phd in law stanford

Doctor of Science of Law (JSD)

The Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD) is the Law School’s most advanced law degree, and is considered a doctorate equivalent to a Ph.D.  It is designed for those interested in becoming scholars and teachers of law including interdisciplinary approaches to law.

Study toward the degree is open only to a small number of exceptionally well-qualified students who hold a JD or LL.B earned outside the United States.  Students in the program develop substantive expertise in one or more fields of law and have the opportunity to pursue substantive and methodological training in allied disciplines across the broader university, including but not limited to, the social sciences, humanities, and engineering.  The program culminates in the student producing a dissertation under the personal supervision of a Faculty committee comprised of law school professors as well as, where appropriate given the student’s interests, faculty from other departments of the university.

There are two different tracks for admission into the JSD program.  A minimum of two students will be admitted from among students who have completed the Stanford Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS)  at Stanford Law School.  In addition, students at Stanford and at other law schools in the United States who will have completed LLM degrees prior to the commencement of the JSD program are encouraged to apply for admission and will be seriously considered.  To be competitive, students applying from LLM programs must have completed (and must submit) a serious piece of independent, original research demonstrating their scholarly potential.

Admission to the JSD program is on a highly selective basis. Please note that admission to SPILS or to any Stanford LLM program does not imply a commitment by Stanford Law School to accept a student into the JSD program.

Some need-based funding, as well as funding to conduct research and attend conferences is available to admitted JSD students.

Questions concerning the JSD program should be directed to [email protected] .

HOW TO APPLY

JSD Candidates

Luis Bergolla

• JSD Candidate
• Teaching Fellow, LLM Program in International Economic Law, Business and Policy (IELBP)
• Lecturer in Law

Silindile Buthelezi

Rolando Garcia Miron

Yutang Hsiao

Tai-jan huang.

Takuma Iwasaki

Maria Palacio

Michael Thorburn

Having a jsd from stanford law school opens up countless career opportunities..

Teaching in US Academia

Teaching Outside the US

Working in the Public Interest Sector

Working in the Private Sector

Joint Degree in Law and History (J.D./Ph.D)

Stanford offers two joint degree programs in Law and History: (1) a JD/PhD program and (2) a JD/MA program. Both programs afford substantial savings in time and money as compared with the separate pursuit of each degree.

The programs are designed to provide students interested in the study of law and history with top-level training in each field, as well as in the complex and fascinating intersections between the two. Students have access to the full range of resources on campus—including not only courses, but also conferences, lectures, and workshops—devoted to law and history. For an overview of many law-and-history-related activities on campus, please visit the website for the Stanford Center for Law and History . 

Joint J.D./Ph.D in Law & History

The basic structure of the JD/PhD program is outlined below. The program has been purposefully designed to ensure flexibility that addresses individual student’s needs and interests.

Timing of Applications Interested students must separately apply and receive admission to the Stanford Law School and the History Department. Students are encouraged to begin their course of study by spending the first year in the Stanford Law School (SLS), followed by taking courses from both SLS and History Department. This facilitates a truly integrated, joint program; it also maximizes potential savings in financial cost and time-to-degree. Student, who are already enrolled in SLS or the History Department, may apply for admission to joint degree status in the other unit. If you are interested in this option, please check with History Department’s Student Services Manager.

Applications for the PhD program in History are typically due in early December. By contrast, applications to the Law School’s JD program are accepted on a rolling basis, usually between September 1 and February 1. To be considered as a joint applicant, applicants should submit their law-school application around the same time as your PhD application (and definitely no later than the December deadline for a PhD in History). Applicants must separately apply and obtain admission to the Stanford Law School and the Stanford History Department .

In completing the online Law School Admission Council [LSAC] application form, the applicant will be directed to a set of questions unique to Stanford Law School—including a page inquiring whether they are applying to “Other Stanford Programs.” Please select “History” from the drop-down menu.

The History Department application does not include a separate box to indicate application to Stanford Law School. Instead, the applicant should note in their required “Statement of Purpose” that they are also applying for admission into the Law School’s JD program (or that they are already enrolled in a JD program at SLS and are seeking to pursue a JD/PhD in History).

Course of Study  Joint degree students are encouraged to begin their course of study by spending their first year at Stanford in the SLS, followed by a full year in the History Department. This sequencing is essential to complete the required History PhD colloquia sequence without any disruption. After their first year in SLS, students may choose courses from either program. 

Students, who wish to commence JD/PhD program in the History Department, should discuss their plans in advance with their advisors in the Law School and in the History Department. Such requests are reviewed by both units and are accepted only if there is a compelling justification.

If the student chooses to begin their coursework in the History Department, it is vital that they complete the paperwork required to matriculate at the Law School at the beginning of their very first year of coursework. Otherwise, they may not be able to cross-credit this first-year of history coursework toward their JD degree (as detailed below).

Whichever academic unit that the student begins their JD/PhD program, they must be enrolled full time in the Law School during the first year of their JD studies, and full time in the History Department during the first year of their PhD program.

Joint degree students are expected to take their History PhD oral examinations no later than the spring of their fourth year at Stanford.

Cross-Crediting of Units The Law School requires students to earn 111 units in order to obtain the JD The History Department requires students to earn 135 units to obtain the PhD. This is a combined total of 246 units. But students may save about a year of coursework (or somewhat more) through cross-crediting some of these units.

The Law School cross-credits toward the JD up to 31 units earned in the History Department. The History Department has the flexibility to cross-credit toward the PhD up to 23 units earned in the Law School. The Department makes case-by-case decisions about which courses earned in the Law School it will credit toward the PhD So, if there are courses in the Law School that you believe are relevant to your PhD studies and doctoral dissertation, you should discuss with your doctoral advisor whether these are appropriate for cross-crediting.

Tuition and Financial Aid PhD Students, who are simultaneously accepted to the SLS and the History Department for a JD/PhD program, spend their first year at Stanford as a full-time graduate student in SLS. The Department of History does not fund the JD/PhD student during this first year. After finishing their first year with SLS, the student matriculates in the Department of History as a 1st year PhD student and start receiving their 5-Year Departmental Fellowship, which provides five years of guaranteed funding as described in the Finance Section of this Handbook (pg.75).

For their year in the SLS, JD/PhD students are eligible for the full range of need-based financial aid arrangements made available by the Law School and the University. The funding is awarded on a competitive basis. For more information, please see https://law.stanford.edu/education/degrees/

Applicants are also encouraged to consider applying to the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program. The deadline for applying to this program is much earlier than the deadline for applying to pursue either the JD or the PhD in History—namely, October 11, 2023 at 1:00pm PST. Joint-degree applicants who choose to submit applications for the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program must still submit separate applications to the Law school and the History department (as described above). Details can be found at: https://knight- hennessy.stanford.edu/ . 

Tuition for Students in Multiple Programs Graduate students who are eligible to pursue more than one degree at Stanford, where each program charges a different tuition (other than concurrent enrollment in a coterminal bachelor’s and master’s program), must document a tuition payment agreement by means of the  Tuition Agreement for Students with Multiple Programs

 (see  GAP 5.1 Changes and Additions of Degree Programs ).

The Enrollment Agreement for Students with Multiple Programs is not required if the programs all charge identical amounts of tuition (e.g., MA and PhD programs that are both in the School of Humanities and Sciences).

The student filing this enrollment agreement indicates the degree program to be used for tuition assessment in each quarter and academic year. The student must obtain the necessary signatures from the dean or associate dean representing each graduate or professional school program listed.

Each Joint Degree Program (JDP) has a pre-approved tuition agreement detailing which graduate tuition level is paid at which point in a student’s career (see  GAP 4.9 Joint Degree Programs ). JDP tuition agreements approved for each JDP reside with the Office of the Registrar.  All students enrolled in a JDP must submit the  Tuition Agreement for Students with Multiple Programs to document the tuition agreement and ensure that correct charges are applied each quarter.

J.D. / M.A. Program in Law & History

Timing of Applications Students interested in the joint JD/MA degree program in Law & History must separately apply and receive admission to the Stanford Law School and the History Department. To maximize potential savings in financial cost and time-to-degree, students are encouraged to apply to both the Law School and the History Department either (1) at the same time or (2) during their first year as a law student. Students in their second year of Stanford Law School may also apply to the MA program in History, but they are less likely to be able to complete both degrees in a total of three years and at the cost of their law degree.

Applications for the MA program in History are due in early December. Applications to the Law School’s JD program are accepted on a rolling basis, generally between September 1 and February 1. Applicants must separately apply and obtain admission to the Stanford Law School and the Stanford History Department .

The History Department application does not include a separate box to indicate application to Stanford Law School. Instead, the applicant should note in their required “Statement of Purpose” that they are also applying for admission into the Law School’s JD program (or that they are already enrolled in a JD program in SLS and are seeking to pursue a JD/MA in History).

• Course of Study Students pursuing the joint JD/MA must begin their course of study by spending the first year in the Stanford Law School. Starting in their second year, they will begin to take classes offered by the History Department, as well as by the Law School, and should be able to complete both degrees by the end of the third year. 

Cross-Crediting of Units The Law School requires students to earn 111 units in order to obtain the JD The History Department requires students to earn 45 units to obtain the MA This is a combined total of 156 units.

The Law School cross-credits toward the JD up to 31 units earned in the History Department. The History Department has the flexibility to cross-credit toward the MA up to 10 units earned in the Law School. The Department makes case-by-case decisions about which courses earned in the Law School it will credit toward the MA So, if there are courses in the Law School that you believe are relevant to your MA studies, you should discuss with your History-Department advisor whether these are appropriate for cross-crediting.

Tuition and Financial Aid The Law School requires students to earn 111 units in order to obtain the JD The History Department requires students to earn 45 units to obtain the MA This is a combined total of 156 units.

The Enrollment Agreement for Students with Multiple Programs is not required if the programs all charge identical amounts of tuition (e.g., MA and PhD. programs that are both in the School of Humanities and Sciences).

Further Information

Students have access to the full range of resources on campus, ranging from courses and conferences to lectures and workshops. For an overview of many law-and-history-related activities on campus, please visit the  Stanford Center for Law and History  website.

Please contact Arthur Palmon   (Assistant Director of Student Services).

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Sociology JD/PhD 

Stanford Law School and the Department of Sociology share more than a common interest in sociolegal scholarship: Both are ranked among the top academic departments in their respective fields. The high quality of both institutions distinguishes Stanford's JD/PhD program from those offered by other universities. Stanford is also the only university where a commitment to fostering sociolegal scholarship has been translated into a truly joint JD/PhD program.

Requirements

Upon admission, students may begin study in either the law school or the department of sociology. Students must complete their first full year of graduate study in one program and their second full year in the other. Thereafter, students may divide their time between programs to suit their individual course of research and graduate training. Students must satisfy the requirements for both the JD and the PhD degrees. Up to 54 quarter units of approved coursework may be counted towards both degrees, but no more than 31 quarter units of courses that originate outside the Law school may count towards the Law degree. The Law degree may be conferred upon completion of applicable law school requirements; it is not necessary to have both degrees conferred simultaneously. Students participating in the joint degree program are not eligible to transfer and receive credit for a master's or another degree towards the Ph.D. Students must complete the equivalent of 183 quarter units to complete both degrees. These provisions dramatically reduce requirements, increase flexibility, and make Stanford's a true joint degree program.

Additional Requirements

In addition to coursework, Students must complete additional requirements for each program.  Complete Sociology PhD requirements and include at least three quarters of Teaching Assistantship, three-quarters of Research Assistantship, and successful completion of a doctoral dissertation.  For additional requirements for the JD degree, see the  Stanford Law Schoo l website.

Students who are accepted into the JD/PhD Program in Law and Sociology will typically pay for only two semesters of law school tuition – a savings of approximately $50,000 (compared, for example, to programs at other top-ranked law schools that require students to pay for five semesters of law school tuition), and will receive nearly a full year of credit toward the law degree from approved sociology coursework. Through a combination of fellowships, research, and teaching assistantships; the Department of Sociology currently provides full tuition, stipends, and funds to support research for six academic years of graduate-level study in sociology to each student admitted to the PhD program. Thus, students admitted to the joint program will generally pay no tuition beyond the first year of law school, and will receive a stipend for six additional years of study in the law school and the sociology department.

Graduate Degrees: Doctoral

Main navigation, degree-specific requirements (doctoral degrees), doctor of jurisprudence.

The degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) is conferred on candidates who satisfactorily complete courses in law totaling the number of units required under the current Faculty Regulations of the Stanford Law School over no less than three academic years and who otherwise have satisfied the requirements of the University and the Stanford Law School. The  Stanford Law School J.D. Program  website provides detailed information on degree requirements.

Doctor of the Science of Law

The degree of the Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) is conferred upon candidates who hold a J.D. or its equivalent, who complete one academic year in residence, and who, as a result of independent legal research, present a dissertation that is, in the opinion of the faculty of the Stanford Law School a contribution to knowledge. Such work and dissertation must conform to the rules of the Stanford Law School and the University for the dissertation and the University Oral Examination.

Candidacy is limited to students of exceptional distinction and promise. The  Stanford Law School Advanced Degree Programs  website provides detailed information on degree requirements.

Doctor of Musical Arts

The degree of Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) is conferred on candidates who have satisfied the general requirements for advanced degreesbul and the candidacy requirement as described below in the "Doctor of Philosophy" section.

Doctor of Medicine

Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) must satisfactorily complete the required curriculum in medicine. The requirements for the M.D. degree are detailed on the  School of Medicine's website .

Doctor of Philosophy

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is conferred on candidates who have demonstrated to the satisfaction of their department or school substantial scholarship, high attainment in a particular field of knowledge, and the ability to do independent investigation and present the results of such research. They must satisfy the general requirements for advanced degrees, the program requirements specified by their departments, and the doctoral requirements described below. The option for a Ph.D. minor is also described below, though it is not a Ph.D. requirement.

Admission to a doctoral degree program is preliminary to, and distinct from, admission to candidacy.  Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is a judgment by the faculty in the degree program of the student’s potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program. Students are expected to complete degree program qualifying procedures and apply for candidacy by the end of their second year in the doctoral program. Honors Cooperative students are required to apply by the end of their fourth year. Candidacy is valid for five calendar years (through the end of the quarter in which candidacy expires), unless terminated by the degree program (for example, for unsatisfactory academic progress). A Pregnancy or Parental Leave of Absence automatically extends the pre-candidacy or candidacy period (see GAP 5.9,  Pregnancy, Childbirth and Adoption , for details). 

Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is granted by the degree program following a student's successful completion of qualifying procedures as determined by the degree program. Programmatic policy determines procedures for subsequent attempts to advance to candidacy in the event that the student does not successfully complete the procedures. Failure to advance to candidacy results in the dismissal of the student from the doctoral program (see GAP 5.6,  Dismissal for Academic and Professional Reasons ).

Candidacy is confirmed on the  Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree  (or a departmental version of this form). This form also specifies a departmentally approved program of study to fulfill degree requirements, including required course work, language requirements, teaching requirements, dissertation (final project and public lecture-demonstration for D.M.A.), and university oral examination (for other doctoral degrees). The department should confirm at this point that the student’s program will meet all university and degree program requirements.

Prior to candidacy, at least 3 units of course work must be taken with each of four Stanford faculty members. To reiterate, however, a student will only be admitted to candidacy if, in addition to the student fulfilling programmatic prerequisites, the faculty makes the judgment that the student has the potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program.

If the doctoral student is pursuing a minor, approval by the degree program awarding the minor is also required on the Application for Candidacy.

Extension of the Pre-Candidacy Period

The degree program may determine that extension of the pre-candidacy period is necessary to provide a student with additional time to complete qualifying procedures or to provide faculty with necessary evidence on which to base a candidacy decision. Decisions to extend the pre-candidacy period and thus delay the candidacy decision should be made on an individual student basis and should not be applied to entire cohorts or students absent exceptional circumstances. Degree programs are not obligated to extend the pre-candidacy period.

 When providing an extension of the pre-candidacy period, the degree program should communicate in writing the reason for the extension, expectations for the academic work to be completed by the student, the duration of the extension, and the timeline for the candidacy review. Extensions of the pre-candidacy period should generally not extend beyond two academic quarters.

Time Limit for Completion of a Degree with Candidacy

Students are required to maintain active candidacy through conferral of the doctoral degree. All requirements for the degree must be completed before candidacy expires. Candidacy is valid for five calendar years (through the end of the quarter in which candidacy expires), unless terminated by the degree program (for example, for academic unsatisfactory progress). The candidacy time limit is not automatically extended by a student’s leave of absence.

Failure to make minimum academic progress or complete university, department, and program requirements in a timely or satisfactory manner may lead to dismissal of the student (see GAP 5.6,  Dismissal for Academic Reasons ).

Extension of Candidacy

All requests for candidacy extension, whether prompted by a leave or some other circumstance, must be filed by the student before the conclusion of the program’s time limit, using the  Application for Extension of Candidacy or Master's Program  form. Departments are not obligated to grant an extension. Students may receive a maximum of one additional year of candidacy per extension. Extensions require review by the department of a dissertation progress report, a timetable for completion of the dissertation, any other factors regarded as relevant by the department, and approval by the department; such approval is at the department’s discretion.

 A Pregnancy or Parental Leave of Absence will also result in an extension of candidacy (or of the pre-candidacy period). See GAP 5.9,  Pregnancy, Childbirth and Adoption , for details.

Teaching and Research Requirements

A number of departments/schools require their students to teach (serving as a Teaching Assistant) or assist a faculty member in research (serving as a Research Assistant) for one or more quarters as part of their doctoral programs. 

Foreign Language Requirement

Some departments require a reading knowledge of one or more foreign languages. Fulfillment of language requirements must be endorsed by the chair of the major department.

University Oral Examination

Passing a university oral examination is a requirement of the Ph.D., J.S.D. and Ed.D. degrees. The purpose of the examination is to test the candidate’s command of the field of study and to confirm fitness for scholarly pursuits. Degree programs determine which of the following three types of oral examinations is to be required in their doctoral programs:

• A test of knowledge of the student’s field; this type of examination is intended to assess the student’s overall mastery of a specific field of knowledge 
• A review of the dissertation proposal covering content relevant to the area of study, rationale for the proposed investigation, and strategy to be used in the research; this type of examination is intended to assist the student in refining a dissertation topic and to ensure mastery of theoretical and methodological issues as well as the materials needed to conduct the research effectively
• A defense of the dissertation presented either upon completion of a substantial portion of the dissertation or upon completion of a pre-final draft (in either case, a draft of the work completed should be available for the examining committee well in advance of the examination); this type of examination is intended to verify that the research represents the candidate’s own contribution to knowledge, and to test his or her understanding of the research. General questions pertaining to the field as a whole, but beyond the scope of the dissertation itself, may be included.

Applicability: 

All Ph.D., J.S.D., and Ed.D. degree candidates and programs.

Timing and Process

Students must be registered in the term in which the University oral examination is taken. The period between the last day of final exams of one term and the day prior to the first day of the following term is considered an extension of the earlier term. Candidacy must also be valid.

The  University Oral Examination  form must be submitted to the department graduate studies administrator at least two weeks prior to the proposed examination date. The examination is conducted according to the major department's adopted practice, but it should not exceed three hours in length, and it must include a period of private questioning by the examining committee.

Committee Membership

The University oral examination committee consists of at least five Stanford faculty members: four examiners and the committee chair from another department. All committee members are normally members of the Stanford University Academic Council, and the chair must be a member of the Stanford University Academic Council. Emeritus faculty are also eligible to serve as examiners or as chair of the committee. Emeritus Stanford faculty, though no longer current members of the Academic Council, count as Academic Council members on dissertation oral committees.

Out-of-Department Chair

The chair of a Stanford oral examination is appointed for this examination only, to represent the interests of the University for a fair and rigorous process. The chair of the examining committee may not have a full or joint appointment in the principal dissertation adviser's, co-advisers or student's department, but may have a courtesy appointment in the department. The chair can be from the same department as any other member(s) of the examination committee and can be from the student's minor department provided that the student's adviser does not have a full or joint appointment in the minor department.

The department of Electrical Engineering has been granted an exception to this policy, whereby “out-of-department” may include a faculty member from another division of the department. The Graduate School of Education has been granted an exception to this policy, whereby “out-of-department” may include a faculty member from another program area of the school.

For Interdisciplinary Degree Programs (IDPs), the chair of the examining committee may not have a full or joint appointment in the primary adviser's major department and must have independence from the student and adviser. The faculty director of the IDP is not allowed to chair an examining committee for students in that IDP.

Responsibility for monitoring appointment of the oral examination chair rests with the candidate's major department. The department cannot require the candidate to approach faculty members to serve as chair; many departments, however, invite students and their advisers to participate in the process of selecting and contacting potential chairs.

A  Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Commitment Members  to appoint an examining committee member who is neither a current or emeritus member of the Academic Council may be approved by the chair of the department or faculty director of graduate studies, according to local policy, if that person contributes an area of expertise that is not readily available from the faculty and holds a Ph.D. or equivalent foreign degree.

Exceptions for individuals whose terminal degree is not the Ph.D. or equivalent foreign degree may be granted by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education, upon the request of the student’s department chair or faculty director of graduate studies. The prospective committee member’s curriculum vitae and a brief description of their contributions to the student's research should be submitted  via email  to the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

The majority of the examiners must be current or emeritus Academic Council members; more specifically, one of four or five examiners or two of six or seven examiners who are not current or emeritus members of the Academic Council may be appointed to the oral examination committee by means of this petition and approval by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education, as required for members who do not have a PhD degree.

The candidate passes the examination if the examining committee casts four favorable votes out of five or six, five favorable votes out of seven, or six favorable votes out of eight. Five members present and voting constitute a quorum. If the committee votes to fail a student, the committee chair sends within five days a written evaluation of the candidate's performance to the major department and the student. Within 30 days and after review of the examining committee's evaluation and recommendation, the chair of the student's major department must send the student a written statement indicating the final action of the department.

Dissertation

An approved doctoral dissertation is required for the Ph.D. and J.S.D. degrees. The doctoral dissertation must be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge and must exemplify the highest standards of the discipline. If it is judged to meet this standard, the dissertation is approved for the school or department by the doctoral dissertation reading committee (see  GAP 4.8 Doctoral Degrees: Dissertations and Dissertation Reading Committees  for more explanation).

One reading committee member, who must be a current member of the Academic Council, reads the dissertation in its final form and certifies on the  Certificate of Final Reading  that degree program and university specifications, described below, have been met. Typically, the principal dissertation advisor serves as final reader though another member of the committee who is a current Academic Council member may provide the final signature.

• All suggested changes have been taken into account and incorporated into the manuscript where appropriate. 
• If the manuscript includes joint group research, the student's contribution is clearly explained in an introduction.
• Format complies with university requirements.
• If previously published materials are included in the dissertation, publication sources are indicated, written permission has been obtained for copyrighted materials, and all of the dissertation format requirements have been met.
• The dissertation is ready-for-publication in appearance and ready for microfilming and binding.

Dissertations must be in English. Exceptions to permit dissertations in a language other than English are granted by the school dean upon a written request from the chair of the student’s major department.  The student is required to submit directly to the Student Services Center a paper copy of the approval letter (or email message chain) from the school dean.  Approval for writing a dissertation in another language is normally granted only in cases where the other language or literature in that language is also the subject of the discipline. Approval is routinely granted for dissertations in the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, within degree program specifications. Dissertations written in another language must include an extended summary in English (usually 15-20 pages in length). 

When submitting electronically a dissertation in a language other than English, the student should upload the English summary as a supplemental file.  When submitting such a dissertation on paper, the student is required to submit the abstract for ProQuest in English.

Students have the option of submitting the dissertation electronically or via the paper process. Directions for preparation of the dissertation for electronic or paper submission are available at the  Office of the University Registrar dissertation  website. If submitting via the paper process, the signed dissertation copies and accompanying documents must be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar on or before the quarterly deadline indicated in the  university's academic calendar . A fee is charged for the microfilming and binding of the paper dissertation copies. If submitting via the electronic process the signed dissertation signature page and title page must be submitted to the  Student Services Center  and one final copy of the dissertation must be uploaded, and approved by the Final Reader, on or before the quarterly deadline indicated in the  university's academic calendar . There is no fee charged for the electronic submission process.

Students must either be registered or on graduation quarter in the term they submit the dissertation; see "Graduation Quarter" in the Graduate Degrees  section for additional information. At the time the dissertation is submitted, an Application to Graduate must be on file, all department requirements must be complete, and candidacy must be valid through the term of degree conferral.

Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee

The doctoral dissertation reading committee consists of the principal dissertation adviser and, typically, two other readers. The doctoral dissertation reading committee must have at least three members and may not have more than five members. All members of the reading committee approve the dissertation. At least one member must be from the student's major department. Normally, all committee members are members of the Stanford University Academic Council or are emeritus Academic Council members.

The student's department chair or faculty director of graduate studies, according to local policy, may, in some cases, approve the appointment of a reader who is not a current or emeritus member of the Academic Council, if that person is particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic and holds a Ph.D. or equivalent foreign degree, via the  Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members . Former Stanford Academic Council members and non-Academic Council members may thus, on occasion, serve on a reading committee. A non-Academic Council member (including former Academic Council members) may replace only one of three required members of dissertation reading committees. If the reading committee has four or five members, at least three members (comprising the majority) must be current or emeritus members of the Academic Council. Emeritus Stanford faculty, though no longer current members of the Academic Council, count as Academic Council members on dissertation reading committees.

Any member of the Academic Council may serve as the principal dissertation adviser. A former Academic Council member, emeritus Academic Council member or non-Academic Council member may serve as co-adviser with the appointment of a principal dissertation adviser who is currently on the Academic Council. This is to ensure representation for the student in the department by someone playing a major adviser role in completion of the dissertation. Professors who have recently become emeritus and have been recalled to active duty may serve as principal dissertation advisers, though they are no longer members of the Academic Council. Requests for further exceptions to the requirement that the principal dissertation adviser be a current member of the Academic Council, for example for recently retired emeritus professors who are still actively engaged on campus but not recalled to active duty, will be reviewed by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

The reading committee, as proposed by the student and agreed to by the prospective members, is endorsed by the chair of the major department on the  Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee  form. This form must be submitted before approval of Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status or before scheduling a University oral examination that is a defense of the dissertation. The reading committee may be appointed earlier, according to the department timetable for doctoral programs. All subsequent changes to the reading committee must be approved by the chair or faculty director of graduate studies of the major department. The reading committee must conform to University regulations at the time of degree conferral.

Ph.D. Minor

Students pursuing a Ph.D. may pursue a minor in another department or program to complement their Ph.D. program. This option is not available to students pursuing other graduate degrees. Ph.D. candidates cannot pursue a minor in their own major department or program. In rare cases, a Ph.D. student may complete the requirements for more than one minor. In that case, 20 unduplicated units must be completed for each minor.

Only departments that offer a Ph.D. may offer a minor, and those departments are not required to do so. Interdisciplinary Ph.D. minors, administered by a designated academic department, may be approved by the Faculty Senate. The minor should represent a program of graduate quality and depth, including core requirements and electives or examinations. The department offering the minor establishes the core and examination requirements. Elective courses are planned by the students in conjunction with their minor and Ph.D. departments.

The minimum University requirement for a Ph.D. minor is 20 units of course work at the graduate level (typically courses numbered 200 and above). If a minor department chooses to require those pursuing the minor to pass the Ph.D. qualifying or field examinations, the 20-unit minimum can be reduced. All of the course work for a minor must be done at Stanford and must be completed prior to a student moving to TGR status.

Units taken for the minor can be counted as part of the overall requirement for the Ph.D. of 135 units of graduate course work done at Stanford. Courses used for a minor may not be used also to meet the requirements for a master's degree or for the completion of a different Ph.D. minor.

An Application for Ph.D. Minor outlining a program of study must be approved by the major and minor departments; to submit the application, go to  Axess  and select Student eForms from the student mega menu. This form is submitted at the time of admission to candidacy and specifies whether representation from the minor department on the University oral examination committee is required.

Joint Degree Program with the School of Law (J.D./Ph.D.)

The Department of English and the School of Law offer a joint program leading to a J.D. degree combined with a Ph.D. in English.

This J.D./Ph.D. program is designed to provide an opportunity for students to develop a deep expertise combining study in English with law, providing strong preparation for academic positions in literature departments or law schools as well as outside of academia in the public humanities, law, arts administration, or public policy. 

Admission to the J.D./Ph.D. Program

Students interested in the joint degree program must apply and gain entrance separately to the Law School's J.D. program and the Department of English's Ph.D. program. Students must also gain permission from both academic units to pursue the two degrees as part of a joint degree program. Interest in the joint degree program should be noted on the student's admission applications and may be considered by the admission committee of each program. Alternatively, an enrolled student in either the Law School or the English department may apply for admission to the other program and for joint degree status in both academic units.

Students  are encouraged to begin their course of study by spending the first year in the Law School, followed by a full year in the English department, and then by taking  courses from either academic unit.

Degree Requirements

The Law School approves courses from English that may count toward the J.D. degree, and the English department approves Law School courses that may count toward the Ph.D. in English. Some courses may be approved broadly as countable toward both degrees for all students; other courses may be approved on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the particular student's fields of focus and other courses taken. 

Faculty advisors from each academic unit participate in planning and supervising each student's joint program. Both units assign at least one faculty member to provide advice and supervision related to the joint degree program.

Students must complete 190 quarter units to complete both degrees. Up to 54 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees.

The two academic units have agreed to apply the same tuition agreement that operates for other established J.D./Ph.D. Namely, tuition is exclusive to the School of Law during the joint degree student's first year of the law program and is exclusive to the English department's Ph.D. program during all other quarters. Tuition rates within each academic unit for any given quarter match rates that apply to non-joint-degree students at similar stages of their studies in the unit. 

For more information, see the Law School's Degrees and Joint Degrees web site.

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Stanford Law School

The Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD) is the Law School’s most advanced law degree. It is designed for those interested in becoming scholars and teachers of law.

Study toward this postdoctoral degree is open only to exceptionally well-qualified students who hold a JD or its equivalent. It is awarded to students who, under the personal supervision of a faculty member, successfully pursue a course of advanced research in a field in which they are already well grounded, and who produce an advanced dissertation that, in the opinion of the supervising faculty member, makes a substantial contribution to knowledge. The JSD program is limited to a small number of students of exceptional distinction and promise.

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