Boston,
MA,
United States
Type
Private
Degrees offered
Bachelor's Degree
Doctor of Juridical Science - Criminal Law in Boston United States | Suffolk University
Suffolk University
|
Boston United States
Visit institution website
for more information
Qualification
Doctor of Philosophy
Languages
English
Delivery Mode
On-Campus
Tuition (2025)
USD
57,192
Attendance
Full-time
Full-time Duration
48 months
For those seeking to delve into legal academia through extensive research and scholarly writing, Suffolk Law provides a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) program. Comparable to a PhD in other disciplines, the SJD represents the highest attainable law degree, demanding exceptional academic achievement along with prior completion of both JD and LLM degrees.
Suffolk Law's SJD program offers an intellectually demanding curriculum that encourages students to broaden their perspectives and pioneer new approaches in legal scholarship. Participants benefit from guidance by seasoned professionals and immersion in an environment of influential legal thinkers. Admission to the SJD program requires candidates to produce a comprehensive, publishable dissertation that offers innovative insights to legal scholarship for degree completion.
Advance your legal education, develop novel perspectives, and achieve your utmost professional ambitions in the legal field.
Criminal law encompasses a significant portion of our legal framework. Unlike most academic disciplines, law students often arrive with preconceptions about this subject, shaped by undergraduate coursework, media coverage, personal encounters, and popular culture portrayals.
The practice of criminal law, much like its study, intersects with nearly every legal domain. Suffolk alumni have traditionally pursued careers as both prosecutors and defense attorneys, while others have contributed to lawmaking in legislative bodies or presided over criminal proceedings as state and federal judges. Moreover, expertise in specialized criminal statutes (pertaining to finance, environmental regulation, trade compliance, intellectual property, etc.) proves indispensable for legal professionals operating in these sectors.
Destination of Study
Subjects of Study
Language Requirements
English
IELTS 6.0
Qualification Requirements
We require for admission to the SJD program minimum TOEFL scores of 100 for the internet-based test, 250 for the computer-based test or 600 for the paper-based test.
Submit a 10-15 page substantive research proposal that will serve as the basis for beginning the dissertation research. It is very important that this research proposal be carefully written and well-organized.
Submit two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be from a full-time member of a law school faculty and another of which must be from a professor or faculty advisor of your LL.M. program.
Submit a letter or email from the proposed Committee Chair. The Committee Chair should agree to serve as the Committee Chair for the applicant's dissertation committee, recommend admission, and provide comment on evaluating the research proposal.
Submit undergraduate and graduate transcripts (including your first degree in law and your LL.M. degree or equivalent from a U.S. law school accredited from the ABA, or from a non-U.S. law school with equivalent standards). Applicants who graduated from a non-U.S. law school with equivalent standards must utilize either the Law School Admission Council's Credential Assembly Service (CAS) or World Evaluation Services (WES) at for a credential evaluation.
Provide a curriculum vitae.
Provide TOEFL or IELTS scores (if English is a second language), The TOEFL/IELTS score used in conjunction with your LL.M. application is sufficient. If you did not submit a score with your LL.M. application, please sit for one of these tests.
Submit a 10-15 page substantive research proposal that will serve as the basis for beginning the dissertation research. It is very important that this research proposal be carefully written and well-organized.
Submit two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be from a full-time member of a law school faculty and another of which must be from a professor or faculty advisor of your LL.M. program.
Submit a letter or email from the proposed Committee Chair. The Committee Chair should agree to serve as the Committee Chair for the applicant's dissertation committee, recommend admission, and provide comment on evaluating the research proposal.
Submit undergraduate and graduate transcripts (including your first degree in law and your LL.M. degree or equivalent from a U.S. law school accredited from the ABA, or from a non-U.S. law school with equivalent standards). Applicants who graduated from a non-U.S. law school with equivalent standards must utilize either the Law School Admission Council's Credential Assembly Service (CAS) or World Evaluation Services (WES) at for a credential evaluation.
Provide a curriculum vitae.
Provide TOEFL or IELTS scores (if English is a second language), The TOEFL/IELTS score used in conjunction with your LL.M. application is sufficient. If you did not submit a score with your LL.M. application, please sit for one of these tests.
Tuition
USD
57,192