Application Information

Important: Please read this page in its entirety before beginning your application to the SJD program. The application cycle is open from September 15 to March 1.

• Applications become available on September 15 and the application deadline March 1. We will not accept late applications or documentation. When sending us your offiical documents -transcripts and letters of recommendation -you must ensure that these will be processed and sent to us by the application deadline. There is no spring semester entry to the SJD Program. Applications are considered on a rolling basis, and early applications are encouraged.
• • SJD online application form*
  • Personal statement
  • Resume or curriculum vitae
  • Dissertation proposal
  • English-language writing sample (50 pages)
  • Transcripts from all university-level studies (official copies)
  • Two (or more) letters of recommendation (official copies); at least one must be from a full-time professor who taught you during your LL.M. program
  • Application fee

  *You will be required to upload your dissertation proposal, resume or curriculum vitae, writing sample, and personal statement in order to complete the online application form.

  Please either submit all additional required documentation through the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) by providing your LSAC number on our SJD application form or directly mail your unopened, official copies of supporting materials to our office at the following address:

  Fordham University School of Law
  Doctor of Juridical Science Program
  150 West 62nd Street, Suite 8-131
  New York, New York 10023
  U.S.A.

  Eligibility

  SJD candidates are generally expected to hold a Master of Laws degree from Fordham Law or another leading U.S. law school. In some rare cases, an applicant who holds a Master of Laws degree from another common law country will be admitted. Please note that successful completion of the Fordham Law School LLM program does not guarantee admission into our highly-competitive SJD program.

  Admission Criteria

  • Academic record
  • Recommendations
  • Experience
  • English-language ability
  • Past record and future promise as a legal scholar
  • Purpose in pursuing the degree

  The admissions committee must be convinced that the applicant is capable of researching and writing a dissertation that will make a significant contribution to legal scholarship.

  Admission to the program will be contingent upon the agreement of a member of the full-time faculty of Fordham Law School to act as Dissertation Adviser.

  • SJD Application Form (linked below)
    Please answer each of the questions on the electronic application form.
    Use our application form only. We do not have an application form for our SJD in LSAC and you should not use the LLM application form. You can provide your LSAC number on our application form if using LSAC to submit supporting materials.
    
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae
    Your resume or curriculum vitae should include your complete university educational experience, your complete employment history, and any additional academic or professional activities. Please also include references to any publications and presentations.
    The proposal should contain the following elements:
    • Meaningful working title.
    • Statement of research objectives, which should include the thesis or inquiry to be pursued. The proposal should demonstrate the originality of the project and the contribution to the field or how the research will be useful to others.
    • Review of current literature.
    • Preliminary organizational and structural components of the project.
    • Methodological strategies to be pursued.
    • Two-page bibliography that lists relevant works that were significant in the formulation of the applicant's thinking about the project.
    • Difficulties that may be encountered in the course of the project.
      
    • Dissertation Proposal
      Please submit a dissertation proposal in the range of 5,000 words. There is no prescribed format for the dissertation proposal, but it should be in proper academic format with regard to references, quotations, and footnotes. It should include a table of contents and should be appropriately paginated throughout. Please also indicate if there is a member of the Fordham Law School full-time faculty whom you would like to serve as your Dissertation Advisor.
    • Writing Sample
      Submit an English-language, academic writing sample of at least 50 pages on a legal topic. The writing sample should demonstrate your ability to conduct advanced, academic legal research. If you do not have an appropriate paper that meets this page requirement, you may submit up to three separate papers to meet the page requirement.

    Letters of recommendation must be written on official letterhead. If you are mailing your letters to us, each letter must be submitted with a completed SJD Recommendation Request Form. Each recommender must sign the back flap of the sealed envelope.

    • Application Fee
      The fee for submitting an application to Fordham’s SJD program is $70. This fee is non-refundable, and is not credited toward tuition or other fees. A link to pay the fee will appear after you submit the application form.

    Application Form

    Applications to the SJD program will not be considered until all relevant materials, including the application fee, have been received.

    Please note: You will be required to upload your resume/C.V., dissertation proposal, writing sample, and personal statement as part of this application. Please be sure you have each of these documents ready before starting this application, as you cannot save this application form and return to it later. You may upload either PDF or Microsoft Word documents.

    SJD Admissions

    Fordham University School of Law
    International and Non-JD Programs
    150 West 62nd Street, Suite 8-131, New York, NY 10023 U.S.A.

    Fax: 212-636-6922