The S.J.D. is a highly limited access postgraduate degree. The following are criteria for admission:
Career goals. The S.J.D. is primarily intended for highly qualified candidates seeking a legal academic career or a high-level, policy-oriented governmental or intergovernmental position, and the candidate must demonstrate such a career goal.
Academic achievement. An applicant must demonstrate outstanding achievement in previous academic programs.
Research and writing. An applicant must demonstrate the ability to conduct graduate-level legal research and writing in English. Preference is given to Dedman School of Law LL.M. students who have excelled in their LL.M. degree and have shown an ability to conduct graduate-level legal research and write in English as evidenced by a course paper or a directed research paper submitted as an LL.M. candidate at SMU. Applicants holding an LL.M. degree or equivalent from another law school who demonstrate excellent legal research and legal writing abilities in English may be considered for admission. Also, individuals with an established academic, legal professional, governmental or intergovernmental career, who have suitable career objectives for pursuing the S.J.D. degree and who have demonstrated significant legal research and legal writing abilities in English may be considered for direct admission into the S.J.D. (with or without an LL.M. degree).
Primary Supervisor. The applicant must obtain as a Primary Supervisor who is a faculty member of the SMU Dedman School of Law. The Primary Supervisor must have particular expertise in the S.J.D. candidate's general area of doctoral research.
Statement of Subject of Dissertation. The applicant, with the assistance of the Primary Supervisor, must submit a document of no more than 2,000 - 3,000 words explaining the research topic the applicant will undertake for the purpose of preparing the dissertation. average, and a satisfactory score on the GRE.
Unofficial transcripts are accepted during the application phase. Upon admission, send official transcripts, certified and translated if from a foreign institution, directly from each school of higher education you have attended. When sending an electronic transcript, please note that SMU will only accept electronic transcripts sent from the transferable institution via a secure means (e.g., Scrip-Safe, NSC). We will not accept electronic transcripts sent by students. Send electronic transcripts to gradappmaterials@smu.edu. For physical mail, please find our mailing address here.
Submit three letters of recommendation online. Select respondents who can attest to your academic ability.
Request the official scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) to be sent electronically to SMU (code 6660). Taking the GRE (within five years of application) is required for most graduate programs.
There is an optional video essay in the application which will present several questions from members of the SMU community, and allow you to speak directly to your admissions committee via a recorded response. This video essay is required for certain international applicants (see below) but is optional for any other applicants.
The minimum TOEFL score for admission is 80, and the minimum IELTS score is 6.5, unless specified otherwise by a program or department.
An applicant who is granted admission to the S.J.D. program initially is admitted in a probationary status. The S.J.D. candidate must demonstrate progress towards completion of the requirements for the degree to continue as an S.J.D. candidate. The S.J.D. candidate is matriculated as of the first day of the first semester in which the S.J.D. candidate commences the S.J.D. program.
Applicants must provide transcripts from each school of higher education attended, whether a degree was earned or not.
The minimum IELTS score is 6.5., the minimum TOEFL score for admission is 80.