and the practice of law. 

Learn more about the degree requirements.

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Tuition fees and scholarship & bursary information to help you plan your finances.

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“I chose Allard Law because it’s one of the best law schools in Canada and UBC is consistently recognized as a world-class research intensive university. I had a rich experience during my Masters’ program here at Allard, so I was really happy and excited to progress my studies at the Ph.D. level. I’m confident that the PhD program will go a long way in helping me develop expertise in my chosen field of corporate governance and anti-corruption law and I look forward to more rewarding experiences during my time here.  

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at UNSW Law & Justice can accelerate your career, whether you’re planning to move into advanced research, academia, practice or policy development.

Our research degree will equip you with skills and knowledge to help you thrive across a broad range of organisations, including academia, the legal profession, government, NGOs or inter-governmental agencies.

As part of this postgraduate research degree, you will study research methods and complete a research thesis that makes a substantial and original contribution to knowledge in your chosen area of law, criminology or related discipline. You’ll enjoy a collegiate and dynamic research culture at UNSW Law & Justice, an internationally renowned faculty.

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• Entry requirements
• Program structure

Applicants for this doctoral program must have either completed a recognised Masters degree (including a substantial research component) with a minimum distinction average (75 per cent), or a recognised four-year Bachelor's degree with Honours Class II, Division (I) that included a substantial research component, or the equivalent. 

You must also submit a research proposal to be considered for this program. Admission to the PhD program is subject to appropriate supervision being available.

The PhD requires a minimum of three and a maximum of four years full-time study and submission of a research thesis, usually not exceeding 100,000 words. You'll be supervised by experts in your chosen area, who will help you develop insights and critical legal research skills in a supportive and stimulating environment. 

Compulsory coursework includes research ethics, research methods and data management. Ongoing enrolment in the doctoral program requires confirmation of candidature at between nine to 12 months full-time equivalent. 

Confirmed candidates will then have annual progress reviews to help track their research project's achievements and milestones.

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Indigenous PhD scholarships in law

How to apply

Law MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

UCL Laws has one of the most selective MPhil/PhD programmes in the UK, and produces graduates of internationally recognised quality. Ranked the top UK Law institution for research quality in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (2021), UCL Laws attracts leading figures in the field to our extensive programme of events, informing debate on critical legal issues.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

Applications closed

• Entry requirements

A minimum of a good upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree in an appropriate subject, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. We have a strong preference for a recognised LLM or equivalent Master's degree and would normally expect a distinction overall, with evidence of first-class ability (or equivalent) in extended written work/dissertation.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 3 Further details are available on the Faculty of Laws website .

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

UCL Laws has a strong international and multidisciplinary research environment, focused around all sixteen of our research centres, institutes and groups. Bringing together outstanding researchers from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds and jurisdictions, our research centres and institutes nurture individual research, but also actively encourage and support collaboration and partnerships that expand cross-disciplinary research.

Who this course is for

This programme provides specialist training on research methods in law. Specialised research centres ensure that the doctoral study experience is collaborative, while UCL Faculty of Laws provides opportunities and support for doctoral students to achieve real impact with their research.

What this course will give you

UCL Laws has been one of the leading centres of legal education in the world for almost 200 years. Rated as being Number 1 for research quality in the UK compared with all other Law Schools in the country by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), UCL Laws' community of intellectually dynamic scholars responds to today's global challenges. Through our research, we help to shape government policy, national and international law and practice.

Combining a strong theoretical foundation in the law with world-leading expertise in empirical legal studies and interdisciplinary research, UCL Laws offers an outstanding educational experience to our doctoral students, with special work-in-progress workshops, dedicated conferences, and teaching experience.

All students benefit from a year-long research methodology seminar series in their first year and will join a vibrant and active MPhil/PhD student community which, for example, runs its own weekly seminar series in term time.

The foundation of your career

A graduate from the UCL Laws PhD programme will have developed advanced skills in legal research, analysis and writing, public presentations and in almost all cases teaching at university level. Our graduates are well placed to pursue careers in the global academic world, but the research, analytical and writing skills obtained during the PhD also transfer easily to high level work in government, non-governmental organisations and the commercial sector.

Employability

Our PhD graduates have entered a wide range of careers including top academic positions in the UK and overseas, international organisations, private sector, NGOs and government. 'The international reputation and expertise of the Faculty is well known and is what first attracted me to UCL. I found the faculty to be a vibrant academic community in which to undertake research, with invaluable support to develop personal research skills, pursue cross-disciplinary research and to engage in empirical activities. After my doctoral studies I was delighted to join the faculty as a Lecturer. The community of support at UCL Faculty of Laws undoubtedly enhanced my research and enabled me to pursue avenues that may not otherwise have been possible'. Dr Anna Donovan Lecturer, UCL Laws

The Faculty has a longstanding reputation for high-quality legal research with real world impact. We have long-established links with the judiciary, the legal, public and private sector. This is reflected in the outstanding quality of our extensive annual programme of seminars, lectures, debates and conferences on a wide variety of critical legal issues. Through this programme our PhD students have the opportunity to engage personally with leading members of the judiciary, legal profession, commercial and financial sectors, government, NGOs and leading international academics.

Teaching and learning

A PhD from UCL Laws is essentially an independent piece of substantial work, making an addition to current knowledge, but you will receive support in various ways this endeavour.  Firstly, through expert supervision, which will include regular meetings, feedback on your progress and your written work, and advice on your development as a researcher.  You will also undertake research skills training in the Faculty of Laws, through which a supportive environment among the PhD cohort and your fellow research students is fostered.  There will the opportunity to engage with the wider UCL community in training bespoke to your research and career aims too.  Dissemination of your work, and building networks in your field of research, will be actively supported and encouraged by the Facult y . There is financial support available to engage with the wider academic community, to present your work to and receive feedback from scholars and academic events, such as conferences, nationally and internationally.

The PhD programme is examined by a thesis of up to 100,000 words, which should demonstrate your capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline.

Full-time students can expect to meet their PhD supervisors at least once a month for progress meetings throughout their PhD (once every two months for part-time students). In year 1 of the PhD, there will be fortnightly research skills seminars. There will be research skills seminars in years 2 and 3 (for full-time students, years 2-5 for part-time students) too, but these will be less frequent. The majority of the PhD will be spent on independent research.

Research areas and structure

• Antitrust, Regulation and Competition Law
• Comparative and Foreign Law
• Contract, Restitution and Tort
• Corporate, Finance and Insolvency
• Criminal Justice
• Empirical Legal Studies
• Environmental Law
• European Law
• Family Law and Bioethics
• Human Rights, Employment and Equality Law
• Intellectual Property
• International Business, Insurance and Trade
• International Commercial Law
• Judicial Studies
• Jurisprudence and Legal Theory
• Law and Economics
• Law and Ethics
• Law and Religion
• Law of the Sea
• Legal Education
• Legal History and Roman History
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Medical Law
• Property and Trusts
• Public, Admin and Constitutional
• Public International Law

Research environment

UCL Laws is a world-leading community of intellectually dynamic scholars responding to today’s challenges. The Faculty was rated as the leading Law institution in the UK for research quality in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). As a Laws MPhil/PhD student, you will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, this research culture.

The Faculty attracts the leading figures in the field to our extensive programme of events, informing debate on critical legal issues. Events we have held in the past include a series of seminars from the former President of the European Court of Human Rights and Judge of the General Court of the European Union. Our events reflect the diversity of teaching and research at UCL Laws, and our programme of lively seminars, lectures, debates and conferences cover a wide variety of engaging legal topics. Many events are CPD accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board and Intellectual Property regulation board (IP Reg).

A PhD at UCL Laws will allow you to pursue original research and make a distinct and significant contribution to your field. We are committed to the quality and relevance of the research supervision we offer and as an MPhil/PhD candidate; you could work with academics at the cutting edge of legal scholarship. Furthermore as a research student, you will be an integral part of our collaborative and thriving research community. Student-run ‘work in progress’ forums and an end-of-first-year PhD workshop will give you the opportunity to present and discuss your research with peers and academic colleagues. Tailored skills seminars will provide you with a supportive research environment and the critical skills necessary to undertake your research. To foster your academic development we also offer additional faculty funds, which can assist you with the costs of conferences and other research activities.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is 3 years for full-time students.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 9- 18 months after initial registration.

In your first year, you will be required to take part in a mandatory Skills Seminar Programme. Within three months of joining the programme, you are expected to agree with your supervisor the basic structure of your research project, an appropriate research method and a realistic plan of work. You will produce and submit a detailed outline of your proposed research to your supervisor for their comments and feedback. We hold a PhD workshop at the end of your first year, which provides you with an opportunity to present your research before an audience of UCL Laws Academic staff and fellow PhD students.

In your second year you will be expected to upgrade from an MPhil to a PhD. To successfully upgrade to a PhD you are required to submit a piece of writing (this is usually based on one chapter from your thesis and a chapter plan for the remainder). You are also required  to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor.

The PhD programme is expected to be completed within three years for full-time students.. If you are not ready to submit at the end of the third year, you may be permitted a further year to complete the PhD in the 'Completing Research Status' phase of the programme.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is 5 years for part-time students. You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 15- 30 months after initial registration. In your first two years, you will be required to take part in a mandatory Skills Seminar Programme. Within six months of joining the programme, you are expected to agree with your supervisor the basic structure of your research project, an appropriate research method and a realistic plan of work. You will produce and submit a detailed outline of your proposed research to your supervisor for their comments and feedback. We hold a PhD workshop at the end of your first year, which provides you with an opportunity to present your research before an audience of UCL Laws Academic staff and fellow PhD students. In your second or third year you will be expected to upgrade from an MPhil to a PhD. To successfully upgrade to a PhD you are required to submit a piece of writing (this is usually based on one chapter from your thesis and a chapter plan for the remainder). You are also required  to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor. The PhD programme is expected to be completed within five years for part-time students. If you are not ready to submit at the end of the fifth year, you may be permitted a further two years to complete the PhD in the 'Completing Research Status' phase of the programme.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees .

Additional costs

There are no programme-specific additional costs.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

There are a number of different scholarships available to fund your PhD. All are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and are competitive.

Full information about funding may be found on our website - www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/study/mphilphd/applying scholarships page. The Faculty also provides financial support to current students in the form of an annual Research Allowance, and there is a PhD Research Impact and Innovation Fund (PRIF) that students may apply to for funding for exceptional items such as delivering a paper at an international conference.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship (ROS)

Deadline: 12 January 2024 Value: UK rate fees, a maintenance stipend, conference costs and professional development package (3 years) Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need Eligibility: UK

Detailed information on the application process may be found on the Faculty of Laws website .

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

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Graduate Research

Doctor of Philosophy - Law

• Arrow-right #1 law school in Australia
• Arrow-right #8 law school globally
• Course code: DR-PHILLAW

Course overview

Please note: Applications for 2022 have closed! Applications are currently being considered for commencement in 2023.

Melbourne Law School aims to admit outstanding graduates from a wide variety of countries and to provide them with a world class experience in undertaking a graduate research degree.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree requires you to undertake a substantial piece of independent and original research under academic supervision. The research thesis is examined externally by scholars with international standing in the research field of the thesis topic.

(Course code: DR-PHILLAW)

Related study areas

• Environment
• Environmental law, policy and sustainability
• Research in law

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• Faculty of Social Sciences
• School of Law
• Research degrees

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A PhD is an internationally-recognised research qualification.

Studying for a PhD in Law, Criminology or Criminal Justice will allow you to become an expert in a specialist legal area and gain high-quality research training, which will equip you to undertake further research projects.

PhD in Law, Criminology or Criminal Justice

As a PhD candidate, you will carry out original research under the guidance of two supervisors and produce an original thesis of approximately 100,000 words.

For the first twelve months, or eighteen months if part-time, you will be enrolled as a provisional PhD candidate. In this period, you will develop a detailed research proposal and write a literature review. This work is then submitted to a panel of examiners who assess it and provide you with feedback and advice on the progress of your research.

This procedure is called a 'transfer' and is an important means of monitoring the progress of your work, assessing, amongst other matters, whether your proposal has enough weight to be accurately explored through a PhD research path.

After successfully transferring, you will enrol as a full PhD candidate, complete your research and write a thesis of approximately 100,000 words. 

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is awarded on the basis of your thesis, and your viva voce, where you present and discuss the rationale, methods and findings of your original study with an examining panel.

A PhD can be taken full-time (three years) or part-time (five years).

Areas of supervision

Our research supervision offers a wide breadth of activity across several key academic teams. 

Explore our research areas to discover the themes and supervisors relating to your field of study: 

• Centre for Business Law and Practice
• Centre for Criminal Justice Studies
• Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education
• Centre for Law and Social Justice

Many of our academic staff are also involved in the Leeds Social Science Institute which fosters interdisciplinary research collaborations and provides training for our postgraduate researchers.

Sean Butcher PhD Law

“My research has developed in fascinating ways that I couldn’t have anticipated. But beyond this, I’ve had a chance to assist with research projects undertaken by other members of staff, complete an exciting programme of research training, engage in teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and present at and host conferences. All of this has been invaluable in shaping my academic skills and profile, which is vital to enhancing my career prospects.”

How can we help?

Doctor of philosophy (phd) - law and politics.

The programme will enable students to become efficiently equipped with all the necessary skills and knowledge in order to advance in international organisations, public and private sectors and achieve positive results when operating in executive positions.

Aims of the Programme

The aims of the programme are the following:

• Develop a sound understanding of the relevant conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the student’s chosen area of research in law and politics.
• Have a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic and management enquiry.
• Create and interpret knowledge through original research.
• Enhance student’s performance as a reflective practitioner and their professional practice.
• Develop personal, consultancy and research competences to undertake rigorous research at an advanced level that contributes to theory and practice in law and politics.

Objectives of the Programme

The objective of the programme is to enhance the knowledge and skills to current and emerging legal and political scientists/leaders who are looking to drive systemic change in their organisation. These include individuals who currently hold or are seeking top positions in professional organisations and governmental institutions.

Programme Learning Outcomes

The key learning outcomes of this programme are:

• Develop a comprehensive, contemporary, advanced knowledge of content, research methods and theoretical context in an area related practice. Through this, students will make an important contribution to knowledge informed by original research and scholarship. Interpret and accurately apply law, as well as effectively analyze and investigate facts.
• Describe how political, legal and economic forces have affected different social groups in different ways to produce inequality as a result of unjust outcomes.
• Make informed judgments on complex issues in Law and Politics, often in the absence of complete data. Identify strategies that have the potential to increase access to legal system and improve the quality of the justice system or justice in society.
• Communicate ideas and conclusions clearly and effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences. Identify and apply legal rules on legal issues presented in order to resolve problems.
• Solve problems through skills in evidence-based decision-making, leading to institutional change within the areas of Law and Politics.
• Demonstrate the ability of law to shape and influence, government, society and people’s lives.
• Create environments of inclusion and transparency. Demonstrate interest in national and global politics.
• Evaluate their own skill as a leader and the performance of their team(s) and organisation and modify strategies accordingly within the areas of Law and Politics.
• Critique the mission, process and outcomes of specific learning initiatives through targeted questions.
• Apply their knowledge of law and politics by using the major analytic and theoretical frameworks in international relations and comparative politics.
• Drive innovation through technology-enabled learning formats.
• Apply reflective monitoring skills about work and professional practice within the areas of Law and Politics.
• Interpret gathered qualitative and quantitative data to assess the status of organisational priorities.
• Create a culminating dissertation in practice that demonstrates effective application of relevant theories and concepts within the areas of Law and Politics.

Follow the path to your future!

Earn a generous scholarship to study for an internationally recognised Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degree

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Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

Explore systems of beliefs and values to identify and challenge the foundations of both your own and society’s beliefs and values.

As a philosophy student at WSU, you’ll learn about fundamental intellectual questions and discuss both classical and contemporary attempts to address them.

• What makes for a morally right act or a just society?
• What sorts of things can we really claim to know?
• What is mind, and what is its relation to matter?
• Are we capable of free choice or is the future determined by past events?

Along with critical thinking and communication skills that are in high demand and central to success in all professions, you’ll develop an intellectual foundation for careers in law, government service, education, ministry, and many other fields.

Your Academic Advisor

Diane Scott Johnson Tower 801 509-335-2545 [email protected]

My goal is to assist you in your academic career and support you through to graduation.

Make an appointment using my online Outlook calendar or send a request via email .

Your degree options in philosophy:

Admission to the major

Meet with an academic advisor , complete the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affair’s declaration of intent, and select an option for your degree.

Coursework to earn your degree

Courses at WSU include the history of philosophy, logic, metaphysics, philosophies of religion and science, and a series of courses in applied philosophy spanning biomedical, business, and environmental ethics.

Student must complete 30 credits of coursework in philosophy and complete a capstone course. Review the WSU Catalog schedule of studies for specifics:

Preparing for graduate school?

A philosophy degree is excellent preparation for graduate school. Philosophy majors, as a group, generally outperform students from almost all other disciplines when it comes to graduate entrance exams such as the GRE (a general exam for graduate school applicants), the LSAT (the Law School Admission Test), and even the MCAT (the Medical College Admission Test).

• Barbara Fried

• William W. and Gertrude H. Saunders Professor of Law, Emerita
• Office Hours: By appointment

Download Curriculum Vitae

• Distributive Justice
• Legal History
• Legal Theory

Barbara H. Fried’s scholarly interests lie at the intersection of law, economics, and philosophy. She has written extensively on questions of distributive justice, in the areas of tax policy, property theory and political theory. She is also the author of a path-breaking intellectual biography of Robert Hale, one of the leading legal realists. Professor Fried is a three-time winner of the John Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching. She regularly teaches the Legal Studies Workshop at Stanford Law School, an interdisciplinary student-faculty workshop designed for law students interested in pursuing academic careers, as well as contracts, modern American legal thought, tax, and advanced seminars in law and moral/political theory. She has twice been a visiting professor of law at New York University Law School.

Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 1987, Professor Fried practiced as an associate with the New York City law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and served as a law clerk to Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

• BA Harvard 1977
• MA (English and American literature) Harvard 1980
• JD Harvard 1983

Affiliations & Honors

• Member, Board of Advisors, Stanford Ethics in Society Program
• Recipient, John Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford, 1991, 2000, 2006
• Publications

see all publications

Beyond Blame

What does matter the case for killing the trolley problem (or letting it die), ‘if you don’t like it, leave it’: the problem of exit in social contractarian arguments, the progressive assault on laissez faire: robert hale and the first law and economics movement.

LL.M. 100th Anniversary Program Details

Information is subject to change As of August 19, 2024

Harvard Law Graduate Program Wasserstein Hall  1585 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138

LL.M. 100: Transforming Lives and Law Around the World

The overarching theme of the event is the transformative nature of the LLM program, both in the ways the program has transformed its participants, and in the ways those participants have had a transformative effect on the law and their countries and communities. 

*The information provided in this program is tentative and subject to change*

Friday, September 27

• 8:00 – 9:00 am: Check-in/Breakfast
• All Day: Campus & art museum tours/kids’ activities outside/networking spaces
• 9:00 – 9:30 am: Welcome Remarks

Moderator: Professor Vicki Jackson

• 11:15 am – 12:30 pm: Concurrent Panels and Discussion Groups
• 12:30 – 1:45 pm: Welcome from Interim Dean John Goldberg and Lunch
• 2:00 – 3:15 pm: Concurrent Panels and Discussion Groups

Moderator: Professor Gabriella Blum

• 6:00 pm: Welcome from Professor Alford
• 6:15 – 8:00 pm: Concurrent Discussion Group Receptions

Saturday, September 28

• 9:30 – 10:30 am: Regional Breakfasts

Moderator: Professor Martha Minow

• 11:45 am – 1:15 pm: Holmes Field Picnic Lunch
• 1:15 – 1:45 pm: Group Photo

Moderator: Interim Dean John Goldberg

• 6:30 – 7:30 pm: Pre-Gala Cocktail Reception

Theme: “World Class”

National dress welcome 

Expected panel topics include: AI (moderator: Urs Gasser ’03); armed conflict (moderator: Professor Naz Modirzadeh); corporate law and M&A (moderator: Scott Hirst ’01 SJD ’16); human rights (moderator: Professor Gerry Neuman); international economic law (moderator: Professor Mark Wu); climate change/sustainability (moderator: Annecoos Wiersema ’99 SJD ’04); legal education (moderator: Professor Bill Alford); the legal profession (moderator: Professor David Wilkins); changing careers (moderator Professor Roberto Tallarita ’18 SJD ’23); faculty mentorship (moderator: Professor David Kennedy); development and international IP (moderator: Professor Ruth Okediji ’91 SJD ’96); and criminal law (moderator: Professor Carol Steiker).

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