Deepen your understanding of law
Conduct advanced legal research.
The SJD program at Iowa Law is intended for students who wish to conduct original and advanced legal research under faculty supervision. Students are expected to write a dissertation of publishable quality, making a significant and original contribution to legal scholarship. The dissertation should be a book-length manuscript or a series of related articles of equivalent intellectual ambition and scope.
Why Iowa?
- Interact with students and faculty, participate in faculty workshops, and present your work
- Conduct your research at the Iowa Law library, one of the three largest academic law libraries in the country with vast collections of international, comparative, and foreign law materials, including 4,500 volumes of rare books on British, U.S., French, and German law.
- Reference librarians specially trained in foreign, comparative, and international law research can assist you with research
- The Iowa Law Writing Resource Center is available to help with legal writing as you develop your publishable dissertation
- The University of Iowa is an R1 top public university with world-renowned specialties in fiction and non-fiction writing, business, engineering, health sciences, and liberal arts -- you can collaborate with scholars from other disciplines
- Enjoy a quintessential American "college" town with a large international student population, a distinct cosmopolitan flavor, and a friendly and comfortable atmosphere
- Iowa City is a UNESCO City of Literature
SJD applications deadline
Application deadline:
SJD applications are due May 1
Residency and dissertation
To earn the SJD, each student must complete a year of residence (with specific credit hours and other requirements) at the College of Law and then complete a doctoral dissertation. This is expected to be a substantial work of publishable quality that makes a significant and original contribution to legal scholarship.
Thesis proposal
The thesis proposal is a key component of the SJD application. During the year in residence, SJD candidates will refine their topic proposal, begin drafting chapters, and present the work. SJD candidates will then have five years to complete the dissertation and defend it before the dissertation committee.